Successful Scientific Launch of UGI 2011

The scientific launch event for UGI 2011 was held on Thursday 2nd of September 2010 with about 100 people present, including leading figures from the academic, public, private and military spheres. The venue was the auditorium of the History, Geography and Political Sciences Faculty of the Catholic University of Chile at the San Joaquin campus in Santiago (a few kilometers to the south of the main UGI 2011 venue).

The program was as follows:

1. Welcome speech from the Director of the Military Geographic Institute of Chile, also President of the UGI 2011 Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Colonel Juan Vidal Garcia-Huidobro.
2. Speech of the President of the International Geographic Union, Mr. Ronald Abler, presented by video on main screen.
3. Speech of the President of the Scientific Sub-Committee, Dr. Belisario Andrade Johnson, of the Catholic University.
4. Technical presentation titled “The Tsunami in Chile of 2010: Contributions from Applied Geography” given by Dr. Marcelo Lagos López, a Professor of the Institute for Geography of the Catholic University.
5. Presentation about the UGI 2011 conference, given by the General Secretary of LOC, Colonel Álvaro Hermosilla Jarpa.
6. Cocktail event.