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Meetings

This page provides links to upcoming and past meetings, workshops and conferences organized or co-sponsored by CIESIN or its NASA-funded program, Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). For more information, please contact User Services or the appropriate CIESIN staff member.

   2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009–2000


2023
Nov 16‒17 Geography 2050: The Changing Map of Risk, Hazards, & Finance
Conference

This is the 10th annual symposium of the American Geographical Society, in partnership with the Columbia Climate School, as part of a multi-year strategic dialogue about the vital trends that will reshape the geography of our planet over the coming decades. This year’s themes: Climate Change and the Evolution of Extreme Risk; The Future of Exposure Mapping Techniques; Geospatial Technologies for Risk Modelling and Monitoring; The National Security Implications of Changing RiskScapes; Geography and the Future of Insurance Linked Securities (ILS); Underwriting, and Reinsurance; Spatial Finance: The Future Map of Public and Private Investment in Resilience, Justice, Equity, and Risk.

Partners: The American Geographical Society, with the Columbia Climate School, Columbia University
June 20–23
At What Point Managed Retreat? Habitability and Mobility in an Era of Climate Change
Hybrid Conference

The 2023 conference addressed a range of scientific, social, policy and governance issues around the concept of managed retreat—the intentional relocation of people and built structures away from coastline risks. The conference brought together stakeholders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, together with academics, scientists, and community representatives, to help develop a common understanding of this complex issue, and move the needle toward equitable solutions. A major emphasis was issues of environmental justice, in recognition that the people most impacted by decisions around retreat have a key role in these conversations.

Sponsor: The Columbia Climate School and the Earth Institute; organized by Columbia University’s Climate Adaptation Initiative

2022
Nov 17–18

Geography 2050: The Future of Food
Conference

The future of food on planet Earth is fundamental to the vital trends that will reshape the geography of our planet over the coming decades. In this year’s ninth installment of the Geography 2050 multi-year strategic dialogue, we will explore these topics and more, as we convene experts from government, industry, academe, the social sector, and geography educators from across the country to contribute their insights on our collective future.

Partners: The American Geographical Society, with the Columbia Climate School

2021
Nov
15–19

Geography 2050: Toward a More Equitable Future
Virtual Conference

This year’s symposium focused on the geographical dimensions of inequality, seeking to influence the trends shaping our planet’s future by critically examining the forces creating and reinforcing the landscapes of inequality, and address what can be done to mitigate those factors that impede human progress.

The American Geographical Society in partnership with the Earth Institute/Columbia University, Fund for the City of New York, OGC, and USGIF

June
22–25

At What Point Managed Retreat? Resilience, Relocation, and Climate Justice
Virtual Conference

Building on the success of the 2019 conference on managed retreat, the 2021 virtual conference addresses a range of scientific, social, policy and governance issues around the concept of managed retreat—the intentional relocation of people and built structures away from coastline risks. The conference will bring together stakeholders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, together with academics, scientists, and community representatives, to help develop a common understanding of this complex issue, and move the needle toward equitable solutions. A major emphasis will be on issues of environmental justice, in recognition that the people most impacted by decisions around retreat have a key role in these conversations.

Sponsor: the Columbia Climate School and its Earth Institute; organized by Columbia University’s Climate Adaptation Initiative

2020
Nov 16–20

Geography 2050: The Future of the World Ocean
Virtual Cconference

This year’s symposium focused on the life that oceans contain, humanity’s growing reliance upon ocean resources and maritime networks, and how ecological degradation of oceans impact the terrestrial earth and all its inhabitants.

Partners: The American Geographical Society in partnership with the Earth Institute/Columbia University, Fund for the City of New York, OGC, and USGIF
 
May
18–25

Population, Climate Change, and Food Security
Cyberseminar

A Webinar kicked off a cyberseminar May 18–25 organized by the Population, Environment, and Research Network (PERN) that is managed by CIESIN. The cyberseminar focused on analysis of the population-climate change-food security nexus using methodological tools and concepts in demography, geography, economics, systems analysis, and other related fields.

Sponsors: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and organized by IIASA, University of Minnesota, CUNY Baruch, CIESIN-Columbia University, Environmental Science for Social Chang), Population Council and Asian Population Research Center, and Escola Nacional de Ciências Estatísticas-ENCE. PERN is managed by CIESIN and sponsored by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center managed by CIESIN. Learn more at
https://populationenvironmentresearch.org.

 
2019
Nov
16–20

Geography 2050: Borders and a Borderless World
Conference—Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York City

The annual Geography 2050 Symposium brought together more than 300 participants to the Columbia University Morningside campus for a strategic dialogue on the influence of energy on geopolitics, environmental quality, transportation routes, conflict, standards of living, food production, technical innovation, and population movement over the next few decades. Keynote speakers were the Hon. Samantha Power of Harvard University and Vice Admiral Robert Sharp of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Sponsors: The American Geographical Society (AGS) and the Earth Institute

 
Sept 30–
Oct 2
Human Planet Forum
Conference— Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York
The second Human Planet Forum addressed topics such as the global definition of cities and rural areas, mapping of secondary and tertiary administrative boundaries, slum mapping, downscaled future scenarios of population and economic activity, and validation of human settlement and population data. 

