Port of Helsinki including the Presidential Palace
Last week I attended the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Connect Helsinki – it was OGC’s 135th Technical Meeting – titled ‘Interoperable Systems, Real-World Impact – A Global Community at Work.’
The meeting took place between the 1st and 4th June and was held in a secondary school on the Kumpula Campus of the University of Helsinki. It was a great location with a large area for the plenary sessions and small rooms and offices for the side meetings, and the school prepared great lunches with salads each day. The smaller rooms were up on the fifth floor, so we all improved our fitness by walking up/down the stairs.
One of the themes of the meeting was Europe’s Digital Sovereignty, which is not surprising given the events occurring in the world and digital assets/access being at risk of denial/compromise. At the meeting, we heard about how satellite positioning data is facing interference in Finland and there are reports about access to Earth observation data over the Middle East being restricted with the justification that it can be used by ‘adversarial actors’, and reports of Russian satellites moving closer to ICEYE satellites that are being used to capture imagery for Ukraine.
The European Union is seeking the capacity and capability to exercise its independence in the digital domain while remaining open and connected to global networks. More information on this desire can be found in the recent report ‘Open but Not Powerless: Towards a Common Understanding of EU Digital Sovereignty’ that proposes a multi-layered framework with four interconnected layers:
- Digital Governance – shaping the entire system through regulations, the rule of law, and policy coordination;
- Digital Infrastructures, Software and Data – includes secure connectivity, interoperable systems, software and hardware, data ecosystems, cloud and edge infrastructures, and resilient cybersecurity;
- Digital Products and Markets – the capacity to foster innovation, ensure fair competition, and prevent dependency on non-European providers;
- People – supporting individuals, communities, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders to exercise their rights, build digital skills, and place trust in the technologies and institutions that govern the digital space.
One of the key roles of OGC is developing geospatial standards, relating to information that identifies where particular features are on the earth’s surface, and on the last day we discussed how to improve the OGC processes. As with many things, the world has sped up, and there are questions about whether we can develop standards faster while maintaining the same rigour. The question of AI in a supporting role in the development of geospatial standards was also raised, although several standards bodies have ruled out using AI support for writing standards, those writing standards documents are often of an older generation and there’s a need to bring new people in who may look to use alternative approaches.
Personally, I’m leading the development of a standard for the first time, as chair of the Geospatial Reporting Indicators Standards Working Group. We held a discussion at the OGC meeting to gather input from those more knowledgeable than I am, which was hugely valuable and one of the great aspects of OGC – it’s a very friendly group, and people are always happy to support.
This was my second time in Finland’s capital, but as my previous visit had been during winter, so it was fascinating to see the same place in the sunshine. The week started off a bit damp, but got sunnier and warmer as the week progressed, so I managed an ice cream – an amazing vegan Oatly soft-serve ice cream with pistachio sauce. Helsinki is great for gluten-free/dairy-free food, so I had to keep myself under control regarding sweet treats!
Summary
OGC meetings are always interesting and thought-provoking events, with a wide range of people with lots of different knowledge and experience about the geospatial world, and Helsinki did not disappoint.
