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Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

Digital technologies, including communications and geospatial technologies, are not only changing how we know the world, they are changing the world as we know it. While some may arguably lament that the digital revolution is corrupting society and institutions, there are many ways in which users are leveraging this power to make a better world. In this day-long symposium, we will hear from cutting-edge change makers about how information technologies are shaping how we can respond to the most pressing needs of humanity, by exploiting such innovations as the availability of ubiquitous satellite imagery, to social media platforms, to open big data, to crowdsourced mapping. Deploying the digital revolution in places of the world suffering pressing needs offers an opportunity to achieve development goals with the participation of communities, to address issues in health, education, disaster prevention, energy, food security, peace and prosperity.

Watch the Symposium on our YouTube channel.

9:00 - 9:20 am Texas Tech University and YouthMappers Welcome to the Event, Dean Brent Lindquist and Patricia Solís

9:20 - 10:00 am Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, Tyler Radford

10:00 - 10:40 am Facebook, Drishtie Patel

10:40 - 11:20 am Microsoft, Jubal Harpster

11:20 - 12:00 pm Clinton Health Access Initiative, Abigail Ward

12:00 - 2:00 TTU Research Exhibit Demo & Showcase (at back of room)

Experience virtual reality, 3D printing, solar powered classrooms, popwalk digital art, and more.

1:00 - 2:00 Panel - All Speakers, Moderated by Carrie Stokes, USAID with Q&A and Conversation Interaction with audience (at front of room)

2:00 - 3:00 pm Esri, Astrid Ng & John Gravois

3:00 - 3:40 pm Digital Globe, Matt Hallas

3:40 - 4:00 pm TTU Students Presentations & Wrap Up

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Holden Hall GIS Lab Suite, 2^nd Floor (Enter through room 204)

Training for new mappers and Task orientation from 5:30 - 6:00 pm HH284

Featuring Chad Blevins, USAID GeoCenter

This event culminated in an evening mapathon to create spatial data for an authentic humanitarian project - the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) efforts in mapping of volcanic hazards and their potential impacts for Disaster Risk Reduction for the USAID and USGS. Attendees mapped the high risk areas, and moved onto the low risk areas. Additional guidance was available and free training and pizza were provided.

Organized by the Texas Tech University College of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Geospatial Technologies, this activity is supported by a grant from the Texas Tech University’s Quality Enhancement Plan: Communicating in a Global Society, through the Center for Global Communication. The multi-college project includes faculty from Arts & Sciences, Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources and Education with Patricia Solis, Guofeng Cao, Carlos Portillo, Linda Jones, Lauren Griffith, Cameron Griffith, and Jessica Gottlieb as PIs. Thanks to Jason Cannon of the TTU OVPR for recordings. This event also enjoys collaboration with YouthMappers, a program co-founded and led by Texas Tech University, funded by the United States Agency for International Development GeoCenter under Award # AID-OAA-G-15-00007. Questions? patricia.solis@ttu.edu