INTERGEO East opens its doors on Wednesday, 19 May 2010 in Istanbul

Forging links in Istanbul – companies and institutions from 23 countries use the forum in South-East Europe to make new contacts

Istanbul/Karlsruhe, 12 May 2010. When INTERGEO East opens its doors on Wednesday, 19 May 2010 in Istanbul, it will make a clear geographical statement. It will be the first time that the two-day trade fair and three-day conference for land management, geoinformation, the building industry and the environment has been held in the Turkish metropolis, which is the only city in the world that straddles two continents. This kind of get-together is extremely useful for driving forward geosciences worldwide. The world’s physiognomy has changed dramatically in recent years, with many of the consequences resulting from environmental changes being caused by man. These include freak weather conditions, diseases, water shortages and natural disasters, although some events – such as earthquakes – are not new phenomena and cannot be attributed to man’s actions. As a result, up-to-date global information geared towards long-term forecasts is essential as a basis for making sound decisions, explains Orhan Altan, President of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). The ISPRS is helping to organise INTERGEO East this year and is responsible for one of the sessions at the conference.

85 companies and institutions from 23 countries, including China, Japan, India, Canada, Germany, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and the U.S., have registered for the industry forum in South-East Europe. The event will focus on tools and accessories, GIS solutions, and technology transfer involving service providers for remote sensing and photogrammetry.

Exhibitors such as Trimble, Leica, Topcon, ESRI, Riegl, Vexcel, Intergraph and their Turkish partners will be taking this opportunity to exchange knowledge and expertise. This year, Istanbul is not just the European Capital of Culture, but is also forging links between growth markets in the geo industry in Europe and Asia, explains Prof. Karl-Friedrich Thöne, President of the German Association of Surveying – Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management (DVW). The DVW’s conference session puts the spotlight on SDI – Germany’s way to INSPIRE and focuses on 3D models. Conference Director Prof. Rahmi Nurhan Çelik is confident that there will be plenty of scope for transferring know-how and sharing experiences thanks to a balanced programme that gives equal weight to regional, national, international and global topics. For example, in line with the conference themes Networking World and Bringing Space Down, Alias Abdul-Rahman, Chris Gold and Pawel Boguslawski will be concentrating on the topic of Dynamic 3D GIS – current status and perspective at the international session. Zeki Adli, General Director of General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, will be opening INTERGEO East on 19 May. Some 3,500 visitors are expected at the Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Centre up to and including 21 May for the 6th INTERGEO East.

INTERGEO East 2010 takes place from 19 to 21 May in Istanbul. It is the first time that the event has been held in Turkey.
Further information is available at www.intergeo-east.com