Economist and UN SDSN President Jeffrey Sachs and National Geographic Society Chief Education Officer Dr. Vicki Phillips Will Discuss the Future of Global Geospatial Technology Engagement and Education

REDLANDS, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — July 7, 2020 — Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced that the 40th annual Esri User Conference will be the largest virtual gathering of GIS professionals. Normally held in San Diego, California, the conference will be presented in a completely virtual format and take place July 13–16, 2020. The Esri User Conference brings together technology innovators, executives, educators, scientists, and GIS users seeking to solve challenges in their organizations and throughout the world, using the most powerful mapping and analytics platform on the planet.

This year's conference theme, GIS—Interconnecting Our World, explores how geospatial technology can integrate everything and engage everyone to overcome unprecedented global challenges. Esri founder and president Jack Dangermond will open the conference—which this year will see the Plenary Session span across three days—with his observations on how GIS, the world's nervous system, has never been more interconnected than it is today.

"Through the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has unfolded over the first half of the year, we have seen just how interconnected the systems of the world are," said Dangermond. "GIS plays an important role in moving us forward by connecting these systems among individuals and across national, state, and local governments; private businesses; and society as a whole. Our users facilitate this through an intelligent nervous system that enables everyone to build better outcomes for their communities. They have used GIS to respond to this global pandemic, improve their organizations and communities, and create a more sustainable world."

Conference attendees will hear from thought leaders from around the globe. Dr. Vicki Phillips, executive vice president and chief education officer at the National Geographic Society, will join Dangermond during the Plenary Session. They will discuss the many ways geography and spatial thinking play a vital role in the multidisciplinary education of the next generation. Attendees will learn how Esri and the National Geographic Society are partnering to develop seekers of spatial solutions.

To close out the Plenary Session, world-renowned economist, professor, author, and president of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Jeffrey Sachs will share his vision for how timely data can drive progress on the global UN Sustainable Development Goals. He will discuss the release of a new open-access data platform, SDGs Today, developed in partnership with Esri and National Geographic—and how geospatial science can inspire deeper engagement with information to interconnect society for a more sustainable future.

The Esri User Conference provides an opportunity for GIS professionals to participate in more than 500 activities, including technical workshops, user presentations, and demo sessions. Organizations and individuals from 170 countries and all 50 states are expected to attend the virtual conference.

Attendees will have opportunities for networking, collaboration, and real-time interaction with Esri experts. User presentations and the perennial favorite, the Map Gallery, will be featured digitally. A library of recorded sessions and demos will be available as an ongoing resource after the conference.

The 2020 Esri User Conference is complimentary to attend, and the Plenary Session will be livestreamed to the world for anyone to watch. For more information and to register for the virtual Esri User Conference, visit esri.com/uc.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the US, as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the US Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.

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Jo Ann Pruchniewski
Public Relations, Esri
Mobile: 301-693-2643
Email: jpruchniewski@esri.com