You are invited to share your ideas and session proposals for the 2025 State of the Map US conference! This year’s theme, Charting the Course, will celebrate OSM in mobility and look towards the next decade of OpenStreetMap US. Whether you’re helping improve data for trails in your local parks, leading events to collect sidewalk data, or improving the availability of open imagery through drone capture, we’re looking to showcase all of the ways OpenStreetMap and open geospatial get us around. There’s no better place to explore mapping for mobility than bustling Boston with its subway, buses, and ferries – oh my! Join in celebrating 15 years of OpenStreetMap US and help make this SOTMUS the best yet!
Timeline & Deadlines
- November 18: Call for Proposals Opens
- January 31: Deadline for submissions
- Mid-March: Speakers notified of the decision
- End of March: Program Announced
Session Formats & Topics
Newcomers and OSM experts alike, we want to hear from you. OpenStreetMap is powered by a diversity of projects and innovations outside of this year’s mobility theme, so please consider proposals about anything else OSM, open data, or open source. Past topics have included:
- Mobility applications of OSM – accessibility, walking, transit, biking, kayaking, driving
- OpenStreetMap basics and how to’s
- Mapping all the things (rails! trees! shops! trails! boundaries! imports!)
- Indigenous mapping
- Demo that cool tool you built for OSM
- OSM in recreation – hiking, biking, water sports, etc.
- Civic tech – OSM at your school, in education, in government
- User experiences – how have you been using OSM data?
- Community experiences, such as stories from your local OSM group
- The state of the map in [FILL IN YOUR STATE]
- Corporate and institutional contributions to OpenStreetMap
- OSM in the field
With space for featured speakers, panels, 15-minute talks, 5-minute lightning talks, workshops, and birds-of-a-feather topics, there’s something for everyone. Feel like your idea is a little different? Please submit it anyway and surprise the program committee!
Open Education Track
This year we are featuring an Open Education Track to bring together educators, students, researchers, and those interested in the role of geospatial and OSM in education. Submit your ideas for anything related to open education – using OSM in your classroom, teaching fellow community members, engaging with OSM in higher education, challenges or learning opportunities, or tools you might want to share with others. You name it, we want to hear it!
Workshop Day
New this year, Thursday, June 19th will be a dedicated Workshop Day. All long-form workshops (60+ minutes) will be held at The Foundry from 1pm to 6pm, followed by the welcome social from 6pm to 8pm. More information can be found on the conference logistics page.
Want to demo a tool or share a quick how-to? Consider proposing a 15-minute presentation for Friday or Saturday instead.
Who should submit an idea?
You! If you have never proposed a topic for a conference before, please don’t think it’s not for you. Every year, about half of the speakers at State of the Map US are given by first-timers. The typical SOTMUS attendee is passionate about maps and surely interested in your story! Need some inspiration? Check out talks from past conferences.
Want to propose a session but need some financial support to attend? Scholarship applications are open! Plus, all speakers will be able to register at the early bird ticket rate.
Have questions? You can email us at sotmus@openstreetmap.us or chat in the #sotmus channel on Slack.
We look forward to seeing you in Boston!
