Connecting Societal Challenges with the Geomatics World

Due to the rapid growth of the world’s population, our planet will face several major challenges in the decades ahead. Urbanisation, climate change, water scarcity, growing pressure on land rights and the challenge of feeding a global population of more than 9 billion by 2050 are just some of the key issues we need to resolve. The geospatial sector can play an important role in helping to overcome these challenges.

To explore the geospatial sector’s contribution more closely in this context, the team behind GIM International, the world’s leading magazine on geomatics, has decided to organise its own event. The GIM International Summit will take place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 10-12 February 2016 and will attract thought leaders and key decision-makers from within and beyond the global geomatics sector.

The GIM International Summit is focused on discussing the future of the industry – for educational institutes, professionals and policymakers alike. The discussion will be fuelled by speakers from outside the traditional geomatics world, all of whom are experts in their own field. They will explain the needs and desires of the wider world and outline how they would like to see the geomatics sector develop.

The summit will be very much based on the concept of ‘inside looking out’ rather than merely insiders’ perspectives. The main topics of the Summit – Water, Food Security and Social Justice – will be brought together under the overarching theme of ‘Seeking Space for Future Development’. The GIM International Summit will be future oriented, forward looking, explorative and sometimes even provocative.

Keynote Speakers

The keynote speakers already confirmed include Hans Rosling, who will evangelise his key message that the old division between developed and developing countries has been replaced by countries on a continuum of social and economic development. Another high-profile contributor is Morten Jerven, who recently published his latest book, Africa, Why Economists Get it Wrong, in which he fundamentally reframes the debate and challenges mainstream accounts of African economic history.

Besides stimulating new discussions in the geomatics world, the GIM International Summit will offer ample opportunities to network with peers, both during the conference and at social events throughout the cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam. Endorsing partners are Kadaster International, ITC University of Twente, FIG, GSDI and ICA. For more information, visit www.gimsummit.com. To sign up directly – and take advantage of the early-bird discount – click here.

By Wim van Wegen, editorial manager, GIM International