call-for-participation.html

---
permalink: /call-for-participation
title: Call For Participation
description: >-
  Register or propose a session to be part of
  the W3C/OGC Joint Workshop Series on Maps for the Web, September & October 2020.
---
{% include relBase.html %}

<p>
  The W3C/OGC Joint Workshop Series on Maps for the Web
  will be a distributed, online meeting
  of developers, cartographers, policy makers, and
  other people with an interest in the future of Web standards
  relating to use of spatial information to display maps on the Web.
</p>

<p>The <a href="./#objective">objective</a> of the workshop series,
  its <a href="./#scope">scope</a>,
  <del>and potential topics</del> are outlined
  <a href="./">on the overview page</a>.
  <ins>See <a href="#topics">the original list of potential topics</a>, at the end of this page.</ins>
  Participants are welcome to suggest other topics within the scope.
</p>

<p>
  The workshop series will include both presentations and discussions.
</p>

<p>
  Presentations, demos, and panel sessions will be conducted as video-conferences
  (or optionally pre-recorded video presentations)
  which will be posted online for asynchronous viewing.
  Presentations will be grouped into themes, with one theme posted online per day.
</p>

<p>
  Discussion and questions will be via written forums over the course of a month.
  There will be discussions specifically around the presentations,
  as well as the possibility of participant-initiated discussion topics.
  In addition, we encourage people working on
  open source software or standards related to web maps
  to propose hack sessions
  to introduce their projects and invite feedback or collaboration.
</p>

<p>
  The workshop language is English.
</p>

<h2 id="how-to-participate">How can I participate?</h2>

<p>
  You can request to participate in the workshop series in one or more ways:
</p>
<ul>
  <li>Watching the workshop sessions and contributing to the written discussions.
  </li>
  <li>Making a <a href="#talk-proposals">presentation</a> (15 minutes)
    or lightning talk (&lt;5 minutes),
    or participating in a panel Q&A session
    to introduce a topic for discussion.
  </li>
  <li>Leading a <a href="#hack-day-proposals">hack session</a>
    to engage new contributors to an open-source Web map project
    or teach other developers how to use a Web mapping tool or map data source.
  </li>
  <li>Submitting a written <a href="#position-statements">position statement</a>
    in advance of the workshops
    (as an individual or on behalf of an organization).
  </li>
  <li><a href="{{ relBase }}/sponsorship">Sponsoring the workshop series</a>.</li>
</ul>

<p>
  If you wish to attend, please fill out
  <a href="https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/maps2020/">the registration form</a>.
  The registration form asks several questions about your background and
  ideas; please give these questions serious thought.
</p>
<p>
  If you wish to suggest a talk or demo/hack session,
  or to contribute a written position statement,
  please also send an email to the program committee,
  with details as described below for
  <a href="#talk-proposals">talks</a>,
  <a href="#hack-day-proposals">demos and hack day projects</a>,
  or <a href="#position-statements">written statements</a>.
</p>
<p class="info">
  To help with planning and communication,
  we ask all participants to register in advance.
  You will get an acceptance email to confirm registration.
  Please review the <a href="#important-dates">important dates</a> for submission deadlines.
</p>
<p>
  Participation is free.
  Anyone may ask to participate,
  whether or not they represent a W3C member organization.
</p>
<p>
  Our aim is to get diverse participation from a variety of individuals with
  different backgrounds and experiences including
  geospatial information experts,
  Web map tool developers,
  Web standards and browser developers,
  website developers who specialize in mapping or geographic data visualization,
  online map services product owners/managers,
  and
  business development, corporate strategy and innovation
  from the various industries and sectors that create or use online map data.
</p>

<h2 id="important-dates">Important Dates</h2>
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<table class="important-dates-table info"><tbody>
<tr><th>Call for participation open:</th><td>20 April 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Application and session suggestion deadline:</th><td>15 July 2020 (extended)</td></tr>
<tr><th>Acceptance notifications:</th><td>27 July 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Program announcement:</th><td>1 August 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Final deadline to submit written position statements
  and presentation slides/<wbr/>handouts:</th><td>1 September 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Video sessions:</th><td>21 September − <br/>2 October 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Discussion forum open:</th><td>14 September − <br/>31 October 2020</td></tr>
<tr><th>Final report published:</th><td>January 2021</td></tr>
</tbody></table>

