FOSS4G 2008 Announcements

NB: This page used to hold the Calls for papers and workshops. These are now at FOSS4G2008 Call for papers and FOSS4G2008 Call for workshops

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Extension of Abstract Submission Date to Friday, 23 May 2008 (Posted 2008/05/14)
We are pleased to announce an extension in the abstract submission deadline for the 2008 Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference, incorporating GISSA 2008, being held from 29 September to 3 October, in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. This is due to the fact that there was a glitch with the online submission process which appeared to be already closed for submissions yesterday, the 12 of May on the last day of submissions. Thank you to those of you who informed us, so that we could rectify the problem. I apologize for the inconvenience caused. As a result we have extended the date for the submissions of abstracts to Friday the 23rd of May 2008. Please endeavor to submit your abstract as soon as possible. We believe that we have ironed out the glitch in the system. In summary the following still applies:

Academic Track

This year we are thrilled to host the first academic track for peer reviewed papers at FOSS4G. The date for submission of abstracts to the academic track is now 23 May 2008. Abstracts have to be 500-600 words in length, please ensure that these are long enough as abstracts which are too short will automatically be disregarded. These will be reviewed by the Program Committee of the academic track of FOSS4G 2008. You will be notified of acceptance or otherwise on or before 17 June. If your abstract is accepted for the academic track, you have to submit a full paper by 18 August 2008 for inclusion in the proceedings. The Programme Committee will compile a short list of high quality papers addressing substantial research questions. Authors of these papers will be invited to submit a revised paper in response to reviewer comments and suggestions for inclusion in the South African Computer Journal.

Presentation Track

The date of submission for abstracts of 500-600 words to the presentation track is now the 23 May 2008. The abstracts submitted to this track will be chosen by an open community process. You will be notified of acceptance or otherwise on or before 17 June. If your abstract is accepted for the presentation track then you will be required to submit your presentation by 18 August 2008 for inclusion in the CD proceedings.

Poster Track

Due to the demand for posters we have included a poster track to the conference. Should you wish to display a poster at the conference, please submit a short abstract of no more than 150 - 300 words detailing the topic and content of your proposed poster. The deadline for the poster abstract submission is Monday the 30th of June 2008. You will be notified of acceptance or otherwise on or before the 21st of July 2008. Posters will be selected based on their relevance to the conference topics as space is limited. Posters must be an AO landscape or A1 portrait size in order to fit on the poster boards. Please indicate your proposed poster size and orientation in the abstract (AO landscape or A1 portrait). Important Dates

Submission of abstracts (both general and academic tracks): 12 May 2008 has been extended to 23 May 2008

Notification of acceptance (both general and academic tracks): 17 June 2008

Submission of abstracts for posters: 30 June 2008

Notification of acceptance of posters: 21 July 2008

Submission of full papers / presentations: 18 August 2008

FOSS4G2008 Conference: 29 September – 3 October 2008

Submission Process

In order to submit an abstract please visit the www.foss4g2008.org website, and select Proposal Submission. This will take you to a login page, where you can enter your existing account information, or if you are new to the site, register for a user account before you can proceed. You will then be taken through a step by step process to submit your abstract. Please make sure that you select the correct track option.

''NOTE: To submit an abstract you will need to be logged in as an Author: From the User Home page, under Roles, select Authors. If you do not have a role of Author available then go to the “my profile” link and check the Author checkbox. You will then have an Author role under the User Home page.''

General Information

All FOSS4G 2008 papers/presentations take the form of 25 minute talks, with 5 minute question and answer sessions at the end. Anyone can submit a presentation or paper and take part in the conference as a presenter. Posters will be on display for the duration of the conference. Designated poster sessions are scheduled to take place on 30 September and 1 October 2008 between 12:00 and 13:00

Author guidelines for the formatting of the paper or presentation are available online on the conference website. Please note that your paper or presentation will only be included in the proceedings once your registration to the conference has been received in full. For more information, see the FOSS4G 2008 site: http://www.foss4g2008.org

Should you have any further queries that are not addressed on the website then please contact the following:

Technical Programme & submissions: Inge Netterberg [inge.netterberg@gmail.com]

Academic Track: Serena Coetzee [scoetzee@cs.up.ac.za]

General Track: Inge Netterberg [inge.netterberg@gmail.com]

Poster Track: Mandy Vickers [mandyv@mintek.co.za]

CFP reminder and workshop update (Posted 2008/05/09)
Subject: FOSS4G 2008 CFP reminder and workshop news

Free and Open Source Geospatial 2008, Cape Town, South Africa. September 29 - Oct 3 2008. incorporating GISSA 2008.

Reminder: The paper / presentation submission deadline is May 23(was 12 May). Go to http://www.foss4g2008.org and click on 'Call for Papers'.

Early-bird registration closes on 20th June(was 15th June), so register soon!

FOSS4G is renowned for its hands-on workshops and labs. 2008 is no exception. The Workshop/labs track has been going well in terms of submissions. We have (as of 9th May 2008) 26 interesting and relevant submissions to choose from, ranging across a wide spectrum of GIS topics. Desktop GIS (with spatial analysis and geovisualization to the fore) is a common theme and there is a strong representation from the broad Internet GIS field (web map servers, rich internet applications/web clients, OGC web services). Themes also making an appearance are geoportals, metadata, spatial ETL and the use of spatial databases. There is also some focus on programming/scripting. The emphasis is heavily on showing what is possible with FOSS4G through practical "how-to's", getting software/services up and running quickly and trying them out. Many of the workshops emphasise the excellent Java-based tools and frameworks.

