Editorial

In this issue, I would like to share my experiences from the days of XX Istanbul ISPRS Congress Director to the days of Secretary General of the ISPRS with you. First of all, I recall some of my friends' warnings which were served as Congress Director and Secretary General previously They told me `Orhan don't expect an easier job .Be sure that being a Secretary General is more difficult than being a Congress Director. "At the very beginning

I didn't believe or I didn't want to believe them. From my point of view, ISPRS has a history close to hundred years, very well established, has certain traditions and rules; almost everything defined and categorized with utmost management standards. Today, I completed almost half of my term as Secretary General, and realized what my friends' warned me about during the Congress is exactly true.

As a Congress Director I was working with approximately a hundred people, trying to coordinate task groups on various subjects and follow up the Congress directives was really an easier job comparing with what I am dealing as the Secretary General in these days.

However, the main difference between these jobs is quite obvious. Although during the congress period you are working with various task groups on various subjects and manage the congress committees with democratic rules, you are the only decision maker and you have to bear all the responsibility personally. The only way to follow is to control if the related action is done properly, with coordination and in time.

Meanwhile, as the Secretary General of the ISPRS you have to establish close contacts with OdM, AsM, RgM and StM's, follow the activities of WG's and 200 people working within, most of these activities don't need your decisions but its your duty to follow these up and ask the related people to conduct these activities as per the regulations of the organization. You have to deal with different cultures, different traditions and different understandings, different mode of operations. All those are the hardest part of the job really!

The Congress Director is the king of his own operations within already established terms .You are familiar with your own country's regulation, you are familiar the costums and method of workings of your team and you also familiar with the capacity of your own country and environment whereas The Secretary General is only the servant to the most of the people that he is working with! I think this is something that the next Secretary General should really note…

I assume that you don't evaluate above mentioned facts as complaints. I only liked to share my feeling for my job up to now. Taking into account the reactions received from the various parts of the world, I proudly say that the General Secretariat team is quite successful. I should give some of the credits to my team members Ms Melis Mine Sener (MS), Mr. Emin Ozgur Avsar (MS) and Mr. Umut Aydar (BS) which are seriously working and following day to day activities at the Headquarters of the Society. I also should mention the guidance and work experience of previous Secretary General and the President Prof John Trinder who worked with us during his stay at Istanbul Technical University as visiting professor. I must put Cenkler Printing House into the above mentioned team for the support and coordination they provided to the Society. This list will not be completed if I don't mention the supports, contributions and positive approaches of my colleagues within the Society distributed all over the world. Thank you ALL for your teammanship spirit!

By Orhan Altan, ISPRS Secretary General