The 6th annual GBIF Science Symposium - Biodiversity, humans and global change in Africa

The public is welcome to this GBIF event. PUBLIC PLEASE REGISTER by clicking the "I will attend" button at right. If you are a Governing Board or GBIF Committee member, you do NOT have to register here, as your Science Symposium attendance should be recorded in the Governing Board meeting registration system.

Agenda and supporting papers will be posted shortly.

GBIF and the University of Kansas (Biodiversity Research Center), Universidad Autonoma Nacional de México (UNAM), the University of Warsaw, and the Polish Biodiversity Information Network (PBIN/KSIB) are organizing the 4th GBIF Ecological Niche Modeling Worshop. This training event will take place 26-30 November at the University of Warsaw, Poland.

Participants have been selected from among candidates nominated by GBIF Heads of Delegations. Information about the venue, lodging and other particulars is available to the Participants at this link.

All information about this meeting is available at:

http://www.atree.org/gbif_enmw_2006.html

This meeting is organised by DIVERSITAS, GBIF and GTOS in close partnership with the GEO Secretariat, in the context of the implementation of the “Societal Benefit Area” of GEOSS on Biodiversity.

GBIF has been mandated by GEO to implement GEOSS Task BI-06-03, with goals described in the 2006 work plan of GEO as follows: "Initiate the development of a strategic plan for capturing historical biodiversity data from natural history collections and the research community".

The outcome of the meeting would be an outline and preparations for a prioritized strategic plan for data digitization. The workshop would derive experience from and make linkages to other GEOSS Biodiversity tasks. There would be increased understanding of the IT requirements for linking GBIF in-situ ("ground truth") data with remote sensing data, and assessment of how ongoing and planned activities of GBIF and other GEOSS participants jointly contribute to the task.

This meeting is by invitation only. Contact the organiser if you have questions.

This one day training workshop on GBIF basic technologies for data providers will be given during the SPNHC - NSCA Joint Meeting 23-27 May 2006.

During the workshop attendees will learn the basics of how to install a DiGIR data provider, how to connect it to database, how to map their local data model to the Darwin Core 1.2 standard, how to register the data provider with GBIF, and how to search data through GBIF data portal. Detailed agenda and prerequisites are given under the link below. The instructor is Giorgos Ksouris from the GBIF Secretariat.

The DiGIR network is designed to serve primary data on species occurrences derived from museum specimens and observational records. This training is designed to facilitate the development of a network of DiGIR providers serving primary data. In most instances these servers will be hosted by the Natural History Collections or other institutions that hold this type if data. It would be expected that trainees already have access to these types of data sets or are preparing to train others that are willing to serve this type of information.

More details about the entire meeting are given in http://www.msb.unm.edu/meetings/SPNHC-NSCA2006/. Attendees should register on the main website of this meeting. If you are only attending this workshop, the fee is $50 -- it is not necessary to register for the entire meeting.

The GB12 meeting on 2-4 April is open only to official delegates to the Governing Board and persons specifically invited by GBIF to observe the meeting. The Nodes meeting on 7 April is open for the members of that committee and for the observers.

The Fourth GBIF Science Symposium and the Ebbe Nielsen Prize ceremony on 5-6 April are open for the public.

For the programme, travel details, and registration visit the meeting web site, link below.

A draft XML schema for exchange and sharing of information on invasive alien species has been developed and is undergoing review, see http://wiki.cs.umb.edu/twiki/bin/view/IASPS/.

In order to prepare a technically sound information document for consideration at the Eigth Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD to be held 20-31 March, 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil, a four-night, three-day GISIN experts meeting will be held in the week of February 20-24 2006, in Agadir, Morocco.

The participants include members of the Taxonomic Databases Working Group, owners of international invasive species databases, and members of the Global Invasive Species Information Network and its Steering Committee.

GBIF is taking the steps to include invasive species checklists and observations among its data sources. GBIF will be represented in this meeting by Hannu Saarenmaa, who also is a member of the GISIN intering Steering Committee.

Financial support for travel costs is available normally for one attendee from each country in the region. Indian attendees cannot be funded through GBIF and should seek funding from national sources, if necessary. In order to be eligible, an application will have to be submitted on the attached form to training@gbif.org or fax +45-35321480 latest on 30 October 2005. For successful applicants GBIF will then send an invitation letter by 10 November 2005.

