The ISPRS Congress Draws Near!

The XXII ISPRS Congress will be held in Melbourne, Australia, in August of this year and preparations for the event are well underway. The website has been updated to provide participants with all the very latest information they could need.

The Congress committee received over 1,800 abstracts for the technical sessions. These have been through the review processes (several of the Commissions are conducting a full peer review) and are presently being allocated to oral or ‘interactive’ presentations. The Melbourne Congress will see the launch of a new way of presenting what were traditionally known as ‘Posters’; these will now be presented digitally in short oral sessions combined with interaction with the authors in front of large monitors.

Plenary and keynote speakers have been confirmed for the Congress. They represent a wide range of discipline areas and promise to offer valuable contributions to the scientific programme. They are:
• Konrad Schindler, ETH Zurich, Switzerland;
• Madhu Chandra, Technische Universitaet Chemnitz, Germany;
• Stewart Walker, BAE Systems, San Diego, USA;
• Rainer Sandau, IAA;
• Piero Boccardo, Politecnico di Torino, Italy;
• Ranganath Navalgund, Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, India;
• Peng Gong, Tsinghua University, Beijing and University of California, Berkeley, USA;
• Stuart Lane, University of Lausanne, Switzerland;
• Gordon McBean, President Elect of ICSU;
• Gilberto Câmara, Director of INPE, Brazil.

The Congress will include many ‘Theme Sessions’ and ‘Special Sessions’, such as an all-day Earth Observation Forum, featuring representatives from the major imaging satellite organisations, and a CIPA Heritage Documentation Session, in which professionals dealing with the management of monuments and sites will gain insights into the latest approaches in recording, documenting and information management. In addition, there will be several sessions on disaster management and a report on the status of the Global Land Cover project.

While the exhibition space is filling up quickly, there are still some booths available for organisations keen to showcase their products or expertise.

Naturally, the technical sessions will be accompanied by a fantastic social programme. The Congress offers the perfect opportunity for participants to sample Melbourne’s restaurant scene, experience indigenous Australian culture, wonder at Australia’s unique wildlife and to attend a Gala Dinner to remember.

The location of the Congress, the wonderful city of Melbourne, has been awarded several new citations. It has been selected as the ‘Best City in the World to Live In’ by The Economist magazine as well as being praised by BBC Travel. But there is no need to take their word for it – simply register for the Congress and see for yourself!