Workshop organised by EuroSDR and hosted by IGN

Paris, France

August 31^st and September 1^st 2026

EuroSDR has been involved with the topic of 'Volunteered Geographic Information' (VGI) for many years, particularly due to the potential for National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies (NMCAs) to utilise VGI when faced with achieving more with fewer resources. The first EuroSDR Workshop on this topic took place in 2009 in Wabern, Switzerland (Crowd Sourcing for Updating National Databases - Identifying common interests and future research issues of crowd sourcing for the updating of national databases - Workshop Report, 2009[1]). Subsequent follow-on workshops were held during 2012, 2017, and 2020. The most recent event was held in Glasgow (Scotland) in June 2024 as a joint EuroSDR and AGILE workshop during the AGILE 2024 conference (see Current Trends on Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies – Workshop Report[2]).

One of the conclusions of the 2024 Event Workshop Report highlighted the potential for a standalone workshop addressing the key topic, 'Do NMCAs see VGI and crowdsourcing as part of their future strategies and plans?'. 

Using this as motivation, EuroSDR invites NMCAs, researchers, public servants, members of the OSM community and other crowdsourcing communities, as well as geospatial industry representatives, to present, discuss, and share their experiences during a dedicated lunch-to-lunch workshop on August 31^st and September 1^st 2026 to be hosted by IGN in Paris.

In an era shaped by ‘geocommons’ (i.e., geospatial data collectively defined, maintained, shared, and used by a community), digital twins, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) the role and new frontiers of VGI are redefined. This workshop aims to act as a catalyst for the revival of interest in VGI within NMCAs and public authorities, to build upon existing work and explore new opportunities to extend the use of crowd-sourcing and digital commons at local, regional, national, or international levels.

Venue of the workshop:
IGN - Géoroom
8 avenue Pasteur
94160 Saint-Mandé, France

Authors are invited to submit extended abstracts by email to EuroSDR@mu.ie. Deadline for submission is 11 May 2026. The authors of abstracts accepted by the workshop committee will be asked to deliver an in-person presentation at the workshop.

Abstracts should be between 800 and 1200 words.

Abstracts must be rigorous, and the content should be logically structured as follows (without the need to include subsections): introduction/background, where the problem addressed is introduced; main aim or purpose of the use case; brief description of the methodology and findings achieved; final discussion highlighting the contribution of the case and its practical benefits/implications.

In the evaluation of abstracts, the workshop committee will pay particular attention to the relevance and potential suitability of the submission for the core themes of the workshop.

Timeline and Deadlines

·         11 May 2026: Deadline for submissions

·         15 June 2026: Notification of acceptance / rejection

·         29 June 2026: Program announcement

·        31 August - 1 September 2026: International EuroSDR Workshop on the new frontiers of VGI

Workshop Committee

• Frédéric Cantat, EuroSDR and IGN France
• Dr Ana-Maria Raimond, Gustave Eiffel University, Géodata Paris and IGN France
• Dr Peter Mooney, Maynooth University, Ireland
• Prof Juha Oksanen, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, National Land Survey of Finland

Questions regarding the workshop or the submission process should be directed to EuroSDR@mu.ie