This is the introductory note by the FOSS4G 2019 Conference Chair.

This is the welcome speech of Mr. Dumitru Prunariu.

Very brief introduction to the huge geospatial universe. On this talk, we will cover most of OSGeo software and sibling initiatives to prove that Free and Open Source Solutions is not only a complete stack but the canonical solution when we want to have the best option possible.

The United Nations is an international organization mandated by its Member States with maintaining international peace and security, promoting economic and social development, and promoting and protecting human rights. The United Nations System consists of six subsidiary bodies which are responsible for the coordination and activities of the United Nations Secretariat and Specialized Agencies, Funds and Progremmes related to food security, agriculture stability environment, refugees, human rights, gender, sustainable settlement, protection of children and others. The UN Secretariat and the Agencies extensively use GIS technology to enhance their operations, planning and organizing, monitoring, and decision-making activities. To provide the United Nations with the open-source tools, the UN Open GIS Initiative was established in 2016. The aim is to identify and develop Open Source GIS bundle that meets the requirements of the United Nations, taking full advantage of the experience of the partners. The Initiative consists of four active spirals or working groups where Spiral One is focusing on the development of core GIS applications, mobile applications and system integrations; Spiral Two is focusing on building capacity at the United Nations on use of open-source GIS technology; Spiral Three is focusing the development of geospatial analysis solutions; Spiral Four is focusing on developing tools for collecting and processing geospatial data. New Spirals are being considered to establish on Artificial Intelligence AI and Machine Learning ML for geospatial analysis, 3D Globe solutions and Indoor GIS. The UN Open GIS Initiative provides a unique opportunity to the open-source community for their contribution to United Nations operations in assisting peacekeeping operations, humanitarian response, refugee, promoting human rights and overall maintenance of international peace and security, and socio-economic development.

The Group on Earth Observations GEO has been advocating for and delivering access to open Earth observations EO data and information for more than a decade. The GEO Work Programme is a key implementation mechanism to help deliver the GEO vision and mission to deliver benefits to society via the collaborative work of national governments, the research and academic communities, the private sector, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and civil society. The purpose of this keynote is to highlight the range of activities underway on open EO data globally and highlight possibilities for open source software contributions, notably in the context of GEO.