Attending this event without GBIF funding is also possible, but the application form will have to be sent also in this case. This applies in particular to the Indian attendees who can send application forms to the the local organiser S. Kumar even after the deadline indicated above.

This workshop is aimed at project leaders and senior researchers with good scientific and technical understanding of biodiversity data and information and with experience in building collaborative networks. Ideal attendees are national data coordinators and IT managers of natural history collections, environmental agencies, and other groups in possession and handling of biodiversity data including data that comes from biodiversity-related surveys.

Any questions regarding the event and the application procedure should be sent to training@gbif.org.

You cannot register for this training event on the TDWG site, so please register here, so that a place is reserved for you.

Attendees are requested to bring their own Windows NT2000 XP, or Linux laptops with wireless cards. Attending without a laptop is ok, but then you have to join someone with a laptop.

There is no cost in attending this event. The workshop will be given in English.

Speakers:

Lead by Annie Simpson (Chair, GISIN interim Steering Committee), the GISIN Symposium will include the following presentations:

• Hannu Saarenmaa (Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Denmark): "The Global Biodiversity Information Facility's Network as a Model for GISIN" [Abstract]
• Silvia Ziller (Horus Institute, Brazil): "The Global Invasive Species Programme as partners in the GISIN" [Abstract]
• Pam Fuller (U.S. Geological Survey): "NISbase: A Distributed Database System" [Abstract]
• Andrea Grosse (U.S. Geological Survey, IABIN-I3N): "Integrating Information Sources on Invasive Species in the Americas" [Abstract]

The Conference is part of the ongoing global effort to curb the loss of biodiversity by 2010 and ensure the long term conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that genetic resources can yield.

The course has now been confirmed, and will take place as announced. The trainees should go ahead and make their travel arrangements.

Highlights from the agenda:

• Day 1: General introduction to the GBIF information system. Installation of the PHP DiGIR provider.
• Day 2: Use of GBIF Data Portal. Installation of the Python DiGIR provider and GBIF Data Repository Tool (morning). Installation of the BioCASe provider (afternoon).
• Day 3: Installation and use of the BioCASe data provider (morning).

There is no cost to attend this course, but normally trainees will have to cover their own travel. Financial support is available on a limited basis to selected trainees to attend this course. See the link at the bottom of this page on rules and guidelines.

If you are attending at your own (institution's) cost, just register by clicking the button [I will attend]. If you apply for financial support, send GBIF the application form, and GBIF will register you after your application has been successfully processed.

1. Larry Speers @gbif.org (*) – Building a Species Level Global Biodiversity Information Infrastructure
2. Klaus Riede @uni-bonn.de (*) – Semantic Enrichment: Making Biodiversity Databases meaningful
3. Karl-Heinz Lampe @uni-bonn.de (*) – Digitized insect specimen access: new digitization tools
4. F. Christian Thompson @sel.barc.usda.gov (*) – From species pages to taxon web sites: Using the Linnaean hierarchy to solve today's biodiversity informatics needs
5. Robert A. Morris @cs.umb.edu (*) – New directions in image management.
6. Chris Lyal @nhm.ac.uk and Anna Weitzman @nmnh.si.edu (*) – The Biologia Centrali-Americana Centennial: a vision for digital access to taxonomic information.
7. Ian Naumann @affa.gov.au (*) – The Australian Plant Pest Database: its role in emergency management, market access and biodiversity studies
8. Pjotr Naskrecki @conservation.org – Defying the taxonomic impediment – the role of global taxonomic catalogs and the E-type Initiative.
9. Christoph Häuser @gmx.de – Taxonomic Databases, type specimens, and a global information system for butterflies: the GART/GloBIS project.
10. Dan Rosauer @deh.gov.au - Applying biodiversity data: a continental system for heritage assessment based on richness and endemism

1. Lundi: Présentation générale du GBIF ; les participants doivent aussi préparer une brève présentation des collections et des bases de données que leurs institutions respectives sont susceptibles de rendre accessibles par le GBIF.

2. Mardi et Mercredi: Présentation du modèle de données Darwin Core et de l'interface DiGIR; formation pratique à l'installation de DiGIR, sa configuration et sa mise en oeuvre.