90 minute Labs are included in the core conference package. Register for the full 5 day package and get to attend up to three 4 hour workshops free!

Submit your abstract soon. Come and have a bash in Cape Town.

Gavin Fleming FOSS4G 2008 Conference Chair www.foss4g2008.org

PS: Please distribute this notice widely, blog about FOSS4G 2008, add a banner to your website.

FOSS4G2008 Call for Workshops and Labs - Deadline 30 April 2008''' (Posted 2008/04/23)
Subject: FOSS4G2008 Call for Workshops and Labs - Deadline 30 April 2008

NOTE: deadline has been extended to May 23 2008

The deadline for submission of workshop proposals for the FOSS4G2008 (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial) conference is a week away! If you are considering submitting a workshop/lab proposal, for the 2008 conference, which is being held September 29 - October 3 in Cape Town, South Africa, then please make your submission before or on 30 April 2008.

All workshop/lab submissions are welcome and no restrictions are placed on topics for workshops, but we expect interest to be high for workshops on:

Practical Introduction to ________________ Interoperability Exposure to a Software Stack Fitting FOSS4G into the enterprise Using FOSS4G to solve __________________ In addition, FOSS4G plays strongly in emerging spaces, so Workshops/Labs with NeoGeography-like themes, or on new directions, will be welcome and are likely to be fresh topics for many attendees.

Workshops and Labs are hands-on events, with participants seated in front of computers and able to follow along with the instructor, working directly with the software and applications under discussion. There will be two computer labs with close to 50 computers each, with two people per computer. So your audience will be close to 100. Depending on your input we are still flexible about operating systems and other choices, so whatever your idea, submit a proposal.

For further details about the workshop/lab submission process please visit the Call for Papers page on our website to receive instructions for submitting a Workshops/Lab proposal: http://conference.osgeo.org/index.php/foss4g/2008/shedConf/cfp

The deadline for Workshop/Lab proposals submission is 30 April, 2008. You will hear whether your proposal has been accepted by 16 May, after which you will be required to register for the conference to confirm your attendance, as well as subscribe to the conference workshops mailing list (http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference-workshops), which will be the forum for discussing your Workshop/Lab development, progress, and logistics with the Workshop Committee, members of the OSGeo community, and fellow Instructors.

SUMMARY OF ALL IMPORTANT DATES FOR FOSS4G2008:

23 May 2008: Deadline for submission of proposals for workshops and labs (was 30 April)

23 May 2008: Deadline for submission of abstracts (was 12 May)

6 June 2008: Notification of acceptance of workshop/lab proposal (was 16 May)

17 June 2008: Notification of acceptance of abstracts

18 August 2008: Deadline for submission of presentation / papers for the proceedings

1 September 2008: Deadline for submission of posters

Sponsors & Exhibitors: registration now open

Important dates for registrations: Early bird registrations: closes June 20, 2008 (was June 15) Online registration: closes September 15 2008 Late registration opens September 16 - September 28 2008 (was September 29) On-site registration opens September 29 2008

Conference Dates September 29 - October 3 2008

FOSS4G 2008 Registration and Calls for Papers and Workshops (Posted 2008/04/04)
Subject: FOSS4G 2008 Registration and Calls for Papers and Workshops

If you attend just one GIS conference in 2008, make it FOSS4G 2008! It promises to be the highlight of your year.

The 2008 Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference, incorporating GISSA 2008, is on the horizon.

WHERE: Cape Town, South Africa, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Cape Town is one of the Top 5 worldwide tourist and conference destinations. WHEN: Monday 29 September to Friday 3 October. Extend your stay with a holiday in beautiful South Africa and make the trip even more worthwhile.

Theme: "Open Source Geospatial: An Option for Developing Nations"

FOSS4G is presented annually by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) and in 2007 gathered 700 developers and users of open source geospatial software as well as managers and decision makers from around the world to discuss new directions, exciting implementations, and growing business opportunities in the field of open source geospatial software.

Incorporation of GISSA 2008 this year opens FOSS4G to a wider field of GIS practitioners and decision makers. GISSA is the GeoInformation Society of South Africa and we want all players from South Africa to join their peers from around the world at this international event. Come and present your work, learn about Open Source GIS and participate in the FOSS-Proprietary debate.

South Africa's recent adoption of a National Open Source Policy in Government and the introduction of GIS into our school syllabus this year make FOSS4G an especially important conference for South Africa and other countries in a similar position.

Major features include Hands-on Workshops and Labs, Presentations and Academic Papers, a live Demo Theatre, large exhibition hall, Outreach activities, Technical visits and a great social programme including a gala dinner at Moyo in Stellenbosch.

Visit the website http://www.foss4g2008.org to find out more. Register or submit an Abstract or Workshop Proposal. This year there will be an Academic Track in addition to non-peer-reviewed presentations, catering for a wide range of topics.

Autodesk and Google have already come on board as sponsors. If your organisation is interested in supporting the conference or exhibiting, please download the Prospectus from the website.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in Cape Town!

Gavin Fleming FOSS4G 2008 Conference Chair www.foss4g2008.org

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