<h2 id="talk-proposals">How can I suggest a presentation or panel session?</h2>
<p>The deadline for submitting proposals for presentations has passed</p>
<details>
<summary>Submission Requirements</summary>
<p>
  The goal of this event is to actively discuss topics, not to watch presentations.
  Presentations and panel discussions will be curated by the program committee
  to help provide background knowledge and experience needed to kick-start the conversation.
  Presentations will be short,
  and will be grouped into common themes
  to provide an array of perspectives on a topic.
</p>
<p>
  If you wish to present on a topic,
  please <a
   href="#program-committee">email the program committee</a>
   a summary of your proposal, by the application deadline
  (see <a href="#important-dates">important dates</a>).
</p>
<p>
  A good talk proposal should be concise (fewer than 600 words)
  and include the following information:
</p>
<ol>
  <li>Who would be presenting.
  </li>
  <li>A short title or topic statement for the presentation.</li>
  <li>Whether you think this topic would be best served as
    a full (15 minute) presentation, a lightning talk, or a Q&A panel.
  </li>
  <li>Which of the <a href="./#topics">suggested topics</a>
    your presentation covers;
    or, for a new topic, how it relates to the <a href="./#scope">workshop series scope</a>.
  </li>
  <li>What unique information, experience, or perspectives
    you would provide.
  </li>
  <li>For live video chat panels,
    what times of day (in UTC timezone) are you available for?</li>
</ol>
<p>
  All suggested presenters should also fill out
  the <a href="https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/maps2020/">attendee registration form</a>.
  Information from the form (including affiliations and biography or background)
  will be considered part of the proposal
  and may be included on the workshop series website,
  linked from the final talk description in the agenda.
</p>
<p>
  Our program committee will review the proposals and other application information
  to select the most relevant topics and diverse perspectives.
  If there are multiple submissions on similar topics,
  the committee may suggest modifying your proposal
  to focus on a unique aspect, or to shorten it for a lightning talk.
  Alternatively, multiple speakers on a single topic
  may be combined into a moderated panel discussion.
</p>
<p>
  Presenters are expected to provide copies of their slides
  or other relevant material in advance of their workshop
  (see <a href="#important-dates">important dates</a>);
  these will also be published so that other participants might review them.
</p>
</details>

<h2 id="hack-day-proposals">How can I suggest a hack or demo project?</h2>
<p>The deadline for submitting proposals for demo projects has passed</p>
<details>
<summary>Submission Requirements</summary>
<p>
  In addition to the structured discussions on standardization,
  a secondary goal of the workshop series is to connect people
  from different areas of expertise in Web mapping,
  in a virtual hackathon.
</p>
<p>
  During the workshop series,
  we will host parallel tracks for demonstrating and hacking on web map projects,
  to spark new collaboration opportunities between workshop participants.
  Hack day sessions can focus on
</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    solving specific software problems,
  </li>
  <li>
    gathering feedback from potential users of a software tool or dataset,
  </li>
  <li>
    building new demo projects with the project's tools or data,
  </li>
  <li>
    any other area of specialized discussion suitable for a breakout session.
  </li>
</ul>
<p>
  The structure of the hack sessions could include
  video tutorials or other presentations,
  live video chat Q&A sessions, or
  written discussion forums.
  This is a new type of event, so we are open to other suggestions for structure.
</p>
<p>
  Hack day sessions can be proposed by sending an
  <a
  href="#program-committee">email to the program committee</a>
  with a summary of your proposal, by the application deadline
 (see <a href="#important-dates">important dates</a>).
</p>
<p>
  A good hack session proposal should be concise (fewer than 600 words)
  and include the following information:
</p>
<ol>
  <li>Who would be leading the session.</li>
  <li>A short title or topic statement for the session.</li>
  <li>What web map tools, geographic data sources, or other projects
    you'd be working with.
  </li>
  <li>How much background experience session participants should have.</li>
  <li>What your expected goals or outcomes for the session are.</li>
  <li>What structure do you think would work best to achieve those goals?
    If it would include live video chat sessions:
    what times of day (in UTC timezone) are preferred,
    and how many sessions would you be available for?</li>
</ol>
<p>
  Hack sessions should not be commercial sales pitches!
  If your session would include the use of a commercial tool or data source,
  please emphasize how it would focus on the use of open source
  or standardized tools or data as well.
</p>
<p>
  The program committee will review proposals with a focus
  on providing a set of sessions and projects that will be of interest
  to a wide variety of workshop participants.
</p>
</details>

