[Taxacom] e-Biosphere 09 Conference on Biodiversity Informatics: Online conference forum and extended deadlines

[Schindel, David]

Dear Colleagues,
 
The e-Biosphere 09 International Conference on Biodiversity Informatics
(see www.e-biosphere09.org <blocked::http://www.e-biosphere09.org/> )
will take place in London on 1-5 June 2009.  The Conference will be
devoted to:

*	Highlighting the accomplishments and capabilities of
Biodiversity Informatics; 
*	Sharing information and demonstrations of databases and
software; and 
*	Gathering input from researchers and users on the directions
that Biodiversity Informatics should take in the next 5-10 years.

Input from the Conference will go directly into a two-day planning
meeting of major Biodiversity Informatics initiatives.  This input will
inform their R&D roadmap and help them develop priorities for
implementation and funding.
 
To enable the communities of researchers and users in Biodiversity
Informatics to prepare properly for the Conference, the organizers
announce:
 
1.  Creation of an Online Conference Forum (OCF).  The OCF will be a
web-based environment in which research and user communities can
interact, hold e-discussions, exchange documents, and communicate in
various ways.  It will become operational early in January 2009 and we
will send an announcement when it is ready for use.  The Forum will
begin with the following pre-constructed communities, but OCF
participants will be able to merge and split communities and to form new
communities.  

*	Developing world 
*	Conservation and land use
*	Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and economic development
*	Public Health
*	Ecology and ecosystems, environmental sustainability, climate
change
*	Taxonomic groups
*	Uses in public, K-12 and higher education
*	Basic biodiversity science research
*	Training in biodiversity informatics
*	Citizen science
*	A future road map for Biodiversity Informatics

One session at the Conference will be devoted to parallel discussion
sessions of the ten most active online communities.  These discussion
sessions will enable participants to finalize their vision of where
Biodiversity Informatics needs to develop.  These discussion groups will
be encouraged to submit group-authored Position Papers to the Conference
Proceedings volume.
 
2.  Extension of Conference deadlines.  The Conference organizers hope
that the OCF will stimulate lots of ideas and interactions that will
show up at the Conference as innovative poster abstracts, demonstrations
of databases and software, discussion groups, and side-events.  To let
this process of communication have the greatest possible impact,
Conference deadlines have been revised to the latest possible dates:

*	15 January 2009: Launch of the Online Conference Forum (OCF) 
*	1 March 2009: Deadline for submission of poster abstracts
<blocked::http://www.e-biosphere09.org/webforms/abstract>  and
applications for travel bursaries
<blocked::http://www.e-biosphere09.org/webforms/travel>  
*	1 April 2009: Deadline for applications for exhibit space and
database/software demonstrations
<blocked::http://www.e-biosphere09.org/assets/files/Exhibitors07Jul08.pd
f> 
*	15 April 2009: Deadline for proposals for discussion group
topics and side-events. 
*	1 May 2009: Conference registration deadline 
*	1 May 2009: Release of abstract volume 
*	1 May 2009: Realease of Third Conference Announcement with final
agenda 
*	1-5 June 2009: e-Biosphere 09 Conference 

Please send inquiries to inquiries.e-biosphere09 at si.edu
<blocked::mailto:inquiries.e-biosphere09 at si.edu> .  
 
Best regards and happy holidays -
 
David
 
David E. Schindel, Executive Secretary

Consortium for the Barcode of Life

202/633-0812; fax 202/633-2938; portable 202/557-1149

Email: SchindelD at si.edu <blocked::blocked::mailto:SchindelD at si.edu>  

CBOL WEBSITE: http://www.barcoding.si.edu
<blocked::blocked::http://www.barcoding.si.edu/>  

 

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