Steve Chilton writes to announce the Society of Cartographers’s annual Summer School, which takes place in Cambridge this September. Here’s his spiel:

The world of spatial data is changing rapidly. But, will things change as far as data licencing and availability is concerned? Will local authorities be making their vast amounts of data more freely available? Will cartographers, and in particular the so-called “community cartographers” have freer access to basic geodata in the future? Will initiatives such as Creative Commons licensing have any significant effect? I don’t have any immediate answers to these questions, but I am certainly interested in them and feel that the cartographic industry needs to be taking a close interest in these developments.

If you want to find out more about these developments that may well affect you significantly as cartographers you should consider attending the Society of Cartographers Summer School this September, at Cambridge University. There is a whole morning session on the topic, with 6 presentations from contributors that include Roger Longhorn (policy analyst), Peter Cridland (local authority GIS expert), Ed Parsons (Chief Technology Officer at OS), and 3 “carto-activists” — if I may use such a phrase. After the presentations there is also a Panel Discussion involving all 6 presenters, where you will have a chance to ask questions, make your points, or just enjoy what looks like being a lively debate. The Summer School also has the usual mix of formal presentations (including a keynote address by Chris Board, OBE), plus demos, workshops, visits and social events.