The 6th Annual Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Conference entitled "From Global to Local" was held in Budapest from September 17-19, 2002. The Hungarian Association for Geographic Information, affiliated with the European Umbrella Organization for Geographic Information, together with the GSDI secretariat, organized the conference.

More than a quarter of the world's nations participated; a record total of 225 delegates from 51 countries heard more than 80 presentations on a wide range of topics relating to the conference's "global to local" theme. The conference marked a turning point in the development of the GSDI organization. After six years of operating under the direction of an informal steering committee of representatives from global, regional, and national bodies in all parts of the world, GSDI was formally incorporated as a not-for-profit association in August 2002.

Esri President Jack Dangermond participated in the industry panel discussion, "Innovations in GI Technologies," and presented his vision on the spatial data infrastructure supporting technologies and the pivotal role GIS and geographic information play throughout the world.

The Global Map/GSDI Grant program to support the International Steering Committee for Global Mapping (ISCGM) and Global Spatial Data Infrastructure, which was launched in memory of Dr. John E. "Jack" Estes by Esri (see "Esri Launches Major Grant Initiative" in the Fall 2001 ArcNews) at the GSDI 5 Conference in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2001, has attracted interest from nearly100 mapping agencies worldwide.

Esri is underwriting the program with a comprehensive package of software, training, and support worth more than $9 million (U.S.). Approximately 150 grants valued at $60,000 (U.S.) each are being awarded to support the building of national spatial data infrastructures in countries around the world. Working with ISCGM/GSDI, Esri has designed and developed a custom training program to support the Global Map/GSDI Grant program. Until now, developing and publishing Global Map data required a great deal of time and effort. A three-week, hands-on course, Building and Publishing a National Basemap, has been designed to make the process of creating and publishing Global Map data easy to understand and accomplish. Upon completing the program, students will be proficient in the application of ArcGIS technology for the production of GIS data and map series to Global Map specifications. During the first quarter of 2003, the initial training programs are being offered at Esri headquarters in Redlands, California, and regional training sessions have been scheduled by the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, ITC in the Netherlands, and HNIT-BALTIC GeoInfoServisas in Lithuania.

"Esri is pleased to be in a position to offer comprehensive support for the development of national geospatial infrastructures," says Dangermond. "I believe that it is vital to achieving sustainable economic development throughout the world."

The GSDI-7 conference will be held in Bangalore, India, from February 2-6, 2004.

For additional information on the Global Map/GSDI grant program, visit www.esri.com/gsdi on the Web.