Before and After

Before PGIS 2005

PGIS 2005 is a component in a multi-phased initiative for enhancing the understanding and sustainable replication of the applications of PGIS to development. The event falls in line with the following initiatives:

• International Forum on Indigenous Mapping for Indigenous Advocacy and Empowerment, March 11-14, 2004 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;

• Special session at GISDECO ‘04 in Johor, Malaysia, May 2004;

• Installation of an Open Forum on Participatory Geographic Information Systems and Technologies (PPgis.net) www.ppgis.net;

• International Track at the 3rd Annual Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) Conference held on July 18-20, 2004 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA;

• Regional (Asia-Pacific) Community Mapping Network Workshop held in Manila on 8-10 November 2004.

Beyond PGIS 2005 – The Way Forward

The products of the conference will be consolidated as proceedings containing papers presented, conclusions and recommendations resulting from the working group and plenary. CIFOR and CTA will support their publication and wide dissemination via CD-R and electronic media.

In parallel and through a collaborative effort, the key findings and recommendations from this conference and preceding events will be developed into a broader-based multi-media resource kit on PGIS practice. This resource will be developed to meet the needs of a practitioner audience, especially directed towards appropriate ‘good practice’ for PGIS in South development situations. The kit will be co-published by CTA and a co-publisher to be identified.

Concurrently, and subject of financial resources being available, CTA, ITC and other development partners will further facilitate the establishment of regional networks of PGIS practitioners and stimulate the development of regional PGIS resource centres.