[OSGeo Africa] FOSS4G conference registration opens

Thu May 7 03:13:24 EDT 2009

The next FOSS4G is around the corner. Having been to FOSS4G 2007 and FOSS4G 2008 I can guarantee, if you have any interest or involvement in Open Source geospatial software, that you will have a highly stimulating and enriching experience.

FOSS4G conference registration opens

Sydney, Australia. 4 May 2009.

http://2009.foss4g.org <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/

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

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/ 

or contact:

Cameron Shorter, Chair of the FOSS4G Organising Committee and Geospatial 

Systems Architect at LISAsoft

tel +61-8570-5050

c a m e r o n . s h o r t e r @ l i s a s o f t . c o m

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

Gavin Fleming 

FOSS4G 2008 conference chair

http://www.foss4g2008.org <http://www.foss4g2008.org/>  

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