NORTH51 Conference

Overture Maps Foundation will be participating at North51 2026, an event focused on the intersection of geospatial technology, policy, and global impact.

Will Mortenson, Executive Director of Overture Maps Foundation, will represent Overture at the event. North51 provides an important forum to examine how geospatial data is created, governed, and used, and how shared data infrastructure can support more responsible, interoperable, and resilient geospatial systems.

Panel: Power, Pixels, and Politics

January 22 | 2:30–3:30 p.m.

Overture’s ED Will Mortenson will join the panel Power, Pixels, and Politics, which explores the risks and responsibilities embedded in today’s spatial data ecosystems.

The discussion will draw on real-world examples to examine algorithmic bias in mapping, the geopolitics of imagery supply chains, and the unintended consequences of widely accessible geospatial tools. The panel highlights why spatial data is not neutral, and why the geospatial sector must continue to develop clearer ethical guardrails and governance frameworks as these technologies scale.