<h2 id="position-statements">How can I provide a written position statement?</h2>
<p>
  Written position statements allow you or your organization
  to formally express your priorities or concerns
  with respect to the standardization of maps for the Web.
  They also allow all workshop participants
  to identify, in advance, areas of consensus or disagreement
  for discussion.
</p>
<p>
  Statements will be posted on the workshop website,
  and must be submitted by
  <a
  href="#program-committee">email to the program committee</a>,
  by the deadline for written submissions
 (see <a href="#important-dates">important dates</a>).
</p>
<p>
  A good position statement should be between 200 and 1000 words,
  focus on the <a href="./#scope">scope of the workshop series</a>,
  and should include:
</p>

<ol>
  <li>A brief overview of your experience or background, as it relates to Web maps.</li>
  <li>Which aspects of Web maps you think would benefit (or not) from standardization,
    and why.
  </li>
  <li>Any specific use cases or requirements you have for standardized Web maps.</li>
  <li>Examples of best practices you think should be followed
    (or worst practices that should be avoided).
  </li>
  <li>Links to related supporting resources:
    standards, research, reports, explainers, software projects, or datasets.
  </li>
</ol>

<p>
  Position statements should focus on technical issues (what should be standardized),
  not the standardization process.
</p>

<h2 id="sponsorship">How can my organization sponsor the workshop series?</h2>
<p>
  We welcome additional sponsors
  to help us make the workshop series comprehensive and inclusive.
  See our <a href="{{'/sponsorship' | relative_url}}">sponsor information page</a>
  for more information and to apply.
</p>


<h2 id="program-committee"><a id="programming-committee"></a>Program Committee</h2>

<p>Please send all session submissions, written statements,
  and questions about your registration
  to the program committee:
</p>
<a style="font-size:120%" href="mailto:group-maps-submission@w3.org">group-maps-submission@w3.org</a>
<p>
  For more general comments or questions about the workshop series and agenda,
  email the program committee's discussion list:
  <a href="mailto:public-maps-workshop-pc@w3.org">public-maps-workshop-pc@w3.org</a>.
  Please note that all messages sent to this list are posted in a
<a href="https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-maps-workshop-pc/">public web archive</a>;
you will need to respond to a verification email before your message is posted to the committee.
</p>
<p>
  Proposals, presentations, and position statements must be in English.
  (You may include your own translations, but these will be considered unofficial.)
  Written material should be in HTML or plain-text format,
  although PDF is also acceptable for talk slides or position statements.
</p>

<h3 id="chairs">Committee chairs</h3>
<ul>
  <li>Ted Guild, W3C</li>
  <li>Mike Smith, W3C</li>
  <li>Gobe Hobona, OGC</li>
  <li>Peter Rushforth, Natural Resources Canada</li>
</ul>

<h3 id="members">Committee members</h3>

<ul>
  <li>Ryan Ahola, Natural Resources Canada</li>
  <li>Amelia Bellamy-Royds</li>
  <li>Tom Kralidis, Meteorological Service of Canada</li>
  <li>Roy Rathbun, NGA</li>
  <li>Doug Schepers, Fizz Studio</li>
  <li>Donald Sullivan, NASA</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="code-of-conduct">Code Of Conduct</h2>

