Conference Details
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Welcome to the Web site for Geomatics Atlantic 2009
Please note, online registration and accomodation can now be booked at the following site. Geomatics Atlantic (GA) is the premiere professional meeting for the geomatics sector in Atlantic Canada. This year will be an especially wonderful and invigorating time as professionals from three groups will join under the GA banner – The Canadian Cartographic Association (CCA), the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA) and the Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia (GANS). This is the first time that three groups have sought to join together and use the GA as an opportunity to meet and share experiences, concerns and get to know new people or renew old friendships. Under the theme "Geomatics: The World for Everyone", we will see speakers covering new developments in Web based mapping, areas of privacy concern online, cartographic problems and possibilities in the online mapping world, and simply put, how do people view making their own "worlds" online using whatever it is we call it (GIS, Web maps, cartography). The perspectives, diverse but overlapping, of the various professions related to geomatics will be sure to make this a most memorable and key event to participate in. As the conference nears, you will find little gems added to the site (check at least each week!). Some of the information we will provide is of the more "serious" nature; venue, registration, bookings, program, etc. Some of this site will be devoted to giving you a "taste" of the Town of Wolfville and the Annapolis Valley where the conference is situated. And don't worry, we have ordered some very fine weather which will be arriving on the 5th of June and departing on the 16th. The Geomatics Atlantic Committee, with members from all associations, is pleased to host each and every delegate and warmly invites you to a very enjoyable time in Wolfville, Nova Scotia! Nova Scotia has a rich multicultural fabric that is very deep in historic terms as this region is one of the first permanent settlements by Europeans in Canada, and in North America. We have seen immigrants land on our shores first before moved on to other places and opening up our frontiers, and we have seen those who fled wars come here for refuge. Sadly, we also have parts of our history that have created wounds that are thankfully healing as we move forward as one society of many nations and cultures. Nova Scotia is vibrant, beautiful and small enough to go from one part to another with ease and with enough time to enjoy the sights, sounds, and people. While we know you are coming here for one event, and costs are high and our economy is not in the best shape it has been in some time, we suggest you consider using this time for a vacation to either learn of Nova Scotia for the first time, or stay again so we can say hello and welcome you once more. As we say in Gaelic, Ciad Mille Failte (One hundred thousand welcomes). and as our Mi'kmaq First Peoples say - Pjila'si (welcome) Bienvenue – L'Acadie et Grand-Pré (welcome to the Grand-Pré historic site of the Acadian people) Wilkommen to our Mennonite communities PS: A few things to note – Woflville is the first Fair Trade Town in Canada and has been at the forefront of many innovative green policies (including the first Town to ban smoking in cars when children are present). Citizens of Wolfville pride themselves on being concerned and active citizens, and you can note this at their farmers market and in many of the local church activities and focus on active green spaces and social concerns. In keeping with that, and the concerns of the geomatics community in Nova Scotia, we would urge you to look at using carbon offsetting as a means to counter the release of carbon due to travel to the conference. We will provide links to those things of interest should you be staying longer, as well as some of the critical information for your stay with us now. |
 Image credit: Flickr user rclonewolf82 CC. |
