News

• Minister Deveaux Praises GIS Day Initiative

• GSDI 10 – Conference Report

• Jacqueline daCosta Champions GIS

• - URISA Announces Second Annual Student Paper Competition – The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) is sponsoring its second annual student paper competition. The objective of the competition is to challenge undergraduate and postgraduate students to demonstrate development and effective use of information systems in both their field of study and the community. The competition is open to all eligible students but particularly those interested in careers using geographic information systems, information technology, geospatial technology, planning and/or community development. The deadline for submissions is June 9, 2008. URISA will award students cash prizes for best student authored papers. Winners will be recognized at the URISA Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, October 7-10, 2008. Read More at www.urisa.org/student_paper_competition

• - Impressive Speaker List at URISA's Caribbean GIS Conference July 10, 2008 - URISA's 4th Caribbean GIS Conference (August 25-29 on Grand Cayman) boasts speakers from across the region and the world. Caribbean GIS projects, research and success stories will be well-represented with speakers from Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts, Trinidad, and the US Virgin Islands. Speakers will also be participating from Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This year's exceptionally strong participation from the Caribbean community indicates how established and important GIS has become in the region. In addition to sessions on disaster management, web based GIS, and privacy issues, presentation topics will include: * Caribbean SDI coordination and policy * Enterprise solutions * Regional collaboration opportunities * Selling GIS - how to attract new markets and applications in the region * Capacity building - GIS training and education * Developing trends in the region * Securing funding for ongoing GIS development Important keynote addresses will be delivered by Vanessa Lawrence from the UK Ordnance Survey and David Maguire, Chief Scientist at ESRI. Preconference workshops and training sessions, an exhibition, and numerous social events and networking opportunities make this an all-inclusive, not-to-be-missed event for GIS professionals in the Caribbean. The conference will take place August 25-29, 2008 at the Ritz Carlton on Grand Cayman. For more information, visit http://www.urisa.org/conferences/caribbean/info Note that discounted hotel rooms are available only until July 24.