OSM FR Forum post for French Community: forum(.)openstreetmap(.)fr/t/associacio-catalana-de-lopenstreetmap-comme-chapitre-local/37910
(notification on talk-fr OSM mailing list: lists(.)openstreetmap(.)org/pipermail/talk-fr/2025-November/106762.html
OSM Community Forum post for Italian Community: community(.)openstreetmap(.)org/t/associacio-catalana-de-l-openstreetmap-come-sezione-locale/136337
(notification on talk-it OSM mailing list: lists(.)openstreetmap(.)org/pipermail/talk-it/2025-November/075965.html
No post in OSM Community Forum for Spanish Community has been found. Please if you are aware of one, post it down below. Please notice that OSM Espana is currently applying as OSMF Local Chapter at the same time as Associació Catalana de l’OpenStreetMap.
Thank you, and looking forward to discussions and constructive feedback.
Michael, on behalf of LCCWG
P.S. links are provided as text as I cannot add more than 3 URLs for post
Is this the first time that a local chapter applies for regions already covered by existing local chapters, or are there precedents? Is this an issue for anybody? Can there be multiple local chapters representing the same areas? Does the template agreement, for cases like this, need to me modified to not only call for friendly co-existence between OSMF and the chapter but also for the chapter and other chapters active in the same region?
Michael, can you clarify what you mean by “Please notice that OSM Espana has been recognized as OSMF Local Chapter during the application process of Associació Catalana de l’OpenStreetMap” - recognized by whom? Has OpenStreetMap Espana been in touch with OSMF about local chapter status, or did you just want to say that the Catalan association “recognizes” the Spanish one even though the Spanish one hasn’t signed up as a local chapter?
Are you saying that in multicultural/language countries the minority region would have nothing to say if the majority part of the country vote to include them in the country association, refuse them to have their own association ?
All looks in order to me from an OSM point of view, and I have no objections.
From the pov of good byelaws, something to possibly consider (presumably when you have a general review of them after a few years):
what if, when the organisation is liquidated, there is no suitable organisation “en l’ambit territorial d’actuacio de l’associacio” that fulfils the definition in Art. 32(4)? I can imagine you will be the only such organisation.
You could consider removing the local requirement, or adding “or the OpenStreetMap Foundation”.
4. Geographic limits
This Chapter will represent the interests of the local community in its designated geographic region of __________________________________. The Foundation will not establish any other local Chapter within the geographic region without consulting with the Chapter. The OpenStreetMap Foundation may permit thematic Chapters or other special purpose organisations of the Foundation to operate in its designated region.
Seems like the Template agreement at least doesn’t require an approval or overlapping LC are excluded. But of course that’s just the template, not the actual agreements with the established LC’s.
As the agreement is mainly about recognition, using the trademark and “mindset”, I don’t see an objection as a OSM contributor.
My questions were really questions, not just a grammatical play. Of course anyone can have any association they want (and in fact the Catalan association already exists so we’re not discussing its right to exist), the question is who will the OSMF recognize as a local chapter.
The way you are wording it it sounds like a giant injustice, but it would not be unusual for the minority region to have to bow to what the country as a whole wants. If the minority region wants to be in the EU but the rest of the country does not (or vice versa) - tough luck.
If we can give everyone the recognition they want and everyone is happy with it, then that’s fine with me. I do wonder though if we might (carelessly) set ourselves up for problems down the line by having overlapping regional chapters. I haven’t thought this through and the questions I asked were an attempt to brainstorm about potential issues. Will the Catalan chapter compete with the three national chapters for sponsors and attention, and is everyone ok with that? Does the situation perhaps necessitate some ground rules baked into the local chapter agreements in a sense of good fences making good neighbours, or should we simply trust people to be reasonable?
Maybe someone from the UK and Ireland chapters could chime in and say if there have been any issues with the overlap. Are there any corporate members/sponsors in Northern Ireland and if so, which association to they contribute to? If a Northern Ireland newspaper wants a statement, which association will they turn to and is everybody fine with that?
re: Northern Ireland being also covered by OSM Ireland.
It was a practical decision as “all Ireland” meetups and activities already existed. Similar to the current political situation we co-exist in a spirit of mutual respect. A small number of people who have strong views either way about the current and future sovereignty of Northern Ireland were upset by the choice (and others would have been if the decision were the other way round). I don’t recall any practical issues since.
Neither Local Chapter focus on gaining corporate sponsors, more about organising editing activities. If OSM Ireland want to add buildings in Northern Ireland then everyone wins.
..and frankly, if a Northern Ireland newspaper wants a statement they will probably contact the OSMF who in turn will ignore the Local Chapter(s), but that’s another discussion entirely.
There was, and is, always a danger of things escalating. Many of us have grown up with the need to tread lightly and we rely, as in all OSM activities, on people continuing to do so.
Please note that members of both boards have already collaborated in meetings with other organizations, municipalities, and public institutions in Catalonia. Furthermore, some members of the Catalan and Spanish groups sit on both boards.
Additionally, we have members from the aforementioned countries as well as from Andorra. All chapters are aligned with the OpenStreetMap Foundation’s goals, and there have been no conflicts regarding sponsorships or public communications.
Hi, Héctor here, president of the Asociación OpenStreetMap España (OSM Spain Association), and member of the OSMF Board of Directors and LCCWG.
From the OSM Spain side:
We have been in talks with the Catalan Association since its creation in 2025. We have wanted to apply for Local Chapter status for a long time, but we were waiting on us unfreezing our bank account (as the OSM Spain Association was in a dormant state since ~2010, after helping organize the global SotM in Girona, until 2025, when we managed to get the association going again, after some unsuccessful attempts the years prior). We submitted the application within a few days of the Catalan Association’s application, so they can run in parallel.
From me personally, and also partially as an OSMF Board member:
I believe OSMF Local Chapters should go beyond those centered on the political borders. Looking at the Wikimedia Foundation, they do have a Spanish Chapter (Wikimedia España) and a Catalan thematic organization (Amical Wikimedia). We do have multiple communities in OSM that extend beyond political borders (with the humanitarian community being the most prominent one), so having geographic, mixed geographic and thematic (a linguistic community I believe belongs here), and fully thematic chapters makes sense. There’s an ongoing effort from the LCCWG to improve the current OSMF affiliation models. Our world is diverse, and a diverse OSM community is a stronger community, and that includes the diversity of languages (the fact that we are having this conversation in English already means people are being left out).
I am very pleased with this demand, as Catalunya and her fellow countries in the Catalan Countries (Paises catalanes) have to maintain and develop their particular expression.
We know how the AI can reduce the gaps created from ylanguage barriers, but that is no motive for contain less used languages.
As a board member of the french Chapter, I can attest that we did discuss the subject in one of our meetings, and have absolutly no objections for this new chapter.
We are looking forward to work together, and to celebrate this creation together in Paris in a few months.
From what I recall when I shared about this topic with OSM Italy, most of the contributors were ok with the application as this would touch only a small city in Sardegna region, which does not happen to speak as much CA nowadays but seems to be more like cultural heritage. There is probably an OSM mapper from that town in the whole OSM Italy community.
I do not have much more information and I would still invite someone from OSM Italy to express their view formally.
Dear all,
thanks to everyone for the observations, comments and thoughts on this topic. Just a reminder that today is the last day scheduled for discussion on this matter, so I invite whoever has still some comments to contribute to the conversation.
So far, unless any complicacy arises, I would provide a positive feedback to LCCWG.