Meeting Note: Japan Viet Nam Geoinformatics Consortium (JVGC)

I am passing along to these lists my notes of an informal meeting
on GIS with this excellent academic (and business) group. The organisation
which is already well-established in Viet Nam deserves even greater
recognition. In support of still better networking!
And thanks to Drs Hien and Raghavan.
Vern

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Meeting Note: Japan Viet Nam Geoinformatics Consortium (JVGC)
http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/jvgc/
Thuy Tien Hotel, Ha Noi 22 February 2003 10:00 - 11:45

[this note has not been approved by the participants - please correct errors to me]

This was an informal meeting among representatives of JVGC, most of
whom had presented papers at the September 2002 "GIS Ideas" International
Symposium in Ha Noi, a copy of the Proceedings of which I received (350 pp, 70 papers
and posters). http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/gisideas/

It was organised on short notice and with many thanks to Dr Hoang Minh Hien
who is working with the UNDP funded DMU project and Dr Venkatesh Raghavan.

Note that two Vietnamese GIS software development companies attended this
meeting as well, demonstrating the existing capacity of local industry.

Dr Raghavan listed some future activities of JVCGC

- February 2003 Workshop & Tutorial on Open Source Software Tools for Geoinformatics, AIT
http://www.ait.ac.th/digital_gms/GISWorkshop.asp
http://www.ait.ac.th/digital_gms/
- Flood and Storm Control 6 day Workshop (supported in part by DMU)
- September 2003 Expert Group meeting on Flood
- September 2004 2nd International GIS Ideas Symposium, Ha Noi
(the conference would like to include participants from Lao PDR and Cambodia as well
as other countries in the region).

A number of potential International funding sources were discussed.

I gave an overview of UNDP and the ICT for Development Initiative and the upcoming
round table meetings. I suggested that the scientific community, including GIS
specialists were important stakeholders in the Round Table process.

I expressed the opinion that we were interested in research in areas such as social
research, development aid funding and biological/taxonomic databases. [Papers in the
2002 conference covered some of these areas.] I neglected to mention that biological
databases and taxonomic collections is important in the context of globalization
and WTO accession, in which world-class facilities will be required.

Open source operating systems and software are one important component of the
activities, though not an overriding one. This issue was discussed. Downloading
and running these applications should have a support group for exchanging
information. Here, the emphasis was free GIS software such as GRASS but there are
also concerns about support for OS operating systems. Popularisation of open source
systems is for some very important both technically and commercially.

Mention was made to Dr Trinh Minh Thanh MD <tmthanh@yahoo.com> who has localised
Mandrake Linux and intends to use OS software in medical administration.

There was reference to the poor facility for universities to develop applications
involving students given low funding. Generally, more workshops and small targeted
funding should be considered.

Interesting reference to open source web-based map servers. These are available now.

We discussed ways to promote communications. JVGC has two email discussion groups,
one of which we intend to use more actively to develop collaboration within this
discipline. The nature of this list will be determined by its members. There
are many opportunities for networking.

The lists are at:
GIS Ideas (with about 200 subscribers):
http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/mailman/listinfo/gisideas/
Remote Sensing / Conservation Management:
http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/mailman/listinfo/rs_gis_cm/
[The last relates to a conference in October 2002
http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/rs_gis_cm/rs_gis_cm.html ]

I will post this message on the following three English language elists with the hope
of still further cross fertilisation, especially in vietnamese:

- OSS elist which is one of several available on the ISOC-VN website
http://www.isoc-vn.org/ managed by Stefan Probst <stefan.probst@opticom.v-nam.net>
Nguyen Van Binh and Joakim Lofkvist <joakim.lofkvist@telia.com>
- VNIT elist managed by James Do <jdo@pacificlinks.org>
- ksd-vn managed by Mr Vern Weitzel <weitzel@undp.org.vn>

WE ARE SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER AREAS OF SCIENCE WITH SIMILAR ICT ACTIVITY
AND SIMILAR NETWORKS. PLEASE CONTACT Vern Weitzel <weitzel@undp.org.vn>

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Present

Dr Venkatesh Raghavan
raghavan@media.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Osaka City University
Co-chair, JVGC

Dr Hoang Minh Hien
hmh@netnam.vn
Disaster Management Centre
http://www.undp.org.vn/dmu/
Co-chair, JCGC

Dr La Thanh Ha
laha@vkttv.edu.vn
Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology
Hydro-meteorological Service

Ass Prof Nguyen Ngoc Thach
nngocthach@hotmail.com
Faculty of Science
National University of Science - Ha Noi

Dr Nguyen Hong Duong
duong.nd@hn.vnn.vn
Dept. Environmental and Information Studies and Analysis
Insititut of Geography, NCSR

Ass Prof Nguyen Dinh Hoa
hoand@vnu.edu.vn
Information Technology Institute
Viet Nam National Universityn Ha Noi

Truong Xuan Luan
ttcnth@hn.vnn.vn
Ha Noi University of Mining and Geology

Mr Phan Hong
ek@hn.vnn.vn
Knowledge Informatics Company

Mr Nguyen Hoa Binh
peace@peacesoft.net
Peacesoft Solution Corporation
http://www.peacesoft.net

Mr Vern Weitzel
weitzel@undp.org.vn
UNDP
http://www.undp.org.vn

Apologies

Dr Boris Fabres
b.fabres@cgiar.org
World Fish Centre
http://www.worldfishcenter.org/
http://www.fishbase.org/

--

Vern Weitzel (Mr.), Webmanager
<weitzel@undp.org.vn> or <webmanager@undp.org.vn>
United Nations Development Programme
address: 25-29 Phan Boi Chau; Ha Noi, Viet Nam
postal address:
UNDP Viet Nam One UN Plaza New York, NY 10017 USA
UNDP Viet Nam Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva Switzerland
UNDP Viet Nam GPO Box 618 Bangkok, 10501 Thailand
tel: +84-4 942-1495 (ext 135) fax: +84-4 942-2267
http://www.undp.org.vn and http://www.un.org.vn
home address: Apartment 504-505, Block A4 Giang Vo
[opposite UN Int. School] tel: +84-4 846-1751
-------------------------------------------------
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