Sponsors: CIESIN and the Human Planet Initiative of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)
 
June 19–21 At What Point Managed Retreat? Resilience Building in the Coastal Zone
Conference

Organized by the Climate Adaptation Initiative of the Earth Institute, the conference sought to address questions of when, and under what circumstances, communities should consider retreat from low-lying coastal areas versus o nsite measures such as hardened defenses, raised housing, or ecosystem-based approaches. CIESIN associate director for science applications Alex de Sherbinin co-chaired the conference with Lamont Associate Research Professor Radley Horton. Conference speakers discussed government policy, legal issues, buyouts, insurance schemes, and private sector responses, as well as case studies of retreat and out-migration. Innovative aspects of the program included a dramatic presentation by PowerPlay, a performance group from the University of New Hampshire that uses theater to address conflict issues, and a screening of the film Managed Retreat, which was followed by a discussion with the film’s director. On the final day, a tour by ferry of Edgemere, Queens, and Red Hook, Brooklyn, gave participants the chance to observe the geography of New York Harbor and its changing land uses, and the regional impact of Hurricane Sandy.

Sponsor: Climate Adaptation Initiative at Columbia University’s Earth Institute

 
May 31

Population on the Global Commons: New Perpectives
Seminar Series— the Population Council, New York City

In his lecture,microeconomist Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, first developed an account of the feedback and then pointed to a class of externalities that arise from the social-embeddedness of our preferences for both consumption and reproduction.

Sponsors: CIESIN, the Population Council, the Institute for Demographic Research of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the UN Population Division

 
Apr 30

Multiscale Population Projections for the US Consistent with Climate Scenarios
Seminar Series—the Population Council, New York City

The latest offering in the Population Dynamics and Environmental Change seminar series was a presentation by Leiwen Jiang, senior associate at the Population Council, on multiscale population projections for the U.S. The population scenarios are intended to help improve understanding of climate-related risks to populations, taking into account the impacts of migration between sub-regions. The seminar series aimed to explore links between people and their environments against the backdrop of rapid change.

Sponsors: CIESIN, the Population Council, the Institute for Demographic Research of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the UN Population Division

 
2018
Nov
15–16

Geography 2050: Powering Our Future Planet

The annual Geography 2050 Symposium, organized by the American Geographical Society (AGS) in collaboration with the Earth Institute, (EI), brought together more than 400 participants to the Columbia University Morningside campus for a strategic dialogue on the influence of energy on geopolitics, environmental quality, transportation routes, conflict, standards of living, food production, technical innovation, and population movement over the next few decades. Keynote speakers included Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who participated remotely due to weather delays. Earth Institute (EI) director Alex Halliday gave welcoming remarks on behalf of the EI.

Sponsors: The American Geographical Society (AGS), CIESIN, the Earth Institute, Fund for the City of New York, USGIF, and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

Sept 13

New Data on Urbanization and the Potential Implications for Cities
Seminar Series— the Population Council, New York City

United Nations (UN) Population Division staff members Francois Pelletier, Sara Hertog, and Danan Gu gave short presentations on the 2018 Revision to the UN's World Urbanization Prospects, the Population Division's city boundaries database, and exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards of the worlds major urban areas, respectively. John Wilmoth of the Population Division and Mark Montgomery of the Population Council then joined the presenters for a panel discussion. The seminar is part of an ongoing series.

Sponsors: CIESIN, the Population Council, the Institute for Demographic Research of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the UN Population Division

 
Jul
23–27

Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development
Summer Seminar—Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Fifteen graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Public Affairs at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, participated in the seminar, which addressed a range of topics including climate change impacts and adaptation, population dynamics, geospatial methods and data, and sustainability indicators. Presenters included CIESIN director Robert Chen, associate directors Alex de Sherbinin and Greg Yetman, research scientist Susana Adamo, and other CIESIN staff, together with Lamont Associate Research Professor Radley Horton and John Konarski, chief executive officer of the American Geographical Society.

Sponsor and organizer: CIESIN

 
Mar 20

Modeling the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Population Distribution and Migration
Seminar Series— Columbia University, New York City

In conjunction with the launch of the report Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration, Alex de Sherbinin, CIESIN associate director for Science Applications and one of the report's main authors, organized this seminar, the second in a series on population dynamics and environmental change. It featured preliminary remarks by Stephen Hammer, head of climate policy for the World Bank, followed by a presentation on modeling methods and results, and an expert panel moderated by CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy. The panel featured faculty and other experts from across Columbia, including Richard Seager from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Craig Spencer from the Mailman School of Public Health, and Sarah Rosengaertner from Columbia's Global Policy Initiative. Amali Tower, executive director of Climate Refugees, and Richard Balme, a visiting scholar from SciencesPo in France, also participated.

Sponsors: CIESIN, the Population Council, the Institute for Demographic Research of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the UN Population Division

 
Feb 28–Mar 1

POPGRID
Working Meeting—Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York; and the Population Council, New York City

More than 40 experts on mapping of human settlements, infrastructure, and population from a range of organizations participated in the second POPGRID working meeting. The meeting focused on the rapidly growing number and variety of georeferenced data products aimed at improving understanding of human settlement patterns, population distribution, and associated built infrastructure.

