Eyes of the Global Geospatial Sector Focus on St. Louis as City Prepares an #STLMade Welcome for GEOINT Symposium

Thousands of geospatial leaders from across the country to attend largest annual industry gathering October 5-8

“They will see that the future of geospatial technology is being built right now in St. Louis”

ST. LOUIS – Thousands of leaders from the geospatial technology sector will make their way to St. Louis October 5-8 to attend GEOINT Symposium 2021, the largest annual gathering of industry leaders in the country. This marks the first time GEOINT Symposium is being held in St. Louis, and it is scheduled to return in 2023 and 2025, highlighting St. Louis’ rapidly increasing prominence as a national center for geospatial technology.

“We are excited to show off St. Louis and our geospatial ecosystem to the rest of the country,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc. “With the rapid growth of our geospatial sector and the commitment of our entire region, attendees at GEOINT Symposium 2021 will see that the future of geospatial technology is being built right now in St. Louis.”

Part of what is being built is Next NGA West, the $1.75 billion new home of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency currently under construction north of downtown St. Louis. The new facility will feature unclassified space, allowing NGA staff to collaborate with private sector businesses and academic institutions on solutions for the future.

The St. Louis geospatial ecosystem, in alignment with the strategic priorities outlined in the GeoFutures Strategic Roadmap, is also building:

- An expanded workforce and talent pipeline to meet the needs of the growing geospatial sector.

- A network of collaborative research universities to collaborate with existing industry sectors on research and applied projects.

- A robust startup ecosystem to drive innovation and research capacity in location sciences.

- Alignments with major industry sectors to connect geospatial companies with the region’s established corporations for synergistic growth with advanced industries.

- A thriving investor and support network to fuel the growth of dynamic startups with venture capital, accelerator programs, and other forms of startup support.

- A true community with support from business, government, academia, and the community.

- An inclusive and equitable industry ecosystem through industry commitments to expanding inclusion and equity and support for neighborhood-led revitalization.

“We hope that after seeing the growth, activity, and collaboration taking place in St. Louis’ geospatial sector, attendees at GEOINT Symposium will realize that if they aren’t here now, they really should be,” said Andy Dearing, Project Lead for GeoFutures. 

GeoFutures Initiative

GeoFutures, an initiative of Greater St. Louis, Inc., was launched in October 2019 to bolster the St. Louis region’s rapidly growing geospatial sector and develop a strategic plan for the future. In June 2020, GeoFutures released its Strategic Roadmap, which laid out strategic priorities as well as signature initiatives to help strengthen and grow the region’s geospatial sector and to leverage existing strengths and generate greater prosperity and inclusive growth in the community.

USGIF Strategic Partnership

To further strengthen St. Louis’ standing as the country’s center for geospatial technology, Greater St. Louis, Inc. announced a strategic partnership with the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, the nation’s leading geospatial foundation and sponsor of GEOINT Symposium. 

St. Louis Programming Highlights

As part of its commitment to showcasing the St. Louis geospatial ecosystem to global industry leaders, Greater St. Louis, Inc. is sponsoring the St. Louis Hub, which will promote the region’s business, civic, academic, workforce development, and community partners with programming on stage each day of GEOINT. Programming at the St. Louis Hub includes (full schedule attached):

- Daily panel discussions that highlight various aspects of the local geospatial ecosystem

- Networking happy hours featuring STLMade treats and beverages like gooey butter cake, toasted raviolis, and beers from 4 Hands and Anheuser-Busch

- Lightning talks from St. Louis geospatial startups

- A Main Stage keynote address from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones (Thursday at 11:15 a.m.)

STLMADE @ GEOINT

GEOINT attendees will be greeted by a major visibility campaign from Greater St. Louis, Inc.’s STLMADE Initiative. Beginning Monday, October 4, STLMADE banners featuring St. Louis geospatial story subjects will be installed on light poles along 8th Street between Citygarden and America’s Center and in front of hotels around Downtown where GEOINT attendees are staying.

Inside the America’s Center, the STLMADE brand will greet GEOINT Symposium attendees as they enter. STLMADE will also be featured prominently on the St. Louis Hub and on a series of connected St. Louis exhibitor spaces with representatives from GeoFutures Initiative and the corporate, academic, innovation, and workforce organizations that make up the St. Louis geospatial ecosystem. 

Downtown Events

Events for GEOINT attendees will kick of Tuesday night with a welcome reception at Ballpark Village. Thursday night will culminate with the Geo-Discovery Experience, a party for GEOINT attendees at T-REX and the Globe Building, which are home to many of the region’s geospatial startups and businesses.

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A complete schedule of St. Louis geospatial ecosystem events and activities follows.

For more information about GeoFutures, visit: website, Twitter, and Linkedin.