The 5th Annual Map Middle East conference and exhib-ition on geospatial technology took place in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center in the United Arab Emirates from 26th to 28th April on the theme of enabling G-Lateral ties. The conference started with a well-attended inaugural ceremony, followed by official opening of the accompanying exhibition.

The first day of conference was the best attended, but overall numbers of visitors was lower than expected by exhibitors. One reason must surely have been the last-minute change of venue and dates. Modest attendance was, however, well compensated for by the quality of visitors.

Despite the economic worries in the region, the geospatial industry still seems to be thriving, with plenty of buzz in the air around large projects up for tender. The breathtaking speed of development in the region over the past few years has led to an increasing demand for (geo)information and the tools to manage this data. No surprise, then, that the main focus of the exhibition was on aerial surveying and 3D-city modelling, many exhibitors displaying 3D-models at varying degrees of resolution and accuracy.

The exhibition came to life on days two and three with the visit of a few hundred students and schoolchildren, all eager to learn and experience the use of geoinformation and GIS. The international mix of delegates to conference and exhibition was impressive, with people attending from all over the world. This was a truly global event for Map Middle East, proving the region?s strong presence within the international geo-community.