Travel for U.S. Participants in the 21st and 22nd International Cartographic Conferences in Durban, South Africa (August 2003) and A Coruna, Spain (July 2005)

In cartography as in many other scientific fields, advances in research and education increasingly rely on the development of international collaborations that bring together skilled scholars and educators from many different nations. International contacts and collaborations develop through many different means, but one of the most successful has been periodic meetings of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). The ICA has been the primary international forum for cartographic research since 1959, and it currently involves approximately 80 nations. The ICA's next biennial meetings will occur in Durban, South Africa, in August 2003 and A Coruna, Spain, in July 2005. To facilitate the continued involvement of U.S. scientists in ICA activities and to facilitate the involvement of more Americans in international networks at early stages of their careers, this award will provide group-travel support to enable at least ten early-career cartographers from the U.S. as well as a limited number of more experienced professionals to attend each ICA meeting. Funds will be distributed to U.S. cartographers whose applications are evaluated using a number of criteria associated with active participation in the meeting. Travel grants will be given to more junior scientists in order to encourage their participation in international discussions and communications.

This award will foster greater participation by U.S. cartographers in the global forum of the International Cartographic Association. As has been demonstrated in follow-up reports from Americans who have been supported with previous travel grants to other major international meetings, opportunities abound for meeting professional colleagues from many other nations, for hearing ideas and information from a broad range of different perspectives, and for participating in discussions that frequently result in successful research collaborations. These meetings will be especially important because of their locations. The 2003 ICA conference will be the first held in Africa, and the theme for this meeting is 'Cartography for Development.' The 2005 meeting's theme is 'Mapping Approaches into a Changing World.'