<p>
  Participants in this workshop series, as in all W3C activities, are expected to
  follow the
  <a href="https://www.w3.org/Consortium/cepc/">W3C code of ethics and professional conduct</a>
  and treat each other with respect, professionalism, fairness, and sensitivity
  to our many differences and strengths.
</p>
<p>
  Issues of inappropriate behavior may be
  <a href="https://www.w3.org/Consortium/pwe/#Procedures">raised with the W3C Ombuds</a>
  (offline), or with any member of the
  Program Committee.
</p>

<h2 id="w3c">What is W3C?</h2>
<p>
  W3C is a voluntary standards consortium that convenes companies and
  communities to help structure productive discussions around existing and
  emerging technologies, and offers a Royalty-Free patent framework for Web
  Recommendations. W3C develops work based on the priorities of our members and
  our community.
</p>

<h2 id="ogc">What is OGC?</h2>
<p>
  The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international consortium of more
  than 530 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and
  universities driven to make geospatial (location) information and services
  FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.
</p>

<h2 id="topics">Potential Topics</h2>

<p>
  The final <a href="{{ relBase }}/agenda">agenda</a> of talks and workshop sessions
  will be determined based on responses to the
  call for participation.
  However, the following areas are of particular interest:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    Adding a native map viewer for the Web platform,
    similar to how HTML <code>&lt;video&gt;</code> was added for video content;
    including
    <ul>
      <li>essential, possible, or impractical user-focused
        features and capabilities of a built-in Web map viewer</li>
      <li>architecture for defining a map viewer in markup</li>
      <li>new scripting APIs for Web authors to enhance map viewers</li>
      <li>CSS integration for styling maps and map features</li>
      <li>other integration / relationship of maps with existing browser APIs
        (e.g., geolocation API, geo/map URL protocols,
          image maps, SVG and canvas graphics)
      </li>
      <li>other Web platform applications
        for map-viewer display and interaction patterns</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    Standardizing how a browser-based map viewer
    fetches data from map services
    and how that data should be formatted;
    including
    <ul>
      <li>benefits and limitations of existing map data sources
        for Web use</li>
      <li>working with offline cached map data</li>
      <li>integrating geographic data and (hyper)text annotations
        or other semantic information about spatial things</li>
      <li>working with map data in different projections
        or coordinate reference systems</li>
      <li>federating map services with links between providers</li>
      <li>supporting discovery of Web-based geospatial resources by
        crawlers, indexes, and search engines
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    Creating accessible Web map experiences
    that adapt to the different ways people interact with the Web;
    including
    <ul>
      <li>best-practice interaction patterns
        for manipulating Web (and other interactive/slippy) maps
        using different input methods (mouse, touch, keyboard, etc.)</li>
      <li>communicating spatial information through non-visual technologies</li>
      <li>personalization of map viewer display and capabilities</li>
      <li>using spatial information to enhance accessibility
        in the physical environment</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    Creating truly global Web map experiences
    that work with different languages and cartographic practices;
    including
    <ul>
      <li>linguistic and cultural considerations
        when internationalizing map-viewer interaction patterns</li>
      <li>integrating translations of place names in map data,
        and allowing users to select preferred language</li>
      <li>adapting iconography or other visual cues to local conventions</li>
      <li>working with politically disputed geographic names and boundaries</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    Limiting privacy and security impacts of a more geo-enhanced Web;
    including
    <ul>
      <li>identifying both obvious and indirect ways malicious actors
        could misuse Web maps to expose personal data
        or fingerprintable patterns
      </li>
      <li>
        creating options to support user-friendly functionality
        while limiting exposure of personal location and geographic data
        (e.g., allowing a user to do a one-time location-aware search without
          granting ongoing permission for location tracking;
          sandboxing personalized map views and interactions
          from Web map services providing the underlying data)
      </li>
      <li>communication of the impacts and risks of sharing location data</li>
      <li>validation and verification of map data sources,
        and avoiding misinformation</li>
      <li>cross-origin security risks when integrating map data sources
        (some of which may be personalized,
        or contain confidential business information)
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>