Published in TDAN.com January 2002
DAMA International Conferences
The DAMA International Conference held in March in Anaheim, co-located with the Meta Data Conference, was the largest DAMA International Conference yet with 1200 people exchanging ideas, concepts,
problems, and successes. The DAMA International Europe Conference held October in London, co-located with the Meta Data Conference and Information Quality Conference, doubled in size over last
year. The annual conference in Australia became the DAMA International Australia Conference and joins the other two International Conferences in terms of success. Plans are in progress to increase
the scope and size of all three DAMA International Conferences in 2002.
The DAMA International Conference and Meta Data Conference will be held in San Antonio next May. A most enthusiastic Program Committee is reviewing approximately 300 responses to the Call for
Presentations and is putting together a program that rivals last year’s event. This conference will have more planned and ad hoc SIG’s, workshops, tutorials, track sessions, and
keynotes. The SIG’s will be used to determine the interest in a variety of topics which may become track sessions or tutorials in future conferences. In addition, the local DAMA Heart of
Texas Chapter is adding the flavor of local events and history in the San Antonio area.
The DAMA International Europe Conference will be held in London next October. Plans are underway to increase the size of that conference by 50% with more tracks, tutorials, vendors, and the
addition of SIG’s. The scope of topics will be increased and the international aspects of data resource management will be emphasized.
Similarly, the international aspects of data resource management will be emphasized in the DAMA International Australia Conference. Speakers will talk on a wide variety of topics in tutorials,
track sessions, keynotes, and SIG’s. This Conference is a truly great addition to the DAMA International set of conferences.
These are difficult times for many people. The economy is down, cutbacks are prominent, jobs are difficult to find, businesses are facing many challenges and seeking improved practices for
survival, and technology continues to evolve. DAMA International is adjusting the Conference programs to meet these uncertain times by increasing the scope of topics to include enterprise
application integration and process modeling, adding more SIG’s, seeking increased vendor participation, and improving the networking opportunities with colleagues in similar situations.
Our goal is to make these Conferences banner events in spite of the difficult times. If you can attend only one event for the year, the DAMA International Conferences are the one to attend. If you
are unable to attend any of these events, please let us know how we might help you contribute to or benefit from these events. It is the quality feedback from both attendees and those that cannot
attend that help up improve the Conferences. Send any ideas, comments, or suggestions to me at mhbrackett@aol.com and I will make sure that they are reviewed and incorporated into our conference
programs. You may also visit the DAMA International web site at www.dama.org for more information about these conferences and other DAMA International activities.
I hope to see you at one of these Conferences in 2002.
Column submitted by Michael Brackett, the President of DAMA International. Please visit the DAMA International web-site at http://www.dama.org.
