# OSMBE Annual report 2023

###### tags: `annual-report`

## Financial report

[Financial report for the year 2023](https://github.com/osmbe/working-group-bylaws/blob/master/financial/2023.md).
Financial report SotM-EU is separate.

## Projects

### Traffic Sign Project
The traffic sign project is still up and running. See the [project page](https://openstreetmap.be/en/projects/traffic-sign.html) for more info. Updates are triggered periodically using Github Actions.

### Road Completion project

The [Road Completion](https://github.com/osmbe/road-completion/) projects keeps running. In Flanders, the tool now does what it was initialy meant to do: monitor new roads that are created in official data, and make sure they are mapped quickly in OSM. It turns out it does something else as well: when roads get deleted (usually accidentally!), we get a quick report to make sure they are mapped again. In Wallonia, there are still a few 100 cases left to check.

### EqualStreetNames

- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Hannover, Germany
- Wrocław, Poland
- Roeselare, Belgium
- Fremantle, Australia
- Oldenburg, Germany
- Athens, Greece
- Budapest, Hungary
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Paris, France
- Bucharest, Romania

<https://mappingdiversity.eu/>

### Welcome Tool

- Pakistan
- Ukraine
- Togo
- Portugal
- Vietnam
- Timor Leste
- Papua New Guinea
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Myanmar
- Heylongjiang, China
- Ohio
- India
- Iraq
- French Basque country
- Switzerland
- Montenegro
- Texas
- Slovenia

### Street Level Imagery project

In 2023, we mostly kept the Belgian official cameras rolling. Because we have sufficient volunteers, a fourth camera was added. More project details [on our website](https://openstreetmap.be/en/projects/streetlevelimagery.html) and [on the wiki](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Belgium/open_streetlevel_imagery).

2023 is the year of Panoramax, an open source federated image hosting platform for streetlevel imagery. We started experimenting with setting up a Belgian server ourselves, while also looking for partnerships with other organisations.

In July, Stephane De Greef completed the coverage of the Brussels region. We managed to use that occasion to get some press attention for the project. [This is outlined here](https://openstreetmap.be/en/2023/07/23/st%C3%A9phane-streetview-brussels.html).

During 2023, we set up the [EU camera grant project with Meta](https://openstreetmap.be/en/2023/10/07/european-camera-grant.html). The cameras are starting to get distributed at the time of writing of this report.

### OSM.be newsletter

During 2023, we only sent out a single newsletter edition, [in Q1](https://mailchi.mp/5bca32a51440/openstreetmap-at-open-belgium-2022-and-more-6278039).

### Paid mapping: cycle higways

The 5 Flemish provinces are building a network of cycle highways together. These are mapped in fine detail in OSM. The data is used by the routeplanner the provinces offer at www.fietssnelwegen.be. In 2022 we worked together to finetune the data model and the data quality. After this, it was decided that we would also maintain the data for them. We made a commitment to update the network in OSM within two weeks after they sent us an update. We can't make commitments as volunteers, so this is a job we invoice for. The amount of work is relatively minor and has de facto been done on a voluntary basis, though we do get the income. This project has continued in 2023.

### Mapper of the month

For the past three years, Pierre Parmentier has been running the [Mapper of the Month project](https://openstreetmap.be/en/category/motm.html), where we show the human face of the mappers who build OSM. The last edition managed by Pierre has been published in November 2023. As of February 2024, Pierre is looking for a replacement to run the project.

### Top mapping tasks

We created [a list of the large and small projects](https://openstreetmap.be/en/2023/02/27/top-mapping-tasks.html) that we are working on as a community and an organization, so you can always easily find a place to contribute where it is most needed.

### NCCN projects

Two of our board members now work at the National Crisis Center (NCCN), on the Paragon project, an emergency planning and crisis management tool. The tool uses a lot of OpenStreetMap data. Together, we ran a few mapping challenges to improve OSM data where it is most critical and useful for Paragon. We worked on [schools](https://maproulette.org/browse/challenges/42561), [firestations](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Belgium/Firestations) and [prisons](https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/ou-sont-les-prisons-belgique/106818)

## Events

### State of the Map Europe

## Supporting the use of OSM

## Community

### Meetups

All our meetups & events are published at https://www.meetup.com/openstreetmap-belgium/ and on osmcal. Overview here:

## Running the organization

### Reboot as independent organization

The troubles at our umbrella organization Open Knowledge Belgium VZW, made us decide to leave the organisation. This was formalized in July 2023. Funds were transferred temporarily to OSgeo vzw. The kindly hosted us for the rest of the year, so we could keep organizing the State of the Map Europe event.

By December 2023 the new non-profit OpenStreetMap Belgium vzw/asbl was registered. We were recognized as a Local Chapter of the OpenStreetMap Foundation by January 2024.

One of the larger tasks was to rewrite our [simple bylaws](https://github.com/osmbe/working-group-bylaws/blob/master/CONSTITUTION.md) to something that follows the law for Belgian non-profits. Some of the changes:
- formal automatic termination of membership (after two missed meetings)
- formalize existing procedures (e.g. registering as a member, corporate membership)
- obligatory registration of address of members

### Corporate membership

During 2023, we did not follow up on membership fees for our corporate members because of the complicated situation the organization was in.

### Evolution of membership

We lost no members and gained two 2023, adding up to 30 now.

### Meetings