The 4th "Bridging the Gap Conference" will take place in Slovenia in Portorož from 14 - 16 May, 2008. The need for urgent action, the economic decision making and the communication between scientist, policy-makers, politicians and civil society are the headline issues of the conference.

On the first day of the programme, Anja Križnik Tomažin and Boris Ostan will present a report of the 10 years of GMES, bringing important information on the capacities of society to respond to emerging issues.

For more information :

the event's website

The role of European regions and cities in achieving economic growth and creating jobs is of primary importance, and largely recognised at all levels of European governance. Their unique position and role has been emphasised by the 2007-2013 EU Cohesion Policy, which focuses on empowering Regions to be the actors of their own sustainable development. Priorities of the Policy include increasing the attractiveness of Regions and Cities with investors and workers, building the knowledge society, encouraging entrepreneurship while preserving their environmental potential. Reducing disparities between lagging regions and more dynamic ones is also an important Policy focus.


Due to their knowledge of local realities and actors, Local and Regional Authorities are in the best position to take appropriate measures for improving the quality of the business environment by investing in modern infrastructure in order to improve accessibility, transport and professional mobility, to reduce the digital divide and facilitate e-governance. Satellite information and services* can support many of these public duties, thus helping Local and Regional Authorities achieve Policy objectives.


The workshop will be an opportunity for Local and Regional Authorities, Public Agencies and Companies to learn from successful examples provided by Regions and Cities which already benefit from satellite information and services. Relevant EU institutions and the satellite service industry will be provided with feedback on how they can tailor future policies and services to better respond to the needs and requirements of Local and Regional Authorities.


Best-practice presentations and case studies will be featured, through multi-disciplinary discussions of issues such as decision-making, financing mechanisms, cost, implementation difficulties in regards to benefits and return on investment.

For more information :

the event's website

The conference will take place at the occasion of the at the Berlin Air show ILA, at the ILA Space Conference Center, Hall 9 (See the Conference Announcement).

This conference, initiated by the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) with supporting partner International Aeronautics Federation (IAF), will provide an overview of existing Earth Observation (EO) applications in the areas of climate and environmental management as well as in the civil security sector.

The growing demand for EO products and the challenges ahead will be explored by representatives from public authorities, private companies and international organizations. Existing solutions ranging from the space segment to data products will be discussed within the framework of the future needs of international decision-makers and governmental authorities.

Registration deadline: Wednesday, May 14. 2008
Participation is free of charge. Please register using the conference website (see below) or by contacting Dr. Jörg Nellen (Phone:    +49 (0) 2203 - 601 - 4207, Fax:    +49 (0) 2203 - 601 - 3907)
 

For further information, please visit the conference website or send an Email.

For more information :

the event's website

Respond, a GSE project funded by ESA, provides different services to support the humanitarian community, mainly satellite-based map products. A variety of users from all levels of the humanitarian community are served with these products to support for example decision making and disaster relief operations.

Addressing all levels of users involved into the humanitarian activities with interest in geo-information, the German Aerospace Center will organise a technical training for humanitarian crisis response in the framework of Respond, on May 28th-29th, 2008, in Germany.

The main training aims are transferring knowledge about the services, the products, the processes and the techniques, and initiating a discussion between users to improve the common understanding of the user requirements.

For more information :

the event's website

The first national Ukrainian conference on aerospace exploration for sustainable development and safety of the GEO-UA system is aimed to discussing the current state and prospects of using air and space observation data available due to Ukraine's participation in the international programs such as GEOSS, GMES, INSPIRE and the Ukrainian segment of GEOSS (GEO-UA system) in order to solve various issues, including environmental management problems.

 
Representatives from all involved ministries have been invited to attend the conference, including international committees and organizations such as the GEO, CEOS, COSPAR, NOAA, research centers from Ukraine, Russia, the US, China and other countries.
 

For more information :

the event's website

The international Symposium (June 16th) and the International Information Workshop (June A7th-19th) start the second phase of the CASCADOSS project, which deals with Free and Open Source Software for Geoinformation (FOSS4G) for environmental applications.

The main purpose of the International symposium is to present the results achieved so far by the CASCADOSS project and to demonstrate the most promising and useful applications.

The rationale for the International Information Workshop is to discuss the various issues and topics raised at the previous symposium. Discussions will be followed by training sessions devoted to a further analysis of the topics identified during the expert debates.

For more information :

the event's website

The programme of the Workshop will include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

• Use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) technology in precision agriculture, climate change, landscape epidemiology, e-learning;
• Regional/national experiences and case studies on GNSS applications;
• Sharing experience of implementing GNSS applications projects in the region, particularly on issues, concerns and lessons learned during the implementation;
• Exploring the possibility of setting up national and regional coordinating mechanisms;
• Review the status of currently existing plans and projects on GNSS;
• Group discussion sessions to exchange views and to identify priority areas for pilot projects to be launched.

Additionally, the working groups will be established to examine the following items:

• Establishment and consolidation of specific regional and national working groups and their workplan for particular projects;
• Definition of ways and means of supporting specific pilot projects, resources, work schedules and the project leaders;
• Definition of a regional coordination mechanism that could serve as an interface to the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG);
• An update of GNSS inventory document for the Latin American and Caribbean region.

