Seminar: Five Converging Trends:  Catapulting Geography onto the World Stage?

Dr Joseph Kerski, from ESRI, will be visiting The University of Melbourne on Wednesday, August 30th and will be giving a public seminar at 12 pm, Room 230, Kwong Lee Dow Building (263) on Five Converging Trends:  Catapulting Geography onto the World Stage?

Abstract:
Five converging global trends – geo-awareness, geo-enablement, geotechnologies, citizen science, and storytelling– have the potential to offer the discipline of geography a world audience that may be unprecedented in the history of the discipline. Issues central to geographers are now part of the global consciousness. Everyday objects are rapidly becoming locatable, and thus able to be monitored and mapped.  Tools and data that were formerly used and examined only by GIS professionals and earth and environmental scientists are now in the hands of the general public.  Citizens are becoming involved in contributing data to the scientific community.  Multimedia and cloud-based GIS have greatly multiplied the attraction that maps have had for centuries to tell stories.  But despite these trends bringing opportunity to professionals in this field, is geoliteracy becoming increasingly valued? How can geographers, GIS analysts, planners, environmental scientists, and other practitioners seize the opportunity that these trends seem to present to actively promote geospatial content knowledge, skills, and perspectives throughout education and society?

There is also an opportunity to meet Joseph in two informal sessions:

Session for non-specialist GIS academic teachers on the application of GIS in teaching

• When: 10:30 am to 11:45 am
• Where: TBA

Meeting with GIS tutors, demonstrators and educators

• When: 14:15 pm to 15:00 pm
• Where: Richard Newton Conference room, level 5, EEE Building (193)