Organized by CIESIN, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Earth Institute

 
Feb 23

Lessons from DesInventar: A Critical Look at the Performance of Disaster Databases
Seminar Series —the Population Council, New York City

The first in a series of monthly seminars on population dynamics and environmental change featured a presentation by Mark Montgomery and Samir Souidi, which examined the performance of the DesInventar databases for selected countries and hazard types: floods, landslides, drought, and earthquakes.

Sponsors: CIESIN, the Population Council, the Institute for Demographic Research of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the UN Population Division

 
2017
Nov
16–17

Geography 2050: The Future of Mobility
Conference—Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York City

The Geography 2050 Symposium is a multi-year strategic dialogue addressing the vital trends reshaping the geography of our planet over the next several decades. Participants from government, industry, academia, and the non-profit sector participated in a series of thematic panels and sessions organized around exploration of the latest trends and innovative visions in sustainability across disciplines and sectors. The diverse roster of speakers from academia, business, and technology included Parag Khanna, author and global strategist; Lee Schwartz, the Geographer of the United States; James Arbib of RethinkX; and Patrick Hertzke of McKinsey Automotive. 

Sponsors: The American Geographical Society (AGS), CIESIN, the Earth Institute, GEO, USGIF and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

 
Feb
1–3

Settlements, Infrastructure, and Population Data
Technical Interchange Meeting—Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York and Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York City

Understanding where people live and where their buildings and other infrastructure are located is critical to improving health care and other essential services, reducing vulnerability to hazards, expanding access to markets, and supporting other aspects of sustainable development. Numerous public and private sector organizations around the world are working to produce geospatial data on human settlements, the built infrastructure, and population distribution, drawing on a growing array of data sources including satellite-based radar, night-time light sensors, and high-resolution imagery.

A meeting to address this focus, following up on an initial meeting held at SciDataCon 2016 in Denver, Colorado, was held with the aim of comparing methods, exploring opportunities to collaborate, and assesing how to make data more usable for a range of applications.

February 1–2, the meeting took place on the Lamont Campus (Comer Seminar Room), with more than 25 experts from academia, private companies, international organizations, and development agencies.

February 3, the meeting took place on Morningside Campus (Lerner Hall), where experts met with more than 15 representatives of stakeholder organizations, to identify user needs and priorities from the perspective of United Nations agencies, development organizations, funders, and other interested parties.

Facilitator: Robert Chen, CIESIN Director
Sponsor: Organized by CIESIN; supported by a Cross-Cutting Initiative grant from the Earth Institute and by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN

 
2016
Nov
17–18

Geography 2050: Envisioning a Sustainable Planet
Conference—Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York City

Nearly 300 participants from government, industry, academia, and the non-profit sector participated in a series of thematic panels and sessions organized around exploration of the latest trends and innovative visions in sustainability across disciplines and sectors. The Symposium featured keynote speakers Walter Scott, founder of DigitalGlobe; William Reilly, former EPA Administrator; Roger Sayre, USGS; Robert Cardillo, Director of NGA; and Lee Schwartz, Geographer of the United States.

Sponsors: The American Geographical Society (AGS), CIESIN, the Earth Institute, GEO, USGIF, and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

 
Sept 13

Settlement, Infrastructure, and Population Data
Working Meeting—Denver, Colorado

As part of International Data Week September 13–17, CIESIN organized and hosted a working meeting on settlement, infrastructure, and population data. Twenty-three participants from eleven different groups around the world involved in developing, disseminating, and applying georeferenced population and infrastructure data in a growing range of application areas participated. The meeting sought to identify potential areas of collaboration and opportunities to improve data quality, accessibility, and usability for both research and applications Participants included former CIESIN scientist Deborah Balk of Baruch College; Lamont research professor Christopher Small; and representatives from Facebook, Google Earth, Esri, ImageCat, Inc., the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, and the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). CIESIN director Robert Chen moderated the meeting, and associate directors Alex de Sherbinin and Greg Yetman and GIS programmer Kytt MacManus also participated.

Sponsor: Organized and hosted by CIESIN, with a grant from the Earth Institute's Cross-Cutting Initiative program and by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)

 
Feb 16

Mapping Climate Vulnerability: Best Practices Workshop
Workshop—National Socio-Ecological Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland

Twelve scientists and two individuals from decision making communities worked together over three days to design a protocol for assessing existing studies, including outputs of method (conceptual models, data, and spatial analysis techniques) and mapping (clarity of communication and adherence to cartographic convention). The goal was to develop best practice guidelines for use in climate vulnerability and risk mapping. Such mapping is increasingly used for targeting adaptation programs and for local planning.

Facilitator: Alex de Sherbinin, associate director for Science Applications

Sponsor: Organized by CIESIN

 
Feb
4–5

Introduction to Using Google Earth Engine
Public tutorial—Comer Building, Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

A public workshop tutorial on using Google Earth Engine. Originally conceived in 2009 as a platform for global forest monitoring, Earth Engine today is used by scientists, governments, and organizations around the world in diverse areas, ranging from food and water security to disaster risk management and public health to biodiversity and climate change adaptation.

