Philippines to host Esri Asia Pacific User Conference in January 2011
The Esri Asia Pacific Conference is a highly anticipated event for geographic information systems in the region. It will be hosted in the Philippines by Esri Inc. (Environmental Systems Research Institute) and Geodata Systems Technologies, Inc. on January 26-27, 2011 at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City.
With the theme âOne Community, One Mapâ, the conference will highlight the need for national and community mapping programs that can provide a common map framework by which organizations can build and share consistent, authoritative, current physical, social, political, cultural, economic and environmental information for any geographical area of interest or community. The results of such mapping programs can provide limitless possibilities for knowledge-based sustainable progress, whether in planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluation or research by governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations, academe. It also opens up limitless possibilities for engaging citizens in community or nation building by making these geographic information systems and data available for access and use by them.
These will be highlighted through key events spread over the two-day conference, including executive forums, technical tracks, industry sessions, customer testimonials, a demo theater and map gallery. There will be an exhibition featuring global and local players of the GIS market.
Moreover, this annual gathering of geographic information system (GIS) experts will be graced by the founder and president of Esri, Jack Dangermond, who will be the key speaker in the Senior Executive Forum. This forum will provide opportunities for CEOs and COOs to exchange ideas and know-how in a roundtable discussion on the national and economic impact of âOne Community, One Mapâ.   Dangermond  is one of the founding fathers of GIS technology and is considered to be one of the most influential people in GIS. He has received numerous awards including Global Citizen Award by the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association and the National Geographicâs Alexander Graham Bell Medal.
As defined in the www.esri.com, a GIS integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. GIS allows users to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.
According to Francisca Nasol-Dayrit, executive vice-president of Geodata Systems, GIS has now become part of mission critical ICT solutions for many of the economic and environmental challenges happening today and anticipated in the future.
âUndoubtedly, GIS has become one of the fast-growing technologies being adopted by nimble and quick-thinking enterprises and public services in a rapidly changing and challenging world,â said Dayrit. âThe beauty of GIS is that it gives a new dimension to seeing everything which has a location or addressâit becomes vital information.â
With this conference, Dayrit is hopeful that participants will learn how users in different organizations  have used GIS successfully  to solve problems and improve processes. She stated that participants will learn from their peers the best practices and how GIS is implemented in industries, organizations and communities.
âEducation and awareness on GIS is still key, which is why we really make it an effort to come up with mediums and venues where users can learn more about the benefits of GIS,â said Dayrit.
Esri and Geodata are expecting to see key GIS users not only from the Philippines but from the rest of the Asia and the Pacific countries as well.
Interested parties may register online at http://eventsatwork.com/geodata.html or e-mail duly accomplished form to geodata@eventsatwork.com.
Editorial Contacts:
Justine Bonilla
Dominguez Marketing Communications Inc.
E-mail: Justine.bonilla@dominguez.com.ph
Direct: 897-7088 ext. 107