Cape Town, South Africa July 10, 2008 – GIS Development, organiser of Map Africa 2008, the third Annual African Conference and Exhibition on Geographical Information Technology and Applications, is pleased to announce the distinguished line of Conference Speakers. Map Africa 2008, which is being co-organised by the Department of Land Affairs, South Africa is scheduled for August 25 – 26, 2008 at Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dr. Derek Clarke, Chief Director: Surveys and Mapping, South Africa and co-organiser of the conference said, “Map Africa 2008 brings to us top quality international speakers in the field of geo-spatial information science and technology, such as Vanessa Lawrence, Ian Williamson, Bill Cartwright and Josef Strobl. Having such renowned speakers on our doorstep at the same time does not happen often, so this is a golden opportunity to interact with these experts and our colleagues from Africa. My staff will participate in building their knowledge of the utilization of geo-spatial information for the development of Africa.”
On the occasion, Sanjay Kumar, Chief Executive Officer GIS Development expressed his pleasure by stating, “We are really glad to announce the distinguished line of speakers for Map Africa 2008. I am confident that the expertise and experience of such outstanding speakers will contribute to developing the knowledge base of the African geospatial community. I am also pleased to inform that this year at the exhibition of Map Africa, we have an excellent mix of international as well as African companies who will put on display their latest technology and services. I welcome all speakers, participants and exhibitors to the conference and sincerely hope that each participant can derive maximum out of this opportunity.”
The confirmed speakers for the conference are:
Inaugural Speakers
Dr. Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Ordnance Survey, Great Britain
Prof. William Cartwright, President, International Cartographic Association, Australia
Dr. Derek Clarke, Chief Director Surveys & Mapping, Department of Land Affairs, South Africa
Dr. Marc Tremblay, Vice President and General Manager – CBU, DigitialGlobe, USA
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Hartmut Rosengarten, Programme Manager – Europe, Middle East and Africa, Intergraph Earth Imaging Solution Centre, Germany
Dr. R S Rao, Senior Regional Sales Director-Middle East, Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, GeoEye, USA
Prof. Ian Williamson, University of Melbourne, Australia
Kaushik Chakraborty, Vice President India, Middle East & Africa, ERDAS, India
Prof. Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, GIS Development, India
Prof. Josef Strobl. Director, Center for Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, Austria
Eng. Mohammed Al Zaffin, Director GIS Centre, Dubai Municipality, UAE
John Sasser, President, Rolta Middle East and Africa, UAE
Exhibitors
Over the last two years, Map Africa conference has witnessed tremendous growth, in terms of participating delegates, speakers as well as companies taking part in the exhibition. This year, the exhibition of Map Africa 2008 will provide opportunity to the following companies and agencies to showcase their latest offerings to the participating delegates:
AAM Hatch
Antirx Corporation, India
Computa Maps
Department of Land Affairs, South Africa
DigitalGlobe
ERDAS
Fugro Maps
GeoEye
GeoSence
Reutech Radar Systems
Rolta Simeka
Southern Mapping Company
Sivan Design
Speck Systems
SuperGeo
Vexcel
Map Africa 2008 poses to be an ideal networking hub and a not-to-be-missed destination for professionals, academicians, researchers and industry personnel of Africa.
About GIS Development
GIS Development is an organisation dedicated to developing a Global Geospatial Communications Network. It strives to promote and propagate the use of geospatial technologies in various application areas for economic and social development. It remains dedicated to foster the growing network of those interested in geo-informatics worldwide and particularly in Asia. Through its activities – Magazine, Portal, Conferences, Training, Education and Research – it assists communities and governments in developing capabilities, policies and programmes as well as facilitates knowledge transfer to grassroot level. www.GISdevelopment.net
About Department Of Land Affairs
The Department of Land Affairs seeks to provide enhanced land rights to all South Africans, with particular emphasis on black people, that would result in increased income levels and job opportunities, productive land use and well–planned human settlements. DLA has the responsibility for the formulation of land related legislations and policies, land reform programmes as well as planning. Through its various directorates, DLA aspires to be foremost supplier of land and geo-spatial related information and services to the people of South Africa. It provides training as well as organizes workshops on surveying, mapping and land deeds registration. http://land.pwv.gov.za/