GeOnG 2010

1/ Intro 

     In the town of Manaus, in the North of Brazil, a very famous brand of cell phones has developed software for collecting data with the aim of fighting against the sickness of dengue ⁽¹⁾.  In Haiti, a girl sends a SMS with her laptop to a Website to inform that her neighbour is trapped under the rubble of his house ⁽²⁾.  At the same time, a group of taxi drivers in Ghana are in charge of analyzing samples of urban air ⁽³⁾, and in Kenya an elephant called Kimani save his life sending a message SMS with his location ⁽⁴⁾.

     These are some examples of how mobile technology is revolutionizing the work of many organisations which find in these devices, not so expensive and accessible to everyone, a very handy tool to develop their projects in the different fields of action.  

     To know the real and potential possibilities of this technology can help organisations to find the best solutions to resolve the problems they must to face every day. This is one of the goals of GeOnG 2010, the 2^nd Forum of Geomatic for the humanitarian service, this year dedicated to data collection with the slogan: From the field to the floor – How to collect and process your information faster.

(1)    Nokia Data Gathering.(2)    Ushahidi. (3)    Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use. United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation. (4)    Save the Elephants.

 2/ The Forum   

     In 2008 CartONG decides to create GeOnG, a Forum focused to mobilize the whole of the humanitarian participants interested in geographic information utilisation. On a scene with multiple actors, different sectors of the new humanitarian approach and technical difficulties, the need of coordination, standardisation and development of adapted techniques is of paramount importance. Moreover geographic information is getting indispensable to face with the multiple problems in the humanitarian sector. 

     So for this challenge, CartONG organise the first GeONG, the Forum of Geomatic for the humanitarian service, with the idea of federating organisations around this innovative pole de la geomatic. Two years later, the request of reorganizing a new meeting and working on a pair thematic /technology has evolved and we wish to answer to these needs coming of NGOs, United Nations and also Universities.  

 3/ From the field to the floor.

     This edition of GeONG will be dedicated to data collection over the field by mobile devices synchronized to date base for a fast diffusion of web services. With the slogan “From the field to the floor” we want to analyse how the new portable technologies are becoming important tools for the work of solidarity international organisations.  

     The traditional means of data collecting (paper form) present a series of disadvantage that the current devices achieve resolve. Intermediaries, mistakes, lost information in the way and long time between data collecting and processing are some reasons that make delay emergency decisions in the humanitarian field. 

4/ Objectives and program

     This Forum tries to be a meeting point for the actors from the humanitarian field. A place where we can meet each other, show our projects, share experiences, discover different ways of working, analyse the daily problems we find and identify the future challenges. That is to say, collaborating to improve our actions within the different contexts, humanitarian and developmental.  

 During two days the Forum will be divided in:

 -      Presentation of NGOs in the use of geographic data within their missions.

-      2 themes will be raised, the main one being the collection and circulation of data. The second one about training and associated services (reflections on E-learning platform).

-      Round tables.

-      Follow up on initiatives begun two years ago: Where we are and what progress.  

     A detailed plan for the conference is being prepared. The following subjects will present an outline of the key themes to be addressed:

 -      Mobile technology within the humanitarian field.

-      Collect data and manage information attributes.

-      Information quality.

-      Challenges posed by the use of geomatics for NGOs.

-      Use of geodata to optimise decision-making processes.   

5/ Participants

     Participants of GeONG 2010 will be members of NGO, United Nations and private sector. They must understand the humanitarian context and have experience in geomatics and GIS cartography. CartONG will select the participants.  

     French is the official language of the conference; however, some presentations will be conducted in English.  

6/ Sponsors

     By becoming our sponsor, you are supporting a project that will bring together several humanitarian organisations around a common goal, namely to provide support services to beneficiaries.   

     If you are interested on helping us with this forum, by financial contribution, material, logistic or working time, you could benefit of the following advantages: 

 High visibility of your company during the operation:

·         Apparition of your logo and description of your company through communications relating to GeOnG, the website and the site of the installation.

·         Citation of our partnership in the speeches made public: press, radio, television. ·         Tax deduction.

The option to enjoy the benefits by being associated with a humanitarian project. ·         For your internal communication.

·         For your external communication.    

7/ Meeting Point

Date: September 23-24, 2010

Location: Association Quartier Centre Ville, Chambéry (France)  

8/ Contacts

Surname :   Moya                    

Name : Juan José

E-mail : geong@cartong.org

Tel. : + 33 479 26 28 82