Singapore: As with Map Asia conferences every year, the 2009 edition of the conference too brought with it a wide range of relevant and topical subjects concerning every geospatial aspect. As Singapore stands on the threshold of economic revival of the world, the theme – Connecting Communities and Creating New Dimensions – proved quite relevant to satiate the knowledge appetite of Singaporeans.
Geospatial information and technology witnessed a sharp boom in the past decade-and-half unveiling new applications each day and touching lives in every aspect. With innovation as the key driver, geospatial technologies made inroads even into the most unconventional sectors like design, engineering, energy, agriculture, health, climate change, sports, banking and insurance. As the applications started getting divergent, it has become necessary to bring these divergent communities together, provide a common platform and connect them to the experts working in the fields through the common thread of geospatial technologies. This was enabled through the seminars on Design and Engineering, Location Intelligence, Utilities and Satellite based Infrastructure and technical sessions on Open Source and Web GIS and Agriculture and Health.
As innovation started redrawing the contours of this technology dynamically, businesses had to mend ways to catch up and reap the benefits. It had become essential to create spatial data infrastructures at national and international levels to aid stakeholders take part and derive benefits out of it. It had become important to look ahead, to have multi-agency tie-ups, international alliances and public private partnerships. Geospatial businesses today have found a number of ways to forge ahead, to collaborate and facilitate the use the technology optimally. The second part of the theme, ‘Creating New Dimensions’, has worked to bring in this perspective to all the stakeholders.
While the inaugural session called on to building bridges and raising the profile the industry globally, the plenary sessions - ‘Creating New Business Models’ and ‘Connecting Communities for SDI’ - have discussed on how industry and businesses have to realign themselves to build viable and sustainable models in a dynamic environment.
In all, 98 speakers made their presentations in the three-day conference in which had about 1220 participants from 32 countries across the world. The exhibition saw about 41 companies and organisations setting up booths, engaging and enlightening the delegates in various ways.
Out of the seven posters presented at the conference, Yatin Suwarno and Irmadi Nahib, researcher from National Coordination for Surveys and Mapping Agency, Indonesia, bagged the best poster award. The best oral paper awards were bagged by Sang Ki Hong, Professor, Anyang University, Korea, Dr Shyamala Thilagaratnam, Director, Health Promotion Board, Singapore and Dan Campbell, GIS Planning Manager, City of Vancouver, Canada. The best exhibitor awards were bagged by Al-Ain Municipality, UAE; Hewlett Packard, Singapore and DigitalGlobe.
The conference has successfully helped in bringing together and connecting the staggered efforts of individual geospatial communities in different countries of the continent. It has also helped in updating the participants with the latest in the field and share each other’s knowledge and expertise.
Source : By our special correspondent