Facilitators: Tyler Erickson, Matt Hancher, and Allison Lieber of Google Earth Engine

Sponsor: CIESIN

 
2015
Nov 19–20

Geography 2050: Exploring Our Future in an Urbanized World
ConferenceLerner Hall, Columbia Unversity, New York City

More than 250 participants from government, industry, academia, and the non-profit sector participated in a series of thematic panels and sessions addressing the diverse processes reshaping the world′s cities. The Symposium featured keynote speakers Joan Clos,executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and Susan Gordon, deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

Sponsors: The American Geographical Society, The Earth Institute, and CIESIN, with the Open Geospatial Consortium and the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation; also Boundless, Esri, HumanGeo, MapStory, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Spatial Networks

 
Oct
5–16

Water and Population Dynamics
PERN Cyberseminar—online

This cyberseminar focuses on water supplies and population dynamics. Major questions include:

  • What are some of the intervening/mediating/contextual factors linking water supply/access and population dynamics, globally and locally?
  • Where are some current 'hotspots' of water scarcity, and what are the population dynamics in these hotspots?
  • What are some of the current ‘hotspots’ of flooding and drought, and what are the population dynamics in those hotspots? And more.

The cyberseminar contributes to the UN International Decade for Action “Water for Life” (2005-2015) and to discussions around a plan of action for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Includes experts Ellis Adams, Lis Mullin Bernhardt, Stéphanie Dos Santos, Kelli L. Larson.

Sponsor: The Population-Environment Research (PERN) Network operated by CIESIN

 
Aug
10–14
Climate Vulnerability Index Mapping
Training—Entebbe, Uganda

The third and last in a series of workshops on climate vulnerability mapping at geographic information system analysts in the Lake Victoria region of East Africa.

Facilitator: CIESIN geographic Information Specialist Malanding Jaiteh

Sponsors: Organized by the Regional Center for Mapping Resources for Development (RCMRD), with CIESIN, under the auspices of the Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) Program of the US Agency for International Development East Africa Mission (USAID/East Africa).

 
June
30–
July 2

Decision-Centered Approaches to the use of Climate Information
Meeting—Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

More than 40 experts from around the world involved in using and producing climate-related data services. The specific objective of this expert meeting was tohelp guide and promote the appropriate application of new information emerging from the IPCC's Fifth Assessment (AR5) released last year. The meeting included a guest lecture by Sabine Marx of Columbia's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED),“Decision Making Under Uncertainty: A Social-Science Approach to Understanding and Improving the Use of Climate Information.″ CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy was one of the invited experts, and other CIESIN staff participated as observers.

Sponsor: Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Analysis (TGICA) of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with organizing/hosting assistance from CIESIN

 
June 28–29 22nd Meeting of the TGICA
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

The Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Analysis (TGICA) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) held its 22nd meeting since its founding in 1996, addressing its ongoing responsibilities for managing the IPCC Data Distribution Centre (DDC) and continuing its efforts to develop guidance materials and other materials to facilitate access to and appropriate use of climate and socioeconomic data and information stemming from the IPCC assessments.

Sponsor: Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Analysis (TGICA) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with organizing/hosting assistance by CIESIN

 
Apr
13–15

Geospatial Data Collection and Mapping
Training—Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), Nairobi

A training for RCMRD geographic information system technicians in the use of data collection tools and techniques and metadata documentation, in preparation for in-depth climate vulnerability mapping to be conducted in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Facilitator: CIESIN geographic information specialist Malanding Jaiteh

Sponsor: Organized by CIESIN, under the auspices of the Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) Program funded by the US Agency for International Development East Africa Mission (USAID/East Africa)

 
Mar 17–21

Leveraging new spatial data and information technology, for Countries in Post-crisis Transition
MeetingRockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Bellagio, Italy

A
group of g7+ Fragile State representatives, global spatial data experts, and policy makers convened to advance practical ideas for leveraging new spatial data and information technology, on behalf of countries in post-crisis transitions. The 22 conference participants included representatives from the governments of Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Timor Leste, and technical experts from Google, Esri, the United Nations Environment Programme, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Ushahidi, the GPC Group, and the United States Bureau of the Census; and representation from the Secretariat of the g7+ association. The conference framework was both diagnostic and action-oriented, with participants identifying the special needs of fragile states and inventorying proven cost-effective approaches to working with spatial data.

Sponsors: Organized by CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy and program manager Alex Fischer, under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center

 
Mar 6

Informing Geospatial Database Design
Envisioning WorkshopBrooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education, New York City


A
bout 40 stakeholders working in and researching the Jamaica Bay Estuary gathered to envision ways to use a geospatial database specific to Jamaica Bay. Workshop inputs will inform CIESIN’s design of the data management system for the two-year project, “Detecting Water Quality Regime Shifts in Jamaica Bay.”

