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CC : The Exchange

World's mapping experts look to the future at CC: The Exchange

Leading mapmakers from more than 40 countries charted a course to Southampton at the beginning of July 2005 for the inaugural meeting of CC: The Exchange, part of the continuing Cambridge Conference series.

Conference

Around 80 delegates spent three full days at the event, which was opened with a royal seal of approval by HRH The Earl of Wessex.

The visitors included the heads of national mapping organisations and other expert players in the field of geographic information. The conference provided an excellent networking opportunity to explore trends and challenges in both business and technology.

Lectures and workshop sessions covered issues as diverse as business risk, digital rights management, web services and the development of human resources.

In his welcome speech, the Earl told delegates: "This conference is about meeting the challenges you face today as map makers in this high tech, increasingly fast-paced world. The world may seem to be smaller in terms of communications but there's nothing like sitting down face to face."

The Earl's visit was in line with his broader international remit as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh Award International Council.

His speech was followed by a keynote presentation from David Spackman, Director of MapAction, a charity which provides rapid response mapping services in disaster areas and for development programmes. He explained how emergency mapping helped support the tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka at the end of 2004 and prepare the way for reconstruction of the affected areas.

The effects of globalisation on map-making agencies were discussed by Ordnance Survey's Chief Technology Officer, Ed Parsons, and Peter Dale, Honorary President of the International Federation of Surveyors.

There was a key focus on the business models of national mapping organisations in sessions led by conference chair Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, and Bengt Kjellson, Executive Director of National Land Survey of Sweden.

Nick Land, Head of EuroGeographics, facilitated a discussion on aspects of partnering with both government and the private sector. Zeljko Bacic, Director General of the Croatian National Mapping Agency, discussed investment management strategies.

CC: The Exchange was hosted by Ordnance Survey with help from an international advisory group. It followed feedback from the 2003 Cambridge Conference reflecting a desire among national mapping organisations for greater networking opportunities. That event was part of the four-yearly Cambridge Conference series which began in 1928 and traditionally attracted Commonwealth mapping organisations until its international scope was widened in the 1990s.

Gala dinner Sallie White, Ordnance Survey's International Engagement Manager, said: "CC: The Exchange has provided much food for thought across a spectrum of important business and technological issues. It has given experts who rarely meet the opportunity to share ideas and best practice, so helping them prepare for future challenges. It has also laid further groundwork for the next Cambridge Conference in 2007."
Alongside the conference itself was an exhibition of new technology from BAE Systems, BKS Surveys, Cadcorp, ESRI (UK), Infoterra, Omnicom Engineering, Oracle, Ordnance Survey, RICS, Simmons Aerofilms, Snowflake Software, Star-Apic and Tenet.

The main agenda was also complemented by a social programme which began with a Civic reception hosted by the Mayor of Southampton at the city's historic maritime museum. There were visits to the UK Hydrographic Centre in Taunton, the Land Registry in London and the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency in Berkshire. Delegates also went to Southampton University's Oceanography Centre to see how geographic information is used in marine and earth sciences. The programme ended with a gala dinner at the Rhinefield House Hotel in the New Forest.

Among the news organisations covering CC: The Exchange were Associated Press, Spanish National Radio, and Deutsche Welle, the German international news organisation. Magazines included GeoConnexion International, GiSProfessional and Geomatics World. Journalists also attended from Southampton's main newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo, and the local news and pictures agency, Solent News.