3. Jeudi et Vendredi : Présentation du modèle de données ABCD et du "wrapper" BioCase ; formation pratique à l'installation du "wrapper" BioCase, sa configuration et sa mise en oeuvre.

Le GBIF invitera et prendra en charge les frais d'un ingénieur désigné par le responsable du Point focal du pays ou de l'organisation participant pour assister à cette formation. En outre un petit nombre de personnes de pays "observateurs" (qui ne sont pas encore des participants cotisants au GBIF) seront aussi invités.

La date-limite pour appliquer l'aide financière pour cet événement a passé. Merci d'envoyer les applications. Des invitations seront envoyées aux délégués et aux observateurs officiels énumérés ici autour 22 mai. D'autres peuvent s'enregistrer pour s'occuper à leur propre coût jusqu'à ce que la pièce soit remplie.

GBIF will be represented by Meredith Lane (ISBER) and Larry Speers (SPNHC).

Do so by clicking on "I will attend". Then, you need to fill in ONLY your given and family names. Your e-mail address, should you choose to provide it, will remain entirely confidential (we ask for it so that we can notify you in case of changes in the schedule).

From the pick list, choose "Attendee" or "Speaker". Then click "Submit". You do NOT need to register with CIRCA or provide any of the other information.

Governing Board and Committee members (NODES, Science Subcommittees, etc.), please do NOT register here, but rather in the GB8 registration area.

To facilitate this, NBII is offering a two day workshop on "Becoming an NBII-GBIF Data Provider." The workshop will cover the DiGIR Communications Protocol, the Darwin Core metadata schema, software and hardware requirements, and how to crosswalk your database schema. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their organization's database for live demonstration and one-on-one troubleshooting. The intended audience is an organization's database administrator, or a department's IT and/or systems personnel.

Date: April 27-28, 2004
Location: Center for Biological Informatics, Denver, Colorado
If your organization is interested in participating in the training, please contact Nichole McNeely at 703.648.4360 or nmcneely@usgs.gov.

NBII seeks to provide access and highlight US collections, in order to represent them and their needs to GBIF (http://www.gbif.org/) and the international community. To facilitate this, NBII has established an "NBII-GBIF portal" for data providers, displaying data from participating US institutions/organizations. The portal can be found at http://gbif.nbii.gov

Brief Agenda

• April 25th: Pre- meetings (Science Committee, Budget Committee and Executive Committee)
• April 26th: GB8 business meeting
• April 27th & 28th morning: Science Symposium
• April 28th afternoon: Plenary for Science Subcommittees and NODES Committee
• April 29th: Science Subcommittees and NODES breakout sessions
• April 30th morning: Science Subcommittees and NODES plenary
• April 30th afternoon: Post-meetings (Science Committee, Executive Committee)

GBIF will be represented at the event by Hannu Saarenmaa.

This training event is aimed at GBIF Nodes in subsaharan Africa and adjacent regions. The arrangements for this workshop have now been completed, attendees have been invited and are receiving their final logistical details. We can no longer accept more participants, except from South Africa.

This workshop will span over four days:

1. On the first day, there would be a Steering Committee meeting of the South African Biodiversity Information Facility (SABIF), as the South African Node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, as well as for welcoming GBIF delegates from around the world and other participants in this workshop.

2. The second day, the various aspects of GBIF would be covered in general introductions. The attendees, in particular the observers will tell about the databases and biodiversity information management in their countries in a round table. The new GBIF data portal will be demonstrated. A technical overview of GBIF data architecture will be given to bridge towards the remaining days.

3. The third day will be used for technical training on GBIF registry and data provider tools and techniques. Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

4. The fourth day will be an optional workshop where trainees' own databases would be used and modified for being suitable for Internet access.

GBIF has invited and will cover the costs one technical person designated by the GBIF Country Node Manager to attend this meeting. In addition a small number of people from observer countries in the region have been be invited to this event. See the application form below on how to apply for funding.

(Page updated 2004-03-10.)

DanBIF, the Danish National node of GBIF, hosts a conference on Molecular Biodiversity, Copenhagen, Denmark, March 11-12, 2004. The main purpose of the conference is to explore, evaluate, and discuss the following issues: - What is molecular biodiversity? - Bridges between molecular biodiversity and other levels of biodiversity. - How do we manage molecular biodiversity? - What may we gain by connecting the different fields of biodiversity science?