Facilitators: Brett Branco of Brooklyn College, CIESIN senior research associate Sandra Baptista, manager of data center services John Scialdone, geographic information specialist Dara Mendeloff, and associate director for information technology Sri Vinay

Sponsors: CIESIN, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRI@JB)

 
Feb 13–15

Climate Information Survey
User and Service Provider Training

The aim was to train a multi-disciplinary team of consultants from Measure Africa who will assist CIESIN in conducting a survey of climate information users and service providers in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The survey will inform the development and implementation of a user-driven action plan for improving regional climate information services and systems. Other workshop participants included representatives of the PREPARED program (Tetra Tech/ARD), ICPAC, the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Rwanda Meteorology Agency, and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

Facilitators: CIESIN senior staff associate, Sandra Baptista, and senior research staff assistant and Emilie Schnarr

Sponsor: CIESIN and IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC) as part of the Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) program, funded by the East Africa Regional Mission of the US Agency for International Development (USAID/East Africa)

 
2014
Aug
4–
15

Vulnerability Assessment—Hotspots Mapping
Training—Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), Nairobi

A ten-day workshop on vulnerability hotspots mapping focused on hands on, in-depth mapping of East African countries vulnerable to climate change—Burundi, Kenya Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—areas where a high proportion of livelihoods depend on rainfall.

Facilitators: CIESIN geographic information specialists Tricia Chai-Onn and Malanding Jaiteh

Sponsor: Organized by CIESIN, under the auspices of Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) Program funded by the US Agency for International Development East Africa Mission (USAID/East Africa)

 
June
26

Climate Vulnerability Mapping
Training Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

A training workshop on mapping vulnerability to climate change and variability, given to experts from Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, Zambia, France, and the United States. The workshop includes a half-day session on the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) Climate Data Library given by Alessandra Gianini, IRI research scientist with CIESIN associate research scientist Sylwia Trzaska.

Facilitators: Geographic information Specialists Malanding Jaiteh and Tricia Chai-Onn, with guest lectures by senior research associates Alex de Sherbinin and Valentina Mara

Sponsors: Organized by CIESIN and the African and Latin American Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC) and Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

 
May
12–16
Climate Vulnerability Mapping
Capacity-Building Workshop—Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), Nairobi

Approximately 25 participants from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda attended a workshop in advanced geospatial processing techniques and used data relating to Kenya to produce an overall map of climate change vulnerability.

Facilitators: CIESIN geographic information specialists Malanding Jaiteh and Tricia Chai-Onn

Sponsors: Organized by CIESIN and the Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) Program funded by the US Agency for International Development East Africa Mission (USAID/East Africa). CIESIN is a subcontractor to TetraTech ARD on the PREPARED Program.

 
April 28–30

Climate Variability and Change and the Implications for Malaria Control and Elimination in Africa
C
apacity-Building WorkshopAddis Ababa

For a group of Ethiopian researchers and health professionals involved in malaria control and prevention. The workshop content included relevant concepts in climate sciences and highlighted the potential later this year for an El Niño event to affect malaria incidence. The Climate Predictability Tool developed by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) was also discussed.

Facilitator: CIESIN associate research scientist Sylwia Trzaska

Sponsor: CIESIN, with support fromthe National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 
2013
Aug 13/
Aug 15

Introduction to CHANGE Viewer Mapping Tool
Online Workshop

Noon–3pm Tuesday, August 13 or Thursday, August 15.

This online workshop was aimed at an audience of 40 middle- and high-school educators integrate the CHANGE Viewer Mapping Tool and associated activities into a teaching environment. Developed by the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology (IAGT) and CIESIN with funding from NASA Innovations for Climate Education, the CHANGE Viewer visualizes climate and human health data to engage students in learning about the impacts of climate change on human health around the world.

Sponsors: CIESIN’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), with funding from NASA Innovations for Climate Education

 
Apr 18

Sustainable Development for Human Security
Working Group MeetingLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Earth Institute director Jeffrey Sachs and other distinguished speakers will address sustainable development data needs in the context of human security.The all-day working meeting will feature panel sessions on environmental sustainability, economic stability, urban growth, and related data issues. Speakers will include Lee Schwartz of the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, U.S. Dept. of State; Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University; Ayako Kagawa of the United National Disengagement and Observer Force and the United Nations Cartographic Section; Deborah Balk of the Institute for Demographic Research at the City University of New York; and Marc Levy of CIESIN. Advance registration required at https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=64899.
For more info, please contact wwhgd-register@ciesin.columbia.edu.

Sponsors: CIESIN and the World-Wide Human Geography Data Working Group (WWHGD WG)

 
2012
June 1

Data Gaps for Research and Action on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts, and Adaptation
User WorkshopTucson, Arizona


Approximately 50 participants spanning a range of disciplines, user communities, and world regions attended the workshop, held in conjunction with the Adaptation Futures Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

Sponsors: the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) jointly with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (UNU-IHDP).

 
Apr 25

Identifying Lessons for Natural Resources Management in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
Conference and WorkshopColumbia University, New York City

More than 130 participants explored lessons in strengthening post-conflict peacebuilding through the lens of natural resource management.
A two-day workshop followed the event, focusing on strategies to develop educational and training tools utilizing the new case studies and other relevant material.

Sponsors: CIESIN, Advanced Consortium for Conflict, Cooperation and Complexity (AC4) and the Earth Institute, in partnership with the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

 
2011
May
16–27

Summer Institute 2010: Climate Information for Public Health
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Attendees included 10 public health professionals and climate scientists from around the world coming together to learn techniques for integrating meteorological and socioeconomic data with public health data to better understand public health issues and develop intervention programs.

Sponsors: Organized
for the fourth year in a row by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and co-sponsored by CIESIN and the Mailman School of Public Health.

