State of the Map Asia 2024/Call for Venues/Kochi

Team

Our team consists of 10 members of OSM Kerala who are very much in contact with each other and passionate about the movement. Describe your team here and answer the following questions:

• How many group members are in the team?
  • 10 Members

• How is the team and the group members connected to OpenStreetMap
  • Are there members of the team who are OSM Foundation (OSMF) members or part of an OSMF Working Group?
  • User:Naveenpf was a member of OSMF between 2019 and 2021. User:Manojk and User:Arkarjun take active lead in organizing OSM events and outreach. User:Vis M currently has “Active Contributor Membership”.

• Do some of the group members have experience in organizing a large conference?

Yes, the team members recently organized DebConf23 Kochi in September 2023, which was an international event. Part of the team also organized Wikimedia related national level event Train-the-Trainer 2023 at Kochi.

The team also organized annual OSM Kerala state level meet ups in 2023 & 2022.

• Contact email address
  • Vis M: vismlibre[at]protonmail[dot]com

City

• What infrastructure does the place have?

  Kochi city has excellent infrastructure with road, metro, water metro, hospitals, internation stadium, international malls, etc.

• • accessibility (PWD, bike lanes),

    The venue is PWD friendly and accessible.

  • communication (internet, local sim cards)

• • public transportation (how to access venue by walking, car, bike, etc)

    A very convenient public transportation is available. Participants can take Airport to Metro feeder bus to reach Aluva metro station/bus stand; from where they may choose either a transport bus or metro to reach the destination.

Safety

• Is it a LGBT friendly space?

  the city of Kochi has a positive, progressive attitude towards LGBT rights and acceptance. There are several active LGBT communities and organizations in Kochi advocating for rights. See LGBT rights in Kerala for an overview

The OSM Kerala team will ensure in maintaining and enforcing a safe and friendly space for LGBT.

• • take note of OSMF's SotM safety policy

• What about medical and travel safety?

  The city has reputed affordable healthcare facilities available.

  • take note of the Public Health Plegde

• What about terrorism or criminalism?

  No threat of terrorism. Kochi is a safe city and police take immediate actions. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is the specialised counter-terrorism law enforcement agency of India, has recently set up its branch at Kochi and thus the safety is guaranteed.

• What will be the season/weather look like in the targeted dates?

  November will be cool with temperature expected to range from 24-31°C[1]. The month also has very less chance of rain.

Travel/Transportation

• What are the modes of international transportation (air / rail / road)?

  Air and sea are the best options.

  Kochi Internation Airport has good connectivity with all Asian Nations.

  Kochi is a port city as well, and hence the sea route is also a viable option.

  • Is there an international airport?
    • Yes, the Kochi International Airport is within the city of the venue
  • What the distance and modes of transportation from airports to city/venue?
  • The venue is within 20 km from the airport. The airport is co
• What kind of visa restrictions are there?

• How about the affordability of travel?

  The travel is pretty affordable. Participants can take Uber service to reach venue in car. Public transportation is very economic, where participants will have to take feeder bus and metro. Bus and metro can be used to travel around for sightseeing. Auto-rickshaws offer economic short-distance travel at your convenience. Uber and Ola Cabs services are available for online taxi booking. Kochi also has an attractive water metro system.

Dates

• Is the venue available on proper dates?
  • Yes
• Are there conflicts with other conferences (national/regional SotM, FOSS4G)?
  • No
• Are there conflicts with national festivals / activities (e.g. festivities, elections, holidays)?
  • No
• Do you have a rough idea on how timelines will look like (e.g. call for participation / sponsorship / scholarship, etc)?
  • Yes, we are preparing it in Telegram group

Other special features of the venue

Are there any other special features of the venue that we should consider?

Support

If you support this bid, please leave add your signature below