URISA's 4th Caribbean GIS Conference

URISA’s 4th Caribbean GIS Conference…
Evolution and Next Steps
August 25-29, 2008
Grand Cayman

The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) is pleased to invite you to its fourth conference focusing on the effective application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other information technologies within the Caribbean. Previous conferences have taken place in Jamaica (2001), Barbados (2004) and the Bahamas (2006).

Objectives of the Conference

• To inform broad cross-section of Caribbean users about GIS technology and applications
• To share experiences regarding GIS implementation and management issues
• To establish new relationships with the vendor/consultant community
• To provide workshops and sessions that are application driven, and are relevant to the Caribbean community of GIS users
• To foster a Caribbean GIS network
• To assess the state of readiness of national and regional Spatial Data Infrastructures

We are pleased to be hosting this event in the Cayman Islands this year!

Conference Highlights

The conference begins on Tuesday, August 26, with preconference workshops, 8-hour comprehensive courses on these topics:

• GIS Program Management
• GIS Enterprise Architecture & System Integration
• An Overview of Open Source GIS Software

On Wednesday morning, we will hear from 2008 Conference Chair—Alan Jones; URISA Past President —Pete Croswell, GISP; URISA Caribbean Chapter President, Valrie Grant-Harry, GISP; and the Honourable Mr. Kurt Tibbetts, Cayman Government Business Leader.

We’ll explore the “Status of Caribbean GIS” through on-stage interviews of key GIS professionals in the region, and benefit from an important keynote address from Dr. David Maguire, Chief Scientist and a corporate director of ESRI.

For this Fourth Caribbean GIS Conference, we are pleased to announce a second keynote address on Thursday morning from Vanessa Lawrence CB, Director General and Chief Executive of the Ordnance Survey.

Educational sessions fill the program on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Of course, there will be a variety of social events during the conference to provide you with every opportunity to network with your peers and colleagues from around the Caribbean and the world. An exhibition will give you the opportunity to compare and contrast products and services available to help you do your job more efficiently and effectively. Be sure to bring your "technology wish list" to the Cayman Islands!

Program Topics

The conference was organized via an abstract submission process. More than 100 submissions were received for the committee’s review. The abstracts were submitted within the following topical categories and the sessions are organized according to these program tracks:

• Disaster Management, Law Enforcement, Public Health and Safety
• Standards, Policy and Management
• Land, Environment, Planning and Natural Resources
• Utilities, Business and Organizational GIS
• Hot Topics

Keynote Presentations

Two important keynote addresses will be highlighted during the Caribbean GIS Conference.

Vanessa Lawrence CB, Director General and Chief Executive, Ordnance Survey - Vanessa is the first woman to head Great Britain's national mapping agency and one of the youngest Director Generals in Ordnance Survey’s 217-year history. She is a world-renowned expert in how geographic information systems (GIS) can improve decision making at all levels of government and business. She is the official adviser to the British Government on mapping, surveying and geographic information.

David Maguire, PhD, Chief Scientist, ESRI - Dr. Maguire is the Chief Scientist and a corporate director for Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). He joined the ESRI family in 1990 as the technical director, later becoming the managing director for ESRI's international office in the United Kingdom. Dr. Maguire has authored or co-authored over 100 books and publications on GIS, including the industry recognized Geographical Information Systems and Geographic Information Systems and Science. He received his doctorate degree in Geography from the University of Bristol in 1983.

URISA 2008 Caribbean GIS Conference Committee

As in previous years, the conference committee is comprised of a well-known group of GIS professionals representing government, academia and the private sector from across the region and the world.

Cayman Islands

• Conference Chair: Alan Jones, Cayman Land Info, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• Co-Chair: Garry Green, Cayman Land Info, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Bermuda

• Quinell Francis, CompuCAD

British Virgin Islands

• Lisa Kay S. Lewis, GISP, National GIS Coordinator, Office of the Premier, Tortola

Guyana

• Vijay Datadin, GIS Consultant, RedSpider

Jamaica

• Cecille Blake, National GIS Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
• Valrie Grant-Harry, GISP, GIS Consultant

Trinidad & Tobago

• Desmond Dougall, GISCAD Limited
• Jacob Opadeyi, University of the West Indies, Centre for Geospatial Studies

United Kingdom

• Alan Mills, GIS Specialist, Alan Mills Consulting Ltd.

United States

• Edsel B. Daniel, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
• Edwin Joseph, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan
• Peter Rabley, International Land Systems, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland
• Steven R. Schill, PhD, The Nature Conservancy, Richmond, Utah

The conference would not have been possible without the dedication and expertise of the Conference Committee!

Conference Sponsors

We also greatly appreciate the support of all of our conference sponsors and participating exhibitors.

Preliminary Conference Schedule

(Click on each day within the schedule for detailed session and presenter descriptions. Note that the schedule is subject to change.)

Monday, August 25, 2008

• Vendor training sessions and user group meetings
• Other meetings

• Preconference workshops
• Exhibits installation
• Networking Reception and Poster Competition

• Plenary session
• Sponsored lunch
• Educational breakout sessions throughout day
• Closing Session

Solutions Exposition

During URISA’s Caribbean GIS Conference, you can check out the very latest technology being offered by the top GIS and IT vendors — all in one place. Take this opportunity to compare and contrast the technology and services that are currently available to make your agency work more efficiently and effectively. Challenge the representatives to offer solutions and go home with the answers to your technology needs. The Exposition will be open the following hours:

• Tuesday, August 26: 5:00 – 7:00 PM
  Networking Reception & Poster Competition

• Wednesday, August 27: 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM

• Thursday, August 28: 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM

• Friday, August 29: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Interested in Exhibiting? Click here for more information or contact Wendy Nelson (wnelson@urisa.org, 847/824-6300)

Caribbean GIS Snapshot - Take this quick survey to include your country's information in an overview of the 'state of GIS' in the region. The results of the survey will be presented at the URISA Conference on Grand Cayman.

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