 
2010 
Nov 3–5


Bellagio Conference: Climate Change Displacement and Resettlement
WorkshopBellagio, Italy

Attendees include a multidisciplinary mix of researchers whose work spans resettlement studies, impact assessment, environmental migration, and climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation. Core topics: learning from past experience in dam and development induced resettlement to prepare for future resettlement; risk and impact assessments; and identifying the likelihood of resettlement under adaptation programs and potential financial mechanisms to underwrite the costs.

Sponsors: Organized by CIESIN, in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health and Francois Gemenne of IDDRI/Science Po in Paris.

 

Sept
21–22
Making Soil Information Widely Available: From the Satellite to the Mobile Phone
Workshop
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

25 scientists and information technologists from the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS), GlobalSoilMap.Net, the Earth Institute, Google, NASA, and others will convene to identify strategies to integrate new NASA Earth observing missions, cloud computing, and crowd sourcing into planned soil information services.

Sponsors: Co-hosted by CIESIN and the Tropical Agriculture and Rural Environment Program.
 
May 17–28 Summer Institute 2010: Climate Information for Public Health
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

The hands-on training course for healthcare professionals in developing countries this year has 13 participants. CIESIN’s role is to address the spatial components of attendees’ work by teaching the use of Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Google Maps for Public Health.

Sponsors: Organized
by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and co-sponsored by CIESIN and the Mailman School of Public Health.
 
2009
June
1–12
Summer Institute 2009: Climate Information for Public Health
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

A hands-on training course for healthcare professionals in developing countries. The group of 12 students will learn how to integrate climate data with population data to improve decision-making in both the planning and prevention spheres of health care.

Sponsors: Organized
by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and co-sponsored by CIESIN and the Mailman School of Public Health.
 

Apr
20–24

Geospatial Analysis for Attaining the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development
WorkshopUniversity of Bonn, Germany

This five-day training workshop in geospatial data analysis techniques will take place April 20-24, 2009 (one week prior to the upcoming International Human Dimensions Programme Open Meeting.) Aimed at staff from census bureaus, health ministries, and/or non-governmental organizations in developing countries, the workshop will use geospatial analysis to help guide efforts to meet the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and promote sustainable development. Digital recording of the training and course materials will be made available on the Web site of PERN (Population-Environment Research Network), hosted by CIESIN.

Sponsors: Hosted by CIESIN, with support from the IUSSP (International Union for the Scientific Study of Population). Registration information.

 
Feb
2–13
PERN Cyberseminar: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in the Analysis of Population Dynamics and the Environment
online seminar

The theoretical and methodological aspects of research into the population-environment nexus, using an interdisciplinary, social-ecological perspective on population dynamics as a springboard for exploration.
 
2008
Nov
20–21
Earth Institute Cross-Cutting Initiative Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Urbanization in Modern China
Workshop—Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

The Columbia University Medical School has developed a prospective conceptual model that considers how rising economic development leads to increases in urbanization and results in high risk behaviors and exposures for urban populations. CIESIN is hosting the workshop and providing data and methodological expertise on the spatial distribution of populations, and thus changes in the population CVD risk, in light of North-South, rural-urban, and urban-urban migration trends.

 
Sept
15–17

Integrating Spatial Data
Workshop— University of Campinas (Unicamp), São Paulo state, Brazil

A variety of data integration methods developed by CIESIN will be presented, accompanied by hands-on training exercises using ArcMap and Geoda software packages. Led by CIESIN senior staff associate Alex de Sherbinin and associate research scientist Susana Adamo.

 
Aug 27 Natural Hazards and Civil Conflict in the Asia-Pacific Region
Working meetingLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

This working meeting brings together colleagues from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), along with scientists from the IRI and the LDEO. The main meeting objective was to coordinate efforts to assess risks from eight major natural hazards—earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides, tsunamis, drought, volcanoes, and wildfires—and from civil conflict. The project, supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will provide the OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) with better data and specific recommendations regarding future needs for humanitarian assistance. A public talk held on August 25 provides an opportunity for interactions with the broader Earth Institute community interested in disaster management issues.   

Sponsors: Hosted by CIESIN   
 
June
2–14
Summer Institute 2008: Climate Information for Public Health
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Twelve representatives from institutions involved in health care in developing countries, primarily in Africa, are participating in the hands-on training course, which teaches how to integrate local and regional climate information with population data to improve decision-making and enhance public health outcomes. 

Sponsors: Organized by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) in partnership with CIESIN and the Mailman School of Public Health.
 
May
21–23
Global Slum Mapping
WorkshopITC headquarters in Enschede, The Netherlands

Workshop participants will work on a short list of 8–10 test case cities to apply consistent methodologies for automated slum identification using a variety of image processing techniques, both to identify the spatial extent and distribution of slums, and in conjunction with survey data, to develop population estimates. CIESIN senior staff associate Alex de Sherbinin and Doherty research scientist Christopher Small will present papers on the integration of poverty and remote sensing data at the urban scale and strengths and limitations of remote sensing for slum mapping, respectively.

Sponsors: Co-organized by CIESIN, together with UN-HABITAT and the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) in the Netherlands.
 
