GIS Development organized the recent Geospatial World Forum 2011, a major biannual conference and exhibition on geospatial information technology and applications. The conference, held in Hyderabad, India, January 18-21, brought together 2,200 delegates from 81 countries representing leaders, policy makers, scientists, academicians, and other stakeholders in the geospatial industry. The stated aim of the conference was to raise the awareness level regarding the increasing relevance of geospatial technology in everyday life and to make the fruits of this technology available to the common man: “Geospatial World Forum 2011 shall offer a platform for the various stakeholders of geospatial technologies from across the globe to come together to deliberate upon the ‘Dimensions and Directions of Geospatial Industry.’ The conference shall enable technologists to present a peep into what the future holds for the decision makers and users alike in terms of usage and applications of this technology” (source).
The Geospatial World Forum 2011 singled out the exemplary contributions made by selected organizations and professionals to the growth of geospatial technology and industry around the world. The following six organizations/professionals received the GIS Development awards:
- Premier Mapping Agency: Natural Resources Canada
- Education/Capacity Building for Geospatial Technology: Department of Geography, University Of California, Santa Barbara
- Geospatial Personality of the Decade: Vanessa Lawrence CB, Director General and Chief Executive, Ordnance Survey, UK
- Leading Professional Society: International Cartographic Association (ICA)
- World Leaders in Geospatial Technology: Rolta Group
- Lifetime Achievement: Dr. K Kasturirangan
Our citation states: Established in 1974, the Department of Geography at the University of California Santa Barbara is today one of the world’s foremost international education establishments in the field of geographic information science. Its dedicated scientific staff and their diverse expertise resulted in the successful establishment of the National Centre for Geographic Information and Analysis in 1988. In the face of a growing population and shrinking resources, humankind’s greatest challenge is to achieve an environmentally benign and socially equitable development of resources through detailed and reliable geo-information management tools. At the UCSB Department of Geography, the use of integrated science to better understand spatio-temporal dynamics and the Study of the Earth systems has resulted in committed basic research leading to fundamental developments in the geographical information sciences. In addition to education and research, the Department of Geography has also been actively involved in Research partnerships, resulting in the establishment of centers of excellence like the Centre for Spatially Integrated Social Sciences (CSISS), the Earth Research Institute (ERI), and the Alexandria Digital Library. The UCSB Department of Geography has been continuously contributing to capacity building. The key words characterizing its activities are capacity building, geospatial information management, and research (dated 18th January, 2011, Hyderabad, India; signed by Dr. M. P. Narayanan, Chairman, GIS Development, and Sanjay Kumar, CEO, GIS Development).
