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4th EU BON Roundtable: Pathways to sustainability for EU BONs network of collaborators and technical infrastructure

The 4th EU BON roundtable will take place on Thursday, 17 November 2016 at the premises of the Museum fuer Naturkunde in Berlin with the motto "Pathways to sustainability for EU BONs network of collaborators and technical infrastructure".  

One of the key questions will be how to achieve sustainability for the many different products of EU BON, such as tools, software, models and infrastructure after the project ends. It should be discussed how a European Biodiversity Observation Network and its essential components could be sustained after the project will end in May 2017, by which institutions or networks and how the products can be used in the best way for European policy and research needs.  

 





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13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity

The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place from 4 to 17 December 2016 - Cancun, Mexico.

More information to follow here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=cop-13





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TDWG 2016 Annual Conference

The TDWG 2016 Annual Conference  will take place from 5 to 9 December 2016 in Santa Clara de San Carlos, COSTA RICA. The conference theme this year is: Standards Supporting Innovation in Biodiversity Research and Conservation.

Standards for the description and exchange of biodiversity information help promote research, support decision-making for conservation and planning, and provide a means of communicating observations by both professional and citizen scientists across taxa and political boundaries. TDWG standards are an integral foundation of the largest biodiversity information sources, but given the wealth and diversity of information collected for plants, animals, and fossils, the need remains to extend and refine the concepts required to achieve greater integration for the discovery of knowledge and its use in biodiversity conservation.

This year, TDWG is focusing its annual meeting not only on supporting research, decision making, and communication of biodiversity information, but also on how standards can support innovative research. Scientific innovations often "stand on the shoulders of giants," but they can also be disruptive -- causing major changes in the way that science works.  To what extent do our standards promote innovation, and does the most innovative research show us where our  standards need to be refined and extended? Current research both in Computer Science (e.g., deep learning, computer vision, ambient computing) and Biodiversity Sciences offers excellent opportunities for multidisciplinary innovative synergies among researchers, decision makers, students, and citizen scientists. 

For more information and to register: http://www.tdwg.org/conference2016/

 





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1st EKLIPSE Conference

The 1st EKLIPSE conference will taka place from 6th to 8th December, 2016.

The conference will present the first outputs of EKLIPSE, identify further knowledge needs with respect to biodiversity in the context of nature-based solutions and to further develop our joint networking. During the event EKLIPSE will organise jointly with partners including BiodivERsA and EPBRS a series of workshops and conferences in Brussels.





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Sharing Biodiversity data for re-use: Informatic tools and processes in Ecology

By lending access via the Internet to biodiversity data in open data infrastructures, biodiversity informatics worldwide allows anyone, anywhere to access and analyze data about all types of life on Earth. In applying common standards, research not previously possible is enabled, and better decisions to conserve and sustainably use the biological resources of the planet made possible.

In this symposium an overview of present and future opportunities will be given alongside recent research presentations and demonstrations of up-to-date tools for providing and acquiring information, handling data and presenting results.

The symposium is arranged as an Oikos Satellite Symposium but is open to anyone, i.e. also those not attending the Oikos conference can register for the symposium.

This symposium is organised by Swedish LifeWatch, GBIF Sweden and Department of Ecology at SLU and it will take place on February 6 2017, in Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, Sweden.

For more information, please visit the official event's page: http://www.slu.se/biodiversity-informatics





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European Conference of Tropical Ecology

The "European Conference of Tropical Ecology" - the annual scientific meeting of the Society for Tropical Ecology (Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie, gtö) - will be organized in 2017 in Brussels, Belgium, by three Universities and three research-museum institutions. It will take place from Monday 6 to Friday 10 February 2017, on the campus "Etterbeek" from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a location easily reached from the city centre by public transport. 

The overarching topic will be "(re)connecting tropical biodiversity in space and time". It highlights both the importance of integrating fundamental sciences inferring past processes (e.g. paleoecology, evolution, social history…) to understand current patterns of biodiversity, and the urgent need to reconnect patches of fragmented landscapes if we wish to conserve tropical biodiversity and ecological services of tropical ecosystems for future generations.

For more information and to register, please visit the official event's page: http://www.soctropecol-2017.eu/  





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EU BON Final Meeting 2017

The EU BON Final Meeting takes place from 14 - 16 March 2017.

14 March 2017

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)
Museum of Natural Sciences
Vautier Street 13
1000 Brussels, Belgium

and

15 - 16 March 2017

Bouchout Castle
Botanic Garden Meise
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise, Belgium

An overview of the programme can be found here.

To register for the Meeting please visit the registration page.

Please see also the Meeting's venues and accommodation pages.

Find out more on the official symposium webpage.





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2017 GEO Work Programme Symposium & 37th International Symposium of Remote Sensing (ISRSE)

The 2017 GEO Work Programme Symposium will be held back-to-back with the 37th International Symposium of Remote Sensing (ISRSE), in Tshwane, South Africa, the week of 8-13 May 2017.

The ISRSE thematic areas are aligned with GEO's areas of focus and Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs). Abstracts for the conference themes may be submitted by 22 November 2016 here:

Please inform Douglas Cripe (dcripe@geosec.org) at the GEO Secretariat if you do submit an abstract.