2007
Dec
13–14

Poverty Mapping Workshop
Hands-on Seminar— Mapping Global Inequality Conference, Santa Cruz, CA

A hands-on seminar in two parts (each session 1 1/2 hrs). Part one:
deconstructing poverty and other measures of well-being; and geographic perspectives on population and poverty data. Part two: where to find georeferenced poverty data sets; and interpretation of maps using alternate data classification schemes. With exercises for creating and interpreting poverty maps to inform policy on poverty alleviation resource allocation. Led by Maria Muniz, research associate, CIESIN.

Sponsor: Hosted by University of California Atlas of Global Inequality, with CIESIN

 
Oct 29–
Nov 12
PERN Cyberseminar: Hazard Vulnerability in Population-Environment Studies
Online seminar


The investigation of societal vulnerabilities underlying hazard impacts amid the growing awareness of climate change. With background papers by Daniel Hogan and Eduardo Marandola, University of Campinas, Brazil.
 
Oct
1–2
Global Roads
Data User WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York
By invitation.
 
Sept
3–14
PERN-PRIPODE Cyberseminar on Population-Development-Environment Linkages in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone of West Africa
online seminar

Have negative predictions about droughts in this region during the early 1970s and 1980s been borne out, or have agricultural systems coped and adapted to growing population numbers? This cyberseminar held by CIESIN’s Population-Environment Research Network Web site addresses these questions.
 
June
11–13
PRIPODE: Urban Population, Development, and Environment Dynamics
Workshop—Nairobi

Features selected policy-relevant papers that accurately present some aspect of the current PDE dynamics in a given urban agglomeration, the findings of which can be applied to solving problems associated with rapid urbanization in contexts of high poverty and growing strains on the environment and natural resources. This workshop is part of the PRIPODE program coordinated by CICRED and sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affaires.

Sponsors: CIESIN, with African Population & Health Research Centre (APHRC)and the Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED).
 
Apr 11 Poverty Mapping Workshop: Understanding the Spatial Dimensions of Poverty in the Developing World
Hands-on SeminarColumbia University Morningside Campus, Mathematics Building, Room 410, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

A hands-on seminar in two parts (each session 1 1/2 hrs). Part one covers deconstructing poverty and other measures of well-being; and geographic perspectives on population and poverty data. Part two covers where to find georeferenced poverty data sets; and interpretation of maps using alternate data classification schemes. Features exercises creating and interpreting poverty maps to inform policy on poverty alleviation resource allocation.

Sponsor: CIESIN. Led by Robert Chen, Director, CIESIN; Marc Levy, Associate Director, Science Applications, CIESIN; Maria Muniz, Research Associate, CIESIN; and Bridget Anderson, Staff Associate, CIESIN.

 
2006
Nov
16–17

Arctic Data Usability and Accessibility Issues
User/Provider Workshop and Public SeminarLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Members of the applied and research science, data provider, and tool development communities will gather to clearly define system requirements for improving the accessibility and usability of arctic data. The workshop will be followed by a public seminar to discuss polar data issues in the context of the International Polar Year, an international scientific initiative aimed at increasing understanding of the critical role of the polar regions in global processes. Hosted by CIESIN's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).

For more information about the workshop, please contact Mark Parsons at National Snow and Ice Data Center. For information about the seminar, please contact Bob Chen, CIESIN interim director.

 
July
8–21
Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
Summer MeetingLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Six Science/Applications communities (“clusters”) will meet around these subjects: Air Quality, Coastal Management, Disaster Management, Ecological Forecasting, Public Health, and Water Management. Technical workshops covered topics such as Web services, GIS, knowledge representation, collaboration technologies, data access, and data quality.

Sponsor: Hosted by CIESIN's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).
 
Apr
10–26
PERN Cyberseminar: Rural Household Micro-Demographics, Livelihoods, and the Environment
Online Seminar

Background paper by Alex de Sherbinin.
 
Jan
9–10

Rethinking the Estimation and Projection of Urban and City Population
WorkshopColumbia University, New York City

Experts in remote sensing, demography, and the social sciences will discuss the use of remote sensing data to detect and track urban and intra-urban features, systematically and globally.

Sponsor: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
Co-chair: CIESIN's Deborah Balk, with participation by CIESIN staff.

 
2005
Oct
9–13

6th Open Meeting of the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change Research Community
University of Bonn, Germany

Bi-annual meeting for social scientists focusing on global environmental change issues. Major themes: Adaptive Management and Resilience; Coastal Zones, Human Use of Oceans;  Environmental History; Global Environmental Change and Human Security; Globalization and Global Environmental Change; Human Dimensions of Carbon and Water Management, Food, and Health; Industrial Transformation; Insituttional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change; Land-Use, Land-Cover Change; and “Methods in Human-Environment Studies.

Co-sponsor: CIESIN. Serving as session chairs/co-chairs were CIESIN staff Deborah Balk, Robert Chen, Alex deSherbinin, and Marc Levy. Alex de Sherbinin was also a member of the International Scientific Planning Committee.

 
Sept
5–16
PERN Cyberseminar: Population Dynamics and Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability
Online seminar

Rural household micro-demographics, livelihoods and the environment will provide a forum for scholars from around the globe and from a wide range of disciplines to discuss recent research examining the reciprocal relationships among household-level population dynamics, rural livelihoods and the environment.

