Please excuse cross postings of this announcement of interest to the geospatial data community January 26, 1999 Federal Geographic Data Committee Announces Plans for 1999 National GeoData Forum Washington, DC * Mark Schaefer, Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science announced plans to hold a public Forum on the future of geospatial data. Geospatial data means information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the earth. Geospatial data are used in a wide variety of applications to help governments and the private sector make better decisions, analyze trends and provide information to the public. The Forum will be held on June 7-9, 1999 at the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, D.C. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), chaired by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, is an interagency committee composed of representatives from 16 Cabinet-level and independent Federal Agencies. The FGDC—in collaboration with public and private sector organizations—coordinates the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The National Spatial Data Infrastructure or NSDI is a national initiative launched by Executive Order in 1994 to advance the nation's capacity to develop, use, share and disseminate geospatial data. The NSDI is the term used to describe the array of technologies, digital data, public policies, people and institutions needed to put current and accurate geographic data into the hands of citizens and decision-makers. The 1999 National GeoData Forum is the third in a series, following forums in 1993 and 1995. The 1999 Forum will focus on the actions needed to attract private sector investment to the initiative. Public and private financing options, distributed leadership models, and emerging technologies are key topics. The FGDC sees the time as ripe for state, county, city and tribal governments and businesses to come together in the 1999 GeoData Forum to discuss and endorse a new set of Public, Private, Academic, Non-Profit and multi-organizational financing options and distributed leadership models. Emerging and converging technologies are making it easier than ever for geospatial data users to pool and share their data. "This initiative is poised to take off because we can now provide decision-makers with concrete examples of how geographic information technologies are being used everyday to solve real world problems," said Schaefer. "This will be an exciting and timely meeting. We invite citizens and leaders in the public and private sectors to participate." These organizations are represented on the Steering Committee the FGDC formed to plan the Forum: International City/County Manager's Association, National League of Cities, Urban Logic Inc., National Geographic Society, Geographic Data Technology, Inc, Interoperability Advisory Group, University Consortium for Geographic Information Sciences, National States Geographic Information Council, Mapping Sciences Committee, National Association of Counties, Lucerne International, Open GIS Consortium, Western Governor's Association, and the National Association of Regional Councils. "Using common solutions and sharing data will dramatically improve the way we make decisions, " states U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski, a member of the Steering Committee. "This is a great opportunity to get involved in setting the direction for this important national initiative." For more information visit the 1999 National GeoData Forum website at www.fgdc.gov/99Forum or contact Kathy Covert, FGDC Staff, (703) 648-4144. U.S. Geological Survey 590 National Center Reston, VA 20192 703-648-5514 703-648-5755 (f) [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