An  Information  Note  describing  the  background of the Workshop and its objectives,  together with an application form are available on the website of the United Nations Office for Outer
Space Affairs (see below)

For more information :

the event's website

With the adoption of the INSPIRE directive, 2007/2/EC, the focus of this year's conference is on reviewing the progress of the INSPIRE Legislation and on the development of SDIs in general. The objectives of this year's conference are to:

• View the current state of progress of the INSPIRE legislation
• Share knowledge on the progress of transposition of the INSPIRE directive in the member states
• Offer an opportunity to the INSPIRE Drafting Teams and Thematic Working Groups to report on the development of the INSPIRE Implementing Rules
• Further our understanding of the implementation challenges, costs, and benefits of SDIs at national, regional, and local level
• Identify key issues and opportunities for European SDI projects
• Explore and define synergies with other initiatives such as Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS)

• Sharing of national experiences with transposition (Coordination and organisational models, Process of legal transposition)
• Sharing of experiences and tools for implementation of National SDIs (Licensing frameworks, Portals and registries, Social and economic impacts)
• Education and awareness raising
• Trans-national SDI projects (including EU (co-)funded projects)

• New policies, new requirements, new stakeholders
• European voice in global SDI initiatives
• Evolving technologies

For more information :

the event's website

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its UN-SPIDER Programme (United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Barbados and the OECS Sub-regional Office and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) are organising the workshop to contribute to helping countries within the Caribbean region learn how to access and use space technology for disaster management and emergency response.

The objectives of this Workshop are:

• To present the current status of space technology for disaster management and emergency response within the Caribbean Region;
• To discuss the impact of global climate change on the increase of natural disasters in the region and how space-based technologies can contribute to mitigating these impacts;
• To showcase regional space-based initiatives relevant to disaster management support (including risk reduction) and emergency response. This includes ongoing and planned initiatives, case studies and best practices, archived data for disaster studies and capacity building opportunities;
• To identify approaches towards the harmonisation of the various existing initiatives that are contributing to helping developing countries in the region access and use space-based technologies for disaster management and risk reduction;
• To promote the Caribbean Strategic Framework on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) with the support of the UN-SPIDER National Focal Points and the UN-SPIDER Network of Regional Support Offices, and;
• To reflect on the best concepts for delivering support to both national activities and to national planning and policies, that consider the use of space-based technologies.

For more information :

the event's website

We are all lobbying for an operational and global spatial data infrastructure. The term “GeoWeb” refers to an immediate solution to redundant data, expensive data integration, and expensive or inefficient data distribution capabilities. More importantly, the “GeoWeb” unlocks a world of new technologies, markets and improved decision-making. This is a pivotal technological shift that will not only change the industry however the way we use geospatial information in our everyday lives.

The GeoWeb 2008 conference reflects the breadth, evolution and growing maturity of the GeoWeb. The theme for this year’s conference is "Infrastructure: Local to Global". The GeoWeb has a local community dimension as well as a global dimension. The integration of global aggregators will drive the creation of local infrastructures and will give rise to a global infrastructure.

The GeoWeb conference is one of the only annual conferences focusing exclusively on the convergence of GIS and the Internet, and the economic potential associated with the convergence of XML, web services and geographic information systems. The GeoWeb 2008 conference welcomes both public and private organizations to meet, discuss and learn about today’s most innovative geospatial technologies.

Participants in Geoweb will discuss and further explore the many facets of the "GeoWeb", such as:

• Global data aggregators and data communities
• GeoWeb in Security and Defense
• Real time emergency response and environmental security
• Neo-geo, user generated data and the GI professional
• CAD-BIM-GIS-Games Integration – 3D Cityscapes (Worlds Real and Virtual)
• nfrastructures for information – building alongside physical infrastructure
• Municipal SDI in the GeoWeb
• Imaging, Coverages and Image Information Infrastructures

For more information :

the event's website

The European Union and its member states have been working for 10 years on a major public initiative to provide information on the environment and safety : for better husbandry of the planet’s resources, improved understanding and knowledge to help in decision-making, advance warning of any threat to the safety of the population and ways of reacting more effectively.

As a part of its forthcoming Presidency of the European Union, France and the European Commission are jointly organising a Forum to mark the launch of the first GMES services in pre-operational mode.

These services include fields such as territorial management, the marine environment, air quality and emergency situations, whether created by natural disasters or human activity.The GMES Forum 2008 is intended to present GMES and its earliest services both to end-users and to the intermediary companies providing services based on this type of information and wishing to use the results of this public investment to develop new markets.

For more information :

the event's website

INTERGEO is the world’s largest event and communication platform for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. The trade fair and conference cover all the key trends that crop up along the entire value-added chain – from geo-based information surveys and data processing to integrated applications.

For more information :

the event's website

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its UN-SPIDER Programme (United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response) together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and with the support from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction – Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (ISDR/PPEW) and the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), are organising the above mentioned workshop to promote the access and use of space-based technologies and solutions for disaster management and emergency response within relevant communities.


Topics of the second workshop will include:

• Relevant space-based solutions and information for risk and disaster management support and emergency response including on-going and planned initiatives, case studies and best practices, available geospatial data for disaster studies and capacity building opportunities.
• Presentations and discussion of the contribution of space-based technologies to existing Early Warning Systems as well to the development of Risk Modelling and Vulnerability Assessments.
• Presentation of the prototype of the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal (communication and information platform).
• Presentations and discussion of the contribution of space-based solutions in the field of Emergency and Disaster Medicine.
• GEO Tasks DI-06-09 (Use of Satellites for Risk Management) and CB-07-02 (Knowledge Sharing for Improved Disaster Management and Emergency Response).
• Harmonisation of the various existing initiatives that are contributing to helping
• Developing countries access and use space-based technologies for disaster
• Management and risk reduction.

For more information :

the event's website