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The XIXth ISPRS Conference, 16-23 July 2000, Amsterdam

Less than one year to go!

The 19th Congress of the ISPRS Geoinformation for All to be held in Amsterdam from 16 to 23 July 2000 now is less than one year from becoming reality. With the deadline for abstracts of 30 September 1999 coming-up shortly, it seems appropriate to provide you with an update of the status of the conference hoping it will encourage you to participate and attend the meeting.

The 48-page thick Second Announcement has been sent out several months ago. In case you did not receive a copy of the announcement, please download a copy from our Internet pages (please visit us at http://www.itc.nl/~isprs) or contact our secretary at

Local Organising Committee ISPRS2000
C/o ITC
Ms. Saskia Tempelman, Secretary or
Dr. Freek van der Meer, Scientific Secretary
P.O. Box 6
7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands
Tel. +31-53-4874358
Fax. +31-53-4874335
Email: isprs@itc.nl

Further details on the conference can be found at our web pages. With the conference coming closer, we aim at updating the information on these pages every week to ensure that the latest news reaches the interested participants.

The Congress Scientific Programme will be held at the Amsterdam RAI. The Amsterdam RAI hosts 22 congress halls, 11 exhibition halls covering a total of 87,000 square metres, 7 restaurants and countless multipurpose lounges. The unique environment of the RAI will ensure a memorable event. During the main body of the conference, plenary sessions, special sessions, technical sessions, poster sessions, an exhibitor�s showcase sessions will be held while simultaneously a commercial and scientific exhibition allows participants to take note of the latest developments in photogrammetry and remote sensing. During the opening session, a plenary general debate with a panel including top-level representatives from science, policy, industry, united nations organisations and user communities will set the targets for the aims, challenges, applications and benefits of the sciences working under the ISPRS umbrella. The special sessions aim at enhancing the dialogues between scientists, industry, policy makes and users and include invited speakers from the wider circle of organisations with strategic significance for the activities of the ISPRS scientific community. Most of the time of the conference will be devoted to technical sessions, which cover inter-technical commission session themes and technical commission session themes. An important role in transfer of knowledge is expected from the poster sessions. These will have an interactive nature and will enhance the face-to-face discussions between scientists. The exhibitor�s showcase sessions are technical sessions for presentations by commercial firms engaged in the fields covered by the ISPRS. On 14 and 15 July, preceding the conference, tutorials will be organised on various topics either in Amsterdam or on location. Locations vary widely from Delft to Enschede and from Wageningen to London. Furthermore, workshops will be organised preceding the conference. These workshops focus on a variety of topics of relevance to the ISPRS community such as forensic sciences, 3D medical imaging, disaster mitigation, impact of mining, object reconstruction and geospatial data infrastructure. Again, the locations are variable ranging from Amsterdam to Bonn. In close association to the conference, parallel international scientific meetings of sister societies and specialised groups are organised which can be attended at a reduced fee. These include meetings of the IUGS (http://www.isric.nl), NSEOG, the 4th International Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural Resources (http://www.gis.wau.nl/Accuracy2000), and the 5th International Conference on Geo-computation. Since the 19th ISPRS conference coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the International Institute for Aerospace Surveys and Earth Sciences (ITC), several special events are organised for ITC alumni and others interested at the location of the new ITC building in Enschede. In the framework of these events, ITC hosts the Second EARSeL workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy from 11 to 13 July 2000 at it�s campus (see also http://www.itc.nl/is2).

If the science gets too much you can just go "on tour". Technical tours during the conference bring you to ESA-ESTEC and the Noordwijk Space EXPO, where you can witness the history of space science and the future to come, to TNO Physics and Electronics Laboratories, where remote sensing sensors are being developed, to the National Aerospace Laboratory, The Netherlands central institute for aerospace research, to the Survey Department of Rijkswaterstaat, where geoinformation is managed for the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, or to ITC, The Netherlands� heart of international education on remote sensing and GIS located in Enschede in a futuristic new building. If it all gets too overwhelming, let Amsterdam surprise you. Amsterdam, located on the estuary of the River IJ close to the IJsselmeer and North Sea, with it�s characteristic rings of canals, the world famous Rijksmuseum and renown for painters like van Gogh and Rembrandt.

We feel that we have put together a very attractive supporting programme comprised of a social programme open to all participants and accompanying persons and a accompanying persons programme which enables you to get acquainted with Amsterdam and The Netherlands. The social programme includes various receptions such as the welcome reception on Sunday, the Exhibitors reception on Monday and the civic reception on Wednesday offered by the Municipality of Amsterdam. The spectacular Millennium Diner Show 2000, looking back on 2000 years history and looking forward to the next millennium, caters for an unforgettable evening. Several day-trips can be booked to become acquainted with The Netherlands, its� history and culture. Visit the typical Dutch villages of Volendam, Marken and Monnickendam with their historic fishing and traditional customs and clothing. Or see Rembrandt and his colleagues of the Dutch Golden Age in Amsterdam. Why not take the North Holland Grand Tour travelling by bus, steam-train, and boat through typical Dutch villages and countryside.

Note that the deadline for submitting abstracts is 30 September 1999. You can submit your abstract via the electronic form on our web pages. Alternatively you can send your abstract, in the designated format, to the congress organising bureau:
CONGREX HOLLAND BV
XIXth ISPRS Congress
A.J. Ernststraat 595k
1082 LD Amsterdam
The Netherlands

These resources can also be used to register as participant to the congress.

The theme of the Congress, Geoinformation for All, was chosen to express the fact that the acquisition, processing, dissemination and use of geoinformation are no longer a playground monopolised by scientists and specialists. The importance of these activities for society should be manifest and this Congress should make an effort towards proving this. The president of The Netherlands Society for Earth Observation and Geoinformatics who also is the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Congress, Prof, Dr. Martien Molenaar, gave several interpretations of the Congress theme highlighting various aspects in relation to the mission of the ISPRS society: geoinformation for the benefit of all, geoinformation available for all, geoinformation accessible for all, geoinformation useful for all, geoinformation producible by all, and geoinformation understandable for all. To end this article some quotes on the theme of the congress, Geoinformation for All, derived from the Letters of Welcome published in the Second Announcement. The ISPRS President, Dr. Lawrence W. Fritz, describes his dedication to the mission as follows:

The Congress features the scientific and technologic (S&T) research, development and applications conducted by the remote sensing, photogrammetric and spatial information sciences global community during the 1996-2000 ISPRS term. This theme is quite appropriate as it identifies the remarkable achievements of our community and related technologies in the creation of "Information from Imagery".

The Dutch Minister for Development Co-operation, Mrs. Eveline L. Herfkens, states that:

The theme for the turn-of-the-millennium ISPRS Congress in Amsterdam, "Geoinformation for ALL" reflects a spirit of world-wide solidarity, the wish to contribute to a better quality of life for all and a productive environment for present and future generations.

The ISPRS Congress Director, Prof. Klaas Jan Beek, formulates this as follows:

We want to emphasise, that our spatial sciences belong to the pillars on which the future of our planet earth and its inhabitants depend. In line with this, the motto of the Congress is: "Geoinformation for All"

We very much look forward to welcoming you at the 19th ISPRS Congress in the year 2000 in Amsterdam!

On behalf of the local organising committee ISPRS2000,

Freek van der Meer, Scientific Secretary

Last change: 05-Nov-1999 by André Streilein
Problems and/or queries, send e-mail: a.streilein@geo.tuddelft.nl