Dear fellow BeSpatial / urisa ontario members,

I am so excited to be your new President. I had to think back, but the last time I was President, it was of Maids Hall, Women’s residence at the University of Guelph a long, long time ago! I have been working the GeoSpatial field since Graduating from Sir Sandford Fleming in 1998. I have worked in GIS software with Avenza, cartographic map production at Western University, photogrammetric map production at Triathlon, and for the last 10 years, LiDAR business development with Airborne Imaging.  

My membership with BeSpatial Ontario, has always been a complement to my “day” job, especially through attending the AGM and various seminars over the years. I have been a member on and off for several years, however became Eastern Section Director in 2017. It has always been a way for me to stay connected with new technology and people in the industry. The key benefits of participating in an Ontario-focused geospatial and information community are to network with folks who have common challenges and share creative and new solutions to those challenges.

BeSpatial Ontario services include networking and knowledge sharing opportunities with colleagues and industry partners. Membership privileges include discount on events, complimentary webinars, regional events, and an annual program event and workshop with over 250 participants, BeSpatial Ontario works closely with partner associations such as AOLS, GoGeomatics, Go Open Data, MISA to provide added value program offerings.

During my two year term I would like to focus on 2 things:

1. I am passionate about helping new graduates be successful in their careers. Over the next two years I plan to help raise our profile with students, increase our student membership by at least 70 more. I would like students to have the opportunity to network within the community and make lasting relationship that will help them in their careers.
2. I am also interested in raising the profiles of our private sector  and consultant members. We need to hear about what you are doing in the GeoSpatial and information industry. I would like to see more webinars and seminars from these members, partnered with their clients, sharing their real time business solutions to others who would find value in the products and services available.

I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at one of our events.

Sincerely, 

Susan Muleme Kasumba

 

Back L to R:  Andrew Lyszkiewicz, Strategy & Outreach, Scott Barbacki, Communications, Mirjana Strajin, Programs, Melanie Wawryk, Western Section, Al Little, Immediate Past President, Kyle Murdoch, Northern Section  & Hanna Sjostrom, Member Services, 

Front L to R: Catherine Fitzgerald, President, Khas Selvarajah, Communications, Irene Rubinstein, Education, Dianne Adams, Finance, Susan Muleme Kasumba, Eastern Section, Sandra Crutcher, Executive Director & Jasna Filipovic, BeSpatial.

Missing: Brock Kingston, Northern Section, Jeremy Luymes, Web

The sun literally shone on this conference - it was the first day of true springtime weather in the Greater Toronto Area. The Communications, Culture and Technology building of the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, was an ideal venue for the day with its massive windows that let in lots of light and its easily accessible outdoor spaces. Appropriately for a meeting of spatial specialists, the interior layout of the building could be a fun challenge to one’s wayfinding skills.

President Catherine Fitzgerald led a brisk Annual General Meeting with an overview of URISA and its achievements during the past year, and a look ahead to its goals. President Fitzgerald also announced that URISA will be re-branded to BeSpatial with the launch of a new communications campaign. All committees will offer opportunities for members to participate in this new direction.

The conference had four themes:

• Data Driven Decision Making and Data Management
• GIS Strategy and Projects
• Open Data and Imagery
• Solutions Development

View Presentations 

There were 23 sessions in all and with each lasting 30 minutes, it was possible to attend a good mix of sessions according to one’s interests, with a lot of networking in between sessions.  Another option was to check out the exhibitions by Esri Canada, Teranet, Consortech, The Association of Land Surveyors, Cansel and First Base Solutions.

BeSpatial ‘18 wrapped up with awards and door prizes and transitioned to BeSocial ’18 at the UTM campus pub.

Be sure to complete the BeSpatial ’18 evaluation survey!  Your feedback will help us improve future events and can assist us in providing more value to the membership.

BeSpatial Evaluation Survey

Photos of BeSpatial ’18 can be downloaded from:

BeSpatial Photos

Mark your calendar for BeSpatial ’19 in May 2019!

Keynote Speaker

Tracey P. Lauriault of Carleton University presented the keynote “Towards an Open Smart City”.  A concept related to the Internet of Things, Smart Cities have large numbers of electronic data collection sensors throughout an urban area in order to better manage assets and resources.

This engaging talk covered the many complex issues emerging from the development of Smart Cities, particularly transparency, privacy and data residency.  Currently, city governments do not control their city’s smart grids.  Most of the technologies are developed and owned by private foreign corporations, who collect different data and have different data structures.  While Smart Cities present vast opportunities for better understanding and managing urban processes – everything from traffic flows to crime and safety – care must be taken to ensure that the data collected is stored and shared in appropriate ways.  Who governs the Smart City? is a question that has yet to be answered.

Professor Lauriault pointed out that all technology exists in a social, political and economic context, but is not necessarily suited to addressing social, political or economic problems.  Additionally there are concerns about public resources being diverted from social programs towards investments in Smart City technology.  Public-Private Partnerships may be an option for financing smart grids.

Calling for greater participation among geospatial professionals towards the development of Smart Cities, Professor Lauriault said they are by training ideal partners for the project.  Data management and spatial analysis are our mainstays, and so we will have insights into the best ways to leverage the new streams of data from smart grids.

Attendance at URISA Ontario events count for certification.

For more info: Visit GISCI

May 2017

Sandra Crutcher inducted in Ontario's GIS Hall of Fame 

Lou Milrad receives 2017 Exemplary Service Award

Our very own Al Little received the URISA.org Leadership award from incoming URISA.org President, Tripp Corbin on November 2, 2016 at the GIS Pro URISA International Conference in Toronto, Ontario.

Al has been involved with URISA both internationally and locally since 1993, and has served on the URISA Internal board of directors as well as the URISA Ontario board of directors as President, Past President, and Director of Finance. Congratulations and thank you Al!