In support of the Work Programme Symposium, there are eight GEO special sessions in which you are encouraged to submit an abstract:

  • 04-1 GEOGLAM - Beyond crop monitoring, form data to actionable knowledge;
  • 04-4 Towards a new philosophy for generating land cover;
  • 10-2 The GFOI as a R&D promoter toward operational tropical forest monitoring systems;
  • 11-2 Innovative infrastructure for delivering Earth Observations solutions; 
  • 11-4 Implementing GEOSS Data Sharing and Management Principles at the national level in Africa;
  • 12-2 GEO in-situ observation networks;
  • 13-2 GEOSS Common Infrastructure for Africa; and
  • 13-5 Implementing the GEO user needs and gaps process: expectations, opportunities and challenges.

To contribute to these special sessions, please submit your abstract by 24 November 2016 using this link:

 





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LifeWatch ERIC 1st General Assembly

The 1st General Assembly of LifeWatch ERIC will take place in Seville (Spain) on 8-9 May 2017.

More specific details about the working agenda and logistics to follow here.

 





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BIOTALENT EU Conference: Tackling biodiversity challenges through innovative e-learning

BIOTALENT is a multilingual blended e-learning training programme to gain crucial skills and knowledge in biodiversity. Protecting life on earth in all its forms also involves introducing innovative ways to address pressing environmental issues of today. A strong investment in environmental education and a passion for science is therefore essential to this programme.

This one-day event, Taking place on 18 May 2017, in Brussels, will illustrate the uniqueness of the BIOTALENT project and programme in the way environmental education is brought to the course participant. The various expert speakers that are invited are all very passionate about innovation in education and the new ways in which scientific and environmental education can contribute to conserving biodiversity.  

To register and find out more visit the official announcement.





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Early Hou Hsiao-hsien: Film culture finally comes through (a repost)

The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982). David’s health situation has made it difficult for our household to maintain this blog. We don’t want it to fade away, though, so we’ve decided to select previous entries from our backlist to republish. These are items that chime with current developments or that we think might languish […]



  • Directors: Hou Hsiao-hsien
  • Film technique: Cinematography
  • Film technique: Staging
  • National cinemas: Taiwan
  • Tableau staging

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Gone but far from forgotten

Kristin here: The speed with which the news of David’s death, early on the morning of February 29, 2024, spread has amazed me. I expected many responses: condolences, tributes, and most of all stories of how he had affected people’s lives. I didn’t expect the tidal wave of messages and posts and emails that followed. […]




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Repost of Vancouver: Three gems from Iran and India

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs (2020). Since David’s death, this blog has not been updated. I do, however, plan to occasionally re-post old entries if they become relevant to current events in the world of film. I also hope to post new entries as the inspiration strikes me. This entry deals with Mohammad Rasoulof’s […]




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A recording of David’s memorial service is now online

KT here: A memorial service for David was held on May 18, 2024. Although many friends and family members traveled to be present, the service was also streamed live for those who could not. For those who were unable to do either, a recording of the service has been posted on Vimeo. The link is […]




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A24: A company of interest

The Zone of Interest (2023)   Yes, another entry on A24. I didn’t expect for this topic to continue as a series, but the indie studio keeps doing intriguing and unusual things that most studios wouldn’t try. I first dealt with A24 because I was interested in the phenomenon of “prestige horror.” It was one […]




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A memorial slide show for David

After David’s memorial service in May (a video recording of which is permanently on Vimeo with no password necessary), some people on my Facebook page asked if a collection of photographs of David could be made available. There was a slide show created to run on a loop in the lobby of the funeral home […]







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Jack’s Abby acquires Night Shift Brewing, making it the largest craft brewer in Mass.

“This expansion is not just about growth; it’s about building a stronger foundation for our teams and brands to thrive.”

The post Jack’s Abby acquires Night Shift Brewing, making it the largest craft brewer in Mass. appeared first on Boston.com.













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‘More sun means more fun’: Markey makes another pitch for permanent DST

“We need to make sure that the hour of sunlight, of daylight, is in the evening so people’s mouths can be turned upwards in a smile,” Markey said in a recent video.

The post ‘More sun means more fun’: Markey makes another pitch for permanent DST appeared first on Boston.com.






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Anti-abortion advocates press Trump for more restrictions as abortion pill sales spike

The Trump administration is expected to pull back Biden's controversial directive that requires emergency rooms to provide abortions when necessary to stabilize a woman's health or life.

The post Anti-abortion advocates press Trump for more restrictions as abortion pill sales spike appeared first on Boston.com.


















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The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars

At her first Met Gala, Ayo Edebiri showed out in a youthful white look fading into a garden full of colorful flowers at the bottom by Loewe.

The post The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars appeared first on Boston.com.





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A Somerville teen crocheted her prom dress in three days. Her video of the design process went viral.

Sarah Akinbuwa remembers the days when she was bullied over her love of crocheting, a hobby she picked up with her circle of schoolmates as a 12-year-old in Nigeria. Now living in Somerville and devoted to the craft, the 18-year-old is winning acclaim for one of her latest creations: a bright pink, floor-length prom dress […]

The post A Somerville teen crocheted her prom dress in three days. Her video of the design process went viral. appeared first on Boston.com.