Carto M.Sc. @ ICC 2021

Before the conference - The way to the ICC 2021 Florence - One city, many memories (History, Conference Venues) The conference - Our impressions and lessons learned Post-conference perspectives - What’s next and where to go after the conference Visited sights

Amongst the submitted 465 abstracts and 98 full papers, we are very proud to find our research, which all relate to master thesis topics:

• Ben, for instance, applied cartographic principles to a very interdisciplinary research and presented his findings on Precision Mapping of Apple Proliferation - an apple tree disease - using hyperspectral data ( Conference Abstract  /  Thesis );
• Jesse pitched his research findings on Testing Approaches to Visualize Land Cover/Land Use Changes in Time Series With Cloud-Based Microservice Tools using Corine Land Cover data ( Abstract  /  Thesis );
• Mariami, in turn, presented her master thesis research on The role of emotion in mental maps ( Abstract  /  Thesis );
• and Shlesha presented her prototype for an Interactive cartographic visualization of real-time satellite data and their orbits ( Abstract  /  Thesis );

We were not the only students from the M.Sc. Cartography programme presenting their work as fellow students and alumni from past intakes have also presented their research at the ICC 2021:

• Bibigul Zhunis on Cross-Cultural Differences in Map Design Perception ( Abstract  /  Thesis );
• Kevin Helzel on Mixed Reality Maps to help convey disaster information ( Abstract  /  Thesis );
• Lorenzo Libertini on the Effect of Geospatial Uncertainty Borderization on Users’ Heuristic Reasoning ( Abstract  /  Thesis );
• and Maja Kalinic on Determining traffic congestion utilizing a fuzzy logic model and Floating Car Data (FCD) ( Abstract  /  Thesis ).

For the first time in the ICC's history, all maps and cartographic products displayed during the International Cartographic Exhibition and hosted by the Instituto Geografico Militare were made publicly accessible through the  Virtual International Cartographic Exhibition .

Over 240 maps and panels, as well as more than 150 digital products, charts, atlases, educational products and other cartographic products were exhibited, including a map by current student Nele Peschel ( Mapping SAMI languages ), the  award-winning map  of  The Lost Treasure of Isla del Coco  by Jakob Listabarth as well as, amongst others, two maps by alumna Danai-Maria Kontou ( PolarFanzine#1  and  Penguinland ).

Looking back at the past five days of conference presentations, workshops, ceremonies and coffee-break talks, here is how the ICC 2021 looks in terms of numbers: around 730 people were able to participate in the conference (49 % joined remotely), representing 20 different countries – 16 European countries, the USA, Russia, the UAE and Chile.

Choosing which sessions to attend during the conference was not an easy task, especially when looking at the sheer abundance of topics and technical talks put together by the organizing committee. Luckily, most of the talks were also recorded and can be re-watched as some presentations were inevitably overlapping due to the full conference schedule.

From our point of view, technical talks that were touching upon topics such as user-oriented mapping, user needs, emotions in maps, map design, artificial intelligence and digital humanities have enjoyed greater attention during the conference days and seemingly reflect current research trends in cartography.

Sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (short SDGs) received further notice in the scientific community as two inspiring keynotes were dedicated solely to the power of cartography in shaping a better world. Greg Scott from the UN was giving his insights on Cartography in an Age of Digital Transformation and our Professor Menno-Jan Kraak presented findings from the joint publication  Mapping for a Sustainable World  in his keynote on Open Map Knowledge - ICA’s contribution to the SDGs.

Besides these inspiring keynotes and the possibility to meet onsite, it has been a great experience in many respects, like getting to know other scholars from different parts of the world, exchanging ideas and networking which seemed to be at least equally important as the conference’s contents themselves. It has been a unique opportunity to present our research in front of an international and renowned audience and share the same stage with well-known cartographers of the scientific community.

Regarding the conference’s hybrid format, opinions probably differ as it both bears advantages and disadvantages. Most importantly, this hybrid format allowed participants to join from around the world despite the prevailing pandemic and implied travel restrictions. On the other hand, technical issues faced with virtual conference tools that occurred during presentations and pre-conference workshops gave the conference a strangely familiar, but bitter aftertaste. Particularly, showing the pre-recorded presentations onsite resembled a Public Viewing of Youtube-Videos or the odd scientific lecture held as a Zoom session.

Ideally, so we believed prior to the ICC 2021, a conference lives of the exchange of ideas, arguments and points of views. However, very little time was allocated for discussion following each presentation. The interaction between the audience on-site with the ‘online people’ – as the remote participants were referred to by one of the session moderators – was very limited and rather resembled two parallel worlds; perhaps a virtual market place or a forum would have been a great platform for exchange. 

Unlike the topical richness presented at the international conference, the diversity amongst conference participants in respect to gender, age and ethnicity could have been more varied. Particularly, when looking at the nations represented at the conference, it might appear that there were hardly any participants from countries of the African, South American or Asian continent present or remotely joining.

This is also true for the next generation of cartographic scientists present at the conference. The majority of graduates awarded with an ICA scholarship came from middle or high-income countries, whereas it would have been ideal to already realise greater variety by granting scholarships to cartographic graduates from different parts of the world. Hence, the expectations regarding the diversity within the association and group of participants for the next ICC,  the 31st International Cartographic Conference , which is planned to be held in South Africa from 14-18.08.2023 are high, particularly when looking at the conference theme: Smart Cartography for Sustainable Development.

Unfortunately, the South African delegation was not able to participate at the conference in presence, but the promotion video of the next ICC presented during the Closing Ceremony was very stunning. Especially, that parts of the program are specifically addressing young cartography graduates, made us want to be part of the next ICC in 2023.

Source of map icons:  https://fonts.google.com/ 

Resources used for the sections Florence - One city, many memories (History, Conference Venues) & Visited Sights:

•  Geography, history, and culture of Florence 
•  Florence, Italy: cradle of the Renaissance 
•  Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi 
•  Florence 

Pictures and video taken by us 📷