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Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic AssociationGet to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027
Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic Association
Get to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027

President’s Blog #5: Announcing New Dates for ICC2021

Dear ICA Colleagues,

What better way to celebrate the New Year than to announce that the International Cartographic Conference will take place December 14-18, 2021 in Florence, Italy. The change in dates reflects careful planning on the part of the Italian Cartographic Society’s Local Organizing Committee (LOC). It was originally scheduled for July 2021. We all can appreciate how difficult it is to plan the timing for a conference during the pandemic, especially when trying to maneuver the timing of an event that allows for an in-person conference. After much deliberation, the month of July was deemed too risky. The organizers and the ICA Executive Committee concluded and agreed to move the date five months later to December. With so much economic uncertainty, the LOC also planned for and have now settled on a new location in Florence for the event – The University of Florence. The University’s central location, accessibility, and facilities combine to meet all of the conference needs for the ICA.

The change in dates together with a new venue are the reasons for the recent uncertainty regarding published deadlines for papers, abstracts, and the International Map Exhibition. We expect that you will understand the many challenges faced by the LOC and the ICA Executive Committee when several fundamental assumptions in planning a large international event suddenly went amiss because of the pandemic’s long reach.

Announcing a Hybrid Conference Opportunity

The ICC2021 will be a hybrid conference – a chance to participate in person or via remote access. This is the first time that the ICA has offered such a choice. A hybrid event opens access to more participants and now makes it possible for those unable to travel or with limited resources to experience the benefits of an international cartographic event, as long as you have internet access. This is a recent decision and specific details are being formulated to help you decide on your attendance preferences. We anticipate that the hybrid option will highlight selected program content and will not include the full program. Conference registration rates will reflect these distinctions. As more details are decided, information will be posted to the conference website. Future President blogs also will highlight these options and opportunities on the ICA website.

Next steps for each of us

  1. Review the conference website for recent information on deadlines and details. Periodically check the website for updates and new information.
  2. Authors planning to submit a full paper for review have an approaching deadline of January 15. The organizers anticipate that those who are considering this option have been working on their paper to meet prior deadlines and can now submit their work for review by the ICC Scientific Program Committee. If a short extension is needed, please contact the Scientific Program Committee.
  3. The abstract submission deadline is March 26 for consideration either as a full paper in the Proceedings or as stand-alone published abstract. See the ICC website for details.
  4. Conference registration options will be decided soon and will be available to you.
  5. ICA Members (countries and affiliate members) who plan to submit cartographic examples for the International Cartographic Exhibition, see the guidelines at https://www.icc2021.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ICC_2021_Guidelines_201204_web.pdf.
  6. Sponsors, exhibitors, businesses, and associations that plan to have a presence at the ICC2021, please contact the LOC and check the conference website for details. This international conference is a great opportunity to make your mark in the rebirth of your enterprise coming out of the pandemic.

Contact LOC: https://www.icc2021.net/contacts/

I hope that this information has been informative and helpful. More information will follow but this is a great start for our collective efforts in 2021. I cannot explain to you how excited I am in looking forward to seeing you in Florence in December 2021. Until the next time…

– Tim Trainor
President of the International Cartographic Association

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