CALL FOR ABSTRACTS &
DIGITAL EARTH SESSION PROPOSALS
The 10th Digital Earth Summit + Locate26 are excited to announce our call for abstracts to celebrate and showcase the talent, advancements, and achievements from across our industry. You are encouraged to put forward your best ideas for the enjoyment of our diverse range of delegates including geospatial professionals, industry and government representatives, our research community, and those within education and training.
If you have the idea, we have the stage for you.
In addition to a call for abstracts, ISDE are also inviting the submission of session proposals - details are further outlined below.
Please note: The 2026 conference will be a face-to-face event and presenters will be required to attend the conference and present live. All accepted presenters must register to attend the conference and pay the conference registration fee.
ABSTRACT DEADLINE: MONDAY 30TH JUNE
SESSION PROPOSAL DEADLINE: MONDAY 1ST JUNE
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
All abstracts are to be submitted for oral presentation. Each oral presentation (except for YEP Symposium abstracts) will be allocated 20 minutes in length which will include questions (i.e. 15-minute presentation and 5-minute questions). Presentations may have more than one speaker. In addition to the 20-minute presentation time, there will also be 10 minutes at the end of each session for a panel discussion with all speakers in the session.
Submissions can be made for either the Digital Earth stream OR the Locate stream. Details for each are included further down the page.
You will be asked to include the following when submitting your abstract via the online portal:
- Presenting author full contact details (name, organisation, phone number, email address)
- Presenting author profile photo, less than 1MB in size
- A brief bio of the presenter/s (max 50 words)
- If you have more than 1 presenting author, the bio for each presenting author is to be submitted
- The title of your presentation
- Type of presentation and in which stream you are submitting
- The theme your abstract is intended for within that stream
- The body of your abstract (maximum 400 words) should be in simple text paragraphs without images or tables. Abstracts and presentation titles should be carefully checked for spelling and grammar as they will be published exactly as received. It is the submitter’s responsibility to ensure the correct version of the abstract is uploaded.
- Experience in presenting (drop down box of first time, 1-5, 6-10, 11+)
- If the abstract has been presented (or published as a paper) anywhere within the last 12 months or accepted for future presentation/publication, if so where?
- All accepted presenters must register to attend the conference and pay the conference registration fee.
We strongly encourage you to ensure BEFORE you submit your abstract you have sought the approvals to present this work at the conference. Any abstract submitted that does not have approval will not be confirmed into the program.
LOCATE ABSTRACTS
Deadline: Monday 30th June
If submitting for the Locate stream you will be asked to indicate which sub-stream you would like your abstract to be considered for:
- Locate General (includes Surveying stream)
- ASIERA Research Stream: For this stream, authors are encouraged to submit their best work for the opportunity to be recognised with the ASIERA Award for Best Presentation, celebrating excellence and innovation in geospatial research.
- YEP Symposium: Young and emerging professionals (YEP) are the future of our industry. We invite those with an interesting case study, research project or innovative new idea for the industry to submit an abstract and indicate their interest in being part of this session. Symposium presentations are 7 minutes, with 3 minutes for questions (10 minutes total). Presentations can include case studies, research projects or innovative ideas.
Abstracts are sought on the disciplines below. When submitting your abstract for an oral (concurrent session) you will be asked to choose from the list below. If none of the disciplines suit your presentation, please select ‘Collective’ – the program committee may adapt or change the final themes in the program.
- Land surveying
- Engineering surveying
- Hydrography
- GIS and data
- Remote sensing and photogrammetry
- Positioning/geodesy
- Business
- Collective
- ASIERA (see below topics)
- Geospatial Foundations & Data Systems (GIS, remote sensing, geodesy, surveying,data models, standards, interoperability, spatial analytics & data quality)
- Emerging Technologies (GeoAI & machine learning, digital twins & smart cities, IoT-integrated geospatial systems, cloud, big data & automation workflows)
- Environment, Climate & Resilience (climate adaptation & mitigation, nature-based solutions, disaster risk (bushfires, floods, landslides), environmental monitoring & modelling
- Urban Futures (urban analytics & spatial planning, infrastructure & mobility systems, land use dynamics, microclimates & liveability indicators)
- Society, Governance & Geospatial Education (Spatial justice & equity; indigenous and community-led mapping, governance, ethics & data sovereignty, education, curriculum & capacity building
JOURNAL PUBLISHING
Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper. Further details regarding the journal will be announced shortly.
DIGITAL EARTH ABSTRACTS
Deadline: Monday 30th June
Digital Earth stream submissions will be asked to select keywords from the below list during submission:
Digital Earth Theories and Platforms, Earth Observation and Remote Sensing, GeoAI, Spatial Data Infrastructure, Digital Twins, Geospatial Analytics, 3D/4D Mapping, Modeling and Visualization, Applied Digital Earth Systems in Society, Geospatial Big Data, Smart Cities, Climate Monitoring, Environmental Sustainability, Disaster Risk Reduction, BIM–GIS Integration, UAV Mapping, Interoperability Standards, IoT Sensing Networks, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Earth System Modelling, Geospatial Digital Transformation, Spatial-Temporal Analysis and Modeling, Urban Studies and Planning, Location Based Service, Geospatial Governance, Geospatial Data and Analysis, Citizen Science, Global Geospatial Ecosystems, Big Earth Data for SDGs.
DIGITAL EARTH SESSION PROPOSALS
Deadline: Monday 1st June
Proposals for sessions are welcomed for the Digital Earth Stream. You will be asked to include the following when submitting via the online portal:
- Contact details of lead organiser (name, organisation, phone number, email address)
- Chairperson author profile photo, less than 1MB in size
- A brief bio of the chairperson (max 50 words)
- A list of proposed speakers and their affiliations
- The title of your session
- The keyword that relates to your session (see list below)
- The body of your abstract (no less than 200 words in english) should be in simple text paragraphs. Proposals and presentation titles should be carefully checked for spelling and grammar as they will be published exactly as received. It is the submitter’s responsibility to ensure the correct version is uploaded.
- All speakers within accepted sessions must register to attend the conference and pay the conference registration fee.
Digital Earth stream submissions will be asked to select keywords from the below list during submission:
Digital Earth Theories and Platforms, Earth Observation and Remote Sensing, GeoAI, Spatial Data Infrastructure, Digital Twins, Geospatial Analytics, 3D/4D Mapping, Modeling and Visualization, Applied Digital Earth Systems in Society, Geospatial Big Data, Smart Cities, Climate Monitoring, Environmental Sustainability, Disaster Risk Reduction, BIM–GIS Integration, UAV Mapping, Interoperability Standards, IoT Sensing Networks, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Earth System Modelling, Geospatial Digital Transformation, Spatial-Temporal Analysis and Modeling, Urban Studies and Planning, Location Based Service, Geospatial Governance, Geospatial Data and Analysis, Citizen Science, Global Geospatial Ecosystems, Big Earth Data for SDGs.
SELECTION PROCESS AND TIMELINE
All submissions will be reviewed by industry members and assessed by the Program Committee using the following criteria:
- Relevance to the selected theme
- Originality
- Clarity of purpose
- Engaging and informative
Session proposal deadline: Monday 1st June
Abstract submision deadline: Monday 30th June
July 2026: Blind abstract and session proposal review process to be completed
August 2026: Presenters notified outcome of their submission and successful authors must register by asset deadline
End-August 2026: Official conference program released
LOCATE CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
PO Box 44, Gosford NSW 2250 Australia
Tel: +61 2 4319 8519
Email: info@locateconference.com.au