Map Middle East Conference to have eminent speakers

Map Middle East, an international platform designed for building networks to enable g-lateral ties in the Middle East region for geospatial community is aimed at encouraging professionals representing different stakeholders of geospatial community to come together on a common platform and work together means and ways to encourage geospatial related ties and collaborations at national, regional and global levels for overall growth of geospatial industry in the region.

The central theme of the conference 'Geospatial@Work' will focus on the ways and means in which the geospatial solutions have helped in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation in terms of work processes and delivery outputs.

The conference organized by GIS Development in partnership with Department of Municipal Affairs has gained the support of Rolta as the Platinum Sponsor; Sokkia and Trimble as the Gold Sponsors; CIO Bahrain, Ajman Municipality, MOMRA - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dubai Municipality, Space Reconnaissance Centre, UAE, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, Center for GIS, Qatar, King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST), Military Survey Department and Supreme Committee for Town Planning, Oman as Government Partners; Atheeb Intergraph, DigitalGlobe as Co- Sponsors and Business Communication LLC as Lanyard Sponsor.

It is also getting support of Open Geospatial Consortium and United Emirates University as the Knowledge Partner and is promoted by its media partner - Geo Connexion.

The conference has lined up an array of nationally and internationally renowned speakers who have agreed to grace the occasion. The conference will open with the eminent speakers from such prestigious organisations as the General Headquarters of Armed Forces, the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute deliberating on and central theme of the conference and presenting their views from the perspective of their respective industries.

Some of the more prominent speakers attending the conference are Maj. Gen. Khalifa Al Romaithi, Director General, Department of Military Works, General Headquarters of Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi; Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament & Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, India and Dr. Yi-So-yeon, Astronaut, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, South Korea.

The eminent speaker line-up at the conference continues with speakers representing governments, industry and academia discussing issues facing the geospatial industry and focusing on the major aspects related to the theme of the conference.

The speakers are:

Dr. Abdulla Ghareeb, Executive Director, Property Management, Department of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Eng. Muhamad Alrajhi, Assistant Deputy Minister for Land & Surveying, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Ordnance Survey, United Kingdom.
Eng. Mohammed Al Zaffin, Director - GIS Centre, Dubai Municipality, Government of Dubai, Dubai, UAE.
Shailesh Nayak, Secretary - Ministry of Earth Sciences & Former Director Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Government of India.
Prof. Ian Williamson, Department of Geomatics, Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Ben Eazzetta, President - International Operations, Rolta, USA.
Prof. Ian Dowman, Past President, International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), United Kingdom.

Map Middle East will have dedicated plenary sessions; symposiums on Design & Engineering and Utilities & Transportation; seminars on Oil & Gas, SDI for City Management and Governance and Geosptial Technology - Development & Trends. The conference will have will host a congregation of key vendors with an eminent focus on Middle East market and its growing economy.

The exhibition would span over an area of more than 3000 sq m. The exhibition hall will have the latest state-of-the-art facilities conducive to the requirements standards of the national and international organizations participating in the Exhibition.

Extending his views on the thoughts of the eminent speakers, Sanjay Kumar, the Chief Executive Officer of GIS Development said, "On behalf of GIS Development, I welcome all our esteemed Speakers for Map Middle East 2009. As experts in their respective domains, these eminent speakers will extensively contribute in enhancing the knowledge of the participating delegates and contribute to discussions and deliberations around the conference theme (Geospatial@Work)."