Co-sponsor: UN Millennium Project
 
2004
Nov 30
Dec 15

PERN Cyberseminar on Urban Spatial Expansion: The Environmental and Health Dimensions
Online seminar

CIESIN’s Population-Environment Research Network Web site will hold a cyberseminar which featured a background paper by Dr. Charles Redman, Director of the Consortium for the Study of Rapidly Urbanizing Regions; Ms. Nancy Jones, a researcher at the International Institute for Sustainability, Arizona State University; and a distinguished panel of experts.

 
Sept
21–23
Global Spatial Data and Information: Development, Dissemination, and Use
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

A core set of institutions will assess the coordination of spatial data and information dissemination among key players in the global data community in order to better meet user needs at global as well as regional and national levels. Hosted by CIESIN's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).

Co-sponsors: CIESIN with FAO, UNEP, WHO, CGIAR, and CO-DATA
 
May 13

Extending the Boundaries: Managing and Preserving Geospatial Electronic Records
Workshop Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Practitioners and managers from both the geospatial and data archiving communities will meet to address the challenges faced by state and local government personnel in managing and preserving geospatial data and related electronic records.

Sponsor: Hosted by CIESIN.
 
2003
Oct
16–18

5th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community
Montreal, Canada

Bi-annual meeting for social scientists focusing on global environmental change issues. Major themes: Transitions and Change: How does the view that the world is made up of complex coupled systems influence our research; Governance, Markets, and Ethics: What do we know about the institutions that mediate between human behavior and global change; and Poverty and security: How does global change affect those already vulnerable and how does it increase the vulnerability of others?

Co-sponsor: CIESIN. CIESIN's Marc Levy served as co-chair of the International Scientific Planning Committee.

 
2002
Fall

Disaster Risk Hotspots
WorkshopLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

CHRR participants included LDEO; CIESIN; the International Research Institute for Climate Protection (IRI); and other centers within The Earth Institute of Columbia University.

Co-sponsors:The Disaster Risk Hotspot Project, composed of the Center for Hazards and Risk Research at Columbia University (CHRR), The World Bank, and a number of partner institutions as activities of ProVention Consortium, with funding from the UK Deparment for Development (DFID).

 
Feb
48

Open GIS Consortium (OGC)
ConsortiumLamont Campus, Palisades, New York

More than 220 members from industry, government, and universities will gather for the next technical and planning committee meetings at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Sponsor: Hosted by CIESIN, with NASA and several other federal agencies as sponsors of this initiative, and Columbia University participating as a coordinating organization.

 
2001
Oct
6–8
4th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Bi-annual meeting for social scientists focusing on global environmental change issues. Major themes: Challenges of Integration in Human Dimensions Research; Urban Sustainable Development; Vulnerabilitya core human dimensions theme; Poverty and the Environment; Trade, the State, and the Environment; and Integrating Human Dimensions Research into Climate Change Assessments.

Co-sponsor: CIESIN. CIESIN's Marc Levy served as co-chair of the International Scientific Planning Committee.
 
Sept
6–7

Disaster Risk Hotspots
Workshop
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

Some 35 experts representing a range of hazards, disciplines, and approaches participated, including seven from Europe.The workshop reviewed the scientific basis for defining and comparing natural disaster risks of different types by combining hazard data with spatially detailed estimates of potentially vulnerable human populations and their infrastructure, economic activities, and coping capacities. CIESIN helped organize and host a joint workshop on “Assessment of High Risk Disaster Hotspots” co-sponsored by the World Bank's Disaster Management Facility (DMF) [later to become the “Hazard Management Unit”] and Columbia University's new Center for Hazards and Risk Research (CHRR).

 
June 12–15

Photo-oxidant, Particles, and Haze Across the Arctic and North Atlantic: Transport Observations and Models
Workshop
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York

International experts from the global and regional atmospheric chemistry communities will convene to assess the current state of knowledge, identify research needs, and improve the coordination of research efforts with regard to a series of specific scientific questions of interest to the international environmental policy and research communities. Hosted by CIESIN.

Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada in coordination with UN/ECE European Monitoring and Evaluation Program (EMEP) and Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP)

 
Feb 23 Remote Sensing Applications at the State and Local Level
Workshop
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York


Approximately twenty representatives from local and state governments and non-governmental organizations in New York and New Jersey participated in the workshop, which addressed issues of the availability of and needs for remotely sensed data products on the part of local users. Sponsored by CIESIN's Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).
 
2000
Dec
4–5

Remote Sensing and Environmental Treaties:  Building More Effective Linkages
Workshop
Woodrow Wilson International Center, Washington, DC


A targeted and results-oriented discussion on the applications of remote sensing to enhance the effectiveness environmental treaties. Hosted by CIESIN’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).

Co-sponsor: The World Conservation Union (IUCN), MEDIAS-France, and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Environmental Change and
Security Project

 
May
2–3

Gridding Population Data
User Workshop
Lamont Campus, Palisades, New York


Key developers and users of gridded population databases will meet to foster the exchange of ideas and methods and to stimulate new activities through collaboration.

Sponsors:
Hosted by CIESIN’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Co-sponsored by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and UNEP

 
 


   

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