SARAJEVO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Europe conference opened this week in the southern Bosnian city of Mostar, bringing together nearly 400 participants from across the continent.
Running from July 14 to 20, the event is the largest European gathering focused on open-source geospatial technologies. Experts, researchers, and institutional representatives will deliver 146 lectures, accompanied by practical workshops showcasing the latest GIS applications.
Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), developed over the past five decades, are now widely used in sectors such as forestry, healthcare, urban planning, and smart city services. Speakers will explore how these technologies can support urban planning, climate response, security systems, and even criminal justice.
Some sessions are held at the University of Mostar, offering students a chance to engage directly with technologies like PostGIS, a tool for spatial data storage and analysis used for mapping, distance calculations, and environmental modeling.
The FOSS4G series began in 2004 and adopted its current name in 2006. The European edition was launched in 2012 in Prague and has since been hosted in Romania, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, and Estonia. This is the first time it is being held in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The event has attracted support from agencies, companies, and NGOs, including global tech firms such as Amazon, Google, and others. ■