We invite you to access to these contents, and to subscribe to the e-conference, in the following URL: http://www.enbi.info/forums/ec2.

Best regards, ENBI Forums Administration

GBIF is pleased to announce its forthcoming Experts' Meeting on biodiversity data, databases and property right issues to be held 1-2 March in Madrid, Spain. This event is being organized with the support of the Spanish Node of GBIF.

The experts will examine on-going experiences, best practices and alternative approaches in the field of property rights as they relate to biodiversity data and databases. They will also address options that GBIF Participants may consider before they provide electronic biodiversity data freely and openly via the Internet. In that regard, the proposed GBIF Data Use and Data Sharing agreements will be also discussed and analyzed.

A background document has been prepared for the meeting. In addition, other relevant publications will also be considered.

This experts' consultation will take place within the framework of paragraph 8 of the GBIF Memorandum of Understanding (see MoU Paragraph 8).

For further information please contact Beatriz Torres.

The Role of Science in the Information Society (RSIS) conference is in part a response to that challenge. Together with the International Council for Science, the Third World Academy of Sciences, and UNESCO, CERN is organising the event on behalf of the world's scientific community. Held in Geneva on the 8th and 9th of December, 2003, RSIS will review the prospects that present developments in science and technology offer for the future of the Information Society, especially in education, environment, health, and economic development. This event will bring together scientists, policy makers and stakeholders from around the world to develop a vision for how information and communication technologies can be applied for the greater benefit of all. The conference will produce a declaration and an action plan, which will feed into the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held 10-12 December in Geneva.

As an international, intergovernmental physics laboratory with 20 European member states and formal cooperation agreements with over 30 nations around the world, CERN is ideally suited to host RSIS. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while at CERN to enable scientists around the globe to work together effectively, and CERN then made the technology freely available to the global community, an enormous step toward democratizing the flow of information. One component of the RSIS discussion will be how to apply lessons learnt from the history of the Web and other information and communication technologies.

Based on the USGS/US NBII FGDC CSDGM Train the Trainer program, as a participant, the participants will learn what it takes to become a successful environmental technical instructor in the latest environmental information management standards and programming techniques.

Provided in English, French, and Spanish, days one and two will focus on state of the art instructional techniques in an exciting fast-paced workshop. On day three, participants will break into small classrooms to get in-depth training on the environmental information management technique or standard of their choice.

Also trainees from other than GBIF participant countries and organisations are welcome to attend and register here. GBIF may be able to cover the costs. Inquire with helpdesk@gbif.org.

GBIF's DiGIR training workshop will take place on November 19. On November 17-18, there will be a biodiversity informatics course organised by INBio.

Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

It is held during the annual TDWG meeting.

Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

After the training on the GBIF -supported DiGIR package, there will be another session on installation of the BioCASe wrapper. That session runs from 14-18 hours.

Others who may be present in Tsukuba for GB7 and NODES4 meetings will be accommodated if space allows, but will not necessarily have access to training computers, and should really consider attending a course in their own region. Getting a full benefit of this course requires technical skills -- see the course description from "see the agenda" below.

Please use the main GB7 registration form to register for this course. Link below. (Please ignore the automatically inserted line on occupancy below -- registration is not on this page, but on the GB7 pages.)

Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

Register from the GB7 web pages (follow the link under "agenda" below).

Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

This event is hosted by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN). Canadian museums work together to strengthen our collective ability to create, present and manage Canadian online content. This collaboration has resulted in CHIN's internationally valued Web site for heritage professionals, and the highly successful portal, the Virtual Museum of Canada.

On the day before you may attend the Nordic GBIF information day (held in Scandinavian languages).

Implementation of the GBIF network requires knowing how to use the various software tools. The most basic requirement is to set up a node and operate a data provider application on a server computer. GBIF's standard for data provision is the DiGIR protocol. This course covers installation of the DiGIR provider on both Windows and Linux platforms.

• Session 1: Sharing biodiversity information (10 - 21 September 2003)
• Session 2: Biodiversity information: What services are needed and how the data providers should supply them? (15 - 21 September 2003)
• Session 3: General discussion about most relevant topics arisen in the previous sessions (22 - 28 September 2003)

More information and guidelines to participate in the Agenda below.