09 February 2010

Forging links seminar in Southampton

Ordnance Survey is pleased to announce a special Terra future seminar to highlight the important role geographic information (GI) has to play in the development of linked data over the Web.

Linked data means using the Web to connect useful related pieces of information. It enables data to be opened up and connected so that people can build interesting new things from it, helping users to find, connect, describe, and re-use all kinds of information. This may be as diverse as databases maintained by two organisations in different locations, or simply various systems within one organisation that previously did not link its data.

Glen Hart, Head of Research at Ordnance Survey, commented: “It is well known that geography forms an important medium to enable data from different sources to be associated, and it is location that is often a common theme across datasets. Location based information clearly has a fundamental role to play in the future growth of the linked data web.

“This special Terra future seminar aims to bring the GI community and linked data community closer together. Linked data is about modern ways to interconnect information, and if part of the power of GI lies in enabling data to be linked, then Terra future is about creating links between communities.”

The free seminar will be held at Ordnance Survey in Southampton on 10 March 2010. During the day there will be presentations on how linked data is being adopted across various organisations, including the BBC, University of Southampton and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Previous Terra future events, held in 2005, 2006 and 2009, were widely supported and included presentations from Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Peter Cochrane OBE, a former chief technologist at BT,and Charles Leadbetter, World-renowned innovation expert.

Glen added: “We have limited places available for this special seminar and I would advise anyone interested in how GI can support linked data to book their place as soon as possible.”

For more information and to register for the seminar, visit www.terrafuture.com

 

Notes to editors

1. Ordnance Survey is Great Britain’s national mapping agency, providing the most accurate and up-to-date geographic data, relied on by government, business and individuals. 
2. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/media. There you can also subscribe to our RSS news feed. 
3. Ordnance Survey and the OS Symbol are registered trademarks of Ordnance Survey.

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