[fdo-users] FOSS4G conference registration opens

Tue May 5 05:07:26 EDT 2009

Sydney, Australia. 4 May 2009.

http://2009.foss4g.org

The international conference for free and Open Source Software for
Geospatial (FOSS4G), held in Sydney, Australia 20-23 October, 2009, is now
open for registration. http://2009.foss4g.org/registration/

FOSS4G attracts the cream of international Geospatial Open Source and Open
Standards system implementors and sponsors. With themes ranging from the
integration of Open Source with Proprietary systems to the building of
Spatial Data Infrastructures and application of Open Geospatial Standards,
the conference offers a unique opportunity to tap into the wealth of
knowledge and experience available among the Open Source developers,
sponsors and geospatial professionals of all persuasions. The Open
Geospatial Consotium (OGC) is underpinning the conference with a Standards
Based integration showcase based on a climate change scenario, demonstrating
integration between Open Source and proprietary applications.

Along with a comprehensive program of thought provoking presentations and
interactive workshops you would expect from an international conference,
FOSS4G retains many of the engaging characteristics of its Open Source
heritage. With Bird of a Feather sessions, code sprints, install-fests and
impromptu project meetings, there is an unparalleled opportunity to take
part in active communities and provide input into the direction for a
variety of projects. FOSS4G encompasses the best of Open Communities, such
as collaboration, helpfulness, innovation and honesty.

Early bird registration is just $AU725 (~ $US525) for 3 days of conference
and tutorials, and $AU375 (~ $US270) for a day of top notch workshops from
the world's best international presenters.
Location

FOSS4G 2009 will be held in Sydney, Australia which is built around one of
the largest, most beautiful harbours in the world with miles of golden
beaches stretching north and south of the city on the shores of the Pacific
Ocean. It has a warm climate in October with average temperatures ranging
from 15 - 22°C. Sydney and its surrounding areas provide a diverse range of
visual excitement and vibrancy. Visitors to Sydney are spoiled with choice
including national parks, famous beaches, the World Heritage Blue Mountains
area and the picturesque Sydney Harbour. Sydney’s also offers a diverse
range of cultural activities including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,
Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Ballet and the Sydney Theatre
Company all performing at the well know Sydney Opera House.
Call for Presentations

Are you planning to present at this years conference? If so, don't wait
until you have your presentation finalised to tell us about it! Go to the
submission website now (http://2009.foss4g.org/presentations/) and enter
your name and contact details and at least a title. Then, closer to the
close-off date, log back in and fill out the abstract details. This will be
a big help for the organisers as it will give us some advanced notice as to
how many and what type of presentations to expect.
FOSS4G 2009 Highlights

*The Climate Challenge Integration Plugfest (CCIP)*: FOSS4G will launch the
OGC's Climate Challenge Integration Plugfest (CCIP), which demonstrates
standards based interoperability between Open Source and Proprietary
geospatial applications. It consists of a server with multiple virtual
machines, each installed with geospatial applications offering standards
based web services. All web services will demonstrate a common dataset, and
will be accessed by a range of geospatial client applications installed on
client computers.
http://external.opengis.org/twiki_public/bin/view/ClimateChallenge2009/WebHome

Presenters are encouraged (but not mandated) to make use of scenarios and
on-site data from the Climate Challenge Integration Plugfest (CCIP). This is
especially important as demand for access to data over the internet is
expected to be high, and Australia has notoriously slow connections to the
outside world.

*FOSS4G Live DVD*: LiveDVDs, based on the Xubuntu operating system and
including Geospatial Open Source Software, will be given to all delegates.
Users can boot a Live DVD on their computer and trial the software without
installing or effecting the existing system.
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Live_GIS_Disc

*Installfest*: The Installfest will give delegates the opportunity to meet
in a common area and install a wide variety of FOSS software on their
laptops, EE PC or any other system they care to bring in. Community members
will be around to assist with any troubles and provide help and insight into
the software. The install fest will take place after workshops on the first
day.

*Workshops and Tutorials*: Workshops and Tutorials allow presenters to lead
attendees through applications, integration solutions, or other topics in an
interactive environment. Half-day workshops (3 hours) will be held in
computer rooms on the first day. Tutorials (90 minutes) will be held in
standard presentation rooms, run concurrently with presentations during the
third and fourth days.

*Presentations*: The meat of the conference are it's presentations. Drawing
on a huge community of local, regional and international experts we will
discuss some of the most current and poignant topics in the industry today.

*Demo Theatre*: During lunch and coffee breaks the demonstration theatre
will be showcasing live software. These short demonstrations from sponsors,
open source projects and the user community show what is possible with open
source today.

*Birds of a Feather*: Rooms have been set aside for semi-organised meetings
between like minded groups. Some prominant community initiatives started in
prior FOSS4G Birds of a Feather sessions.

*Code Sprint*: The weekend after FOSS4G is reserved for the Hackers' Code
Sprint. Hackers will be locked in a basement with lots of bandwidth, pizzas
and coke. (Well, maybe something better than that, but we don't want to
spoil the mystical hacker image by describing it any differently.)
Upcoming milestones

   - 1 Jun 2009, Abstract submission deadline
   - 13 Jul 2009, Presenters notified of acceptance for talks
   - 31 Jul 2009, *Author/Early registration deadline*
   - 14 Sep 2009, *Completed program available on the wiki*
   - 20 Oct 2009, FOSS4G Workshop
   - 21-23 Oct 2009, FOSS4G Presentations and Tutorials
   - 24-25 Oct 2009, FOSS4G Code Sprint

Media Sponsors

   - Position Magazine: http://www.positionmag.com.au/
   - Asian Surveying and Mapping Newsletter: http://www.asmmag.com
   - Geoconnexions Magazine: http://www.geoconnexion.com/
   - Directions Magazine: http://directionsmag.com/
   - GIS Development: http://gisdevelopment.net/
   - Baliz Media: http://www.BALIZ-MEDIA.com/ <http://www.baliz-media.com/>

------------------------------

For more information or to keep informed from the FOSS4G Organising
Committee, join our email list or twitter feed at:
http://2009.foss4g.org/contacts/

Simon
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