Open Geospatial Science | ICA Commission on Open Source Geospatial Technologies

"Open Geospatial Science builds upon the idea of Open science that scientific knowledge of all kinds are able to be develop more rapidly and in a more productive manner if openly shared (as early as is practical in the discovery process). The key ingredients to make Open Geospatial Science possible is Open Principles (open source geospatial software, open data, open standards and open access to research publications) . “Geo for All” was initially started by scientists and research active academics to build strong foundations for Open Geospatial Science . We also wanted to create openness in Geo Education for developing creative and open minds in students which is critical for building open innovation and contributes to building up Open Knowledge for the benefit of the whole society and for our future generations. We were laughed at initially by some because we did not have any initial funding  when we decided to start 'Geo for All'. We are grateful to all our colleagues globally for their help and efforts which enabled us to build this initiative http://www.geoforall.org/about/   . For Geo4All , we had a mission to “Make geospatial education and opportunities accessible to all” and we were very clear from the start that we will be supporting Open Principles (open standards, open data, open educational resources,open software, open access to scientific publications) for our mission to ensure sustainability and bring together universities, industry, SMEs, NGOs together on this shared vision.One of the most important lessons that i learnt from my Geo4All journey  is that bringing together good people on a common mission and building a vibrant community  is the biggest asset ..."