The final detailed program for the FOSS4G conference in Cape Town is available here.
The final detailed program for the FOSS4G conference in Cape Town is available here.
The Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) 2008 conference, is being hosted on the African continent for the first time, in Cape Town. It is the best opportunity this year for exposure to local and international delegates and networking for your organisation. It incorporates the GeoInformation Society of South Africa (GISSA) 2008 biennial conference, and the participation of the proprietary geo-informatics software community will create the perfect platform for lively debates and creative solutions in addressing the theme: “Open Source Geospatial: An Option for Developing Nations”.
Approximately 500 GIS users, Government officials, business people and technology experts from over 50 countries will be attending. The conference is an opportunity for Geospatial users, developers, service and solution providers, mapping agencies, managers and decision makers, to mix with international delegates and should not be missed!
An overview about the program is available here.
Mr Johnson and many others at the conference argued about and how to program for the so-called "geographic web". For most of its life, the web has been "out there", a boundless but ethereal construct. While it could provide information about particular places, web surfers had to find and assimilate it themselves. Where that surfer was, or lived, wasn't even possible to specify.
Mr Johnson closed his talk with what he hoped was the take-home message. Teething problems and privacy concerns aside, the geographic web should be a tool "not to use the web as a mechanism to escape the real world but instead use the web as a way of enhancing the real world, making you feel more connected to your community".
In addition to Cayman Land Info, sponsors include International Land Systems, HP/KirkISS, RE/MAX, the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association, Cayman National Bank, Scotia Bank and exclusive telecoms sponsor Digicel, as well as a range of related organisations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
One of the few content folks I met during the 3 days asked me if I thought there was any There (a la Gertrude Stein) in Where.
My opinion? Yes, but not yet. And, not because of the tools, or the products and services, but because folks like their devices and these devices are connecting them ever more deeply to their place. It's There when the content comes.
Due to demand, the Where 2.0 conference starting on our previous deadline and a website glitch with the original cut-off date, we are pleased to announce the EXTENSION of the deadline for Paper, Presentation and Poster abstracts AND the deadline for Workshop proposals to the *** 23 MAY ***. Go to [www.foss4g2008.org] and click on 'Call for Papers'.
You can also view the Call for Papers at: [wiki.osgeo.org]
and the Call for Workshop proposals at: [wiki.osgeo.org]
Thanks to those of you who have submitted so far. As of 14 May we already have an exciting selection of Workshops and Labs (32), Academic Papers (50), Presentations (85) and Posters (10). The previous Announcement gave you a taste of the Workshops. As far as papers and presentations go, a small sampling gives us An Integrated Water Resource Decision Support System built from OSS tools, Characterisation of tsunami affected areas using remote sensing and GIS, Modus Operandi of a FOSS GIS project in India, Challenges in GIS education and training, Using Python and wxWidgets to build custom GIS applications, Using KML and Google Earth to interact with SA water resource data, Easing Transition to Open Source Geo-Spatial Data Manipulation in GML, A Free GIS Book, Open-source based market information systems - one option for Developing Nations, A year of full-speed FOSS- winning the hearts, minds, and business case, Senegalese land register modernization through OpenSource software, BeeGis: digital field mapping that just works, The use of FOSS GIS in Integrated GIS in Local Government in South Africa, GIS in the Geography Curriculum: Teacher Training. Topology support in FOSS4G solutions, TerraLib as an Open Source Platform for Public Health Applications, Google Earth Powered by MapGuide Open Source, GDAL/OGR Project Status Report and this list goes on.
Remember: Early-bird registration now closes on 20th June and hotel specials will be released soon after, so register soon!
Submit your abstract or proposal soon. Come and have a bash in Cape Town.
Gavin Fleming
FOSS4G 2008 Conference Chair
www.foss4g2008.org