on rame carnet MEER AL
discussed above, Mr. Helava developed the Ana-
lytical Plotter when serving, first, at the National
Research Council of Canada and working, later
on, mainly with the Bendix Corporation. His con-
tribution has resulted in several generations of
analytical plotters that are of the highest class in
their own field as to their working capacity and
versatility.
Despite the fact that Mr. Helava has carried out
the greater share of his life's work abroad, we
here in Finland cannot but be proud of his great
Success and renown as promoter of a new sci-
ence. Namely, at the previous, XIIth I.S.P. Con-
gress held in Ottawa in 1972, the highest token
of recognition, the Brock Gold Medal, was award-
ed to Mr. Helava.
Finland is now happy that it may give the floor
to its own son at this festive occasion, when he
will present us with his views on the develop-
ment of photogrammetry and on its significance
in the future.
Item 5. Keynote Address
Mr. U.V. Helava thanked General Léfstrém for
his kind words and proceeded to give the Key-
note Address.
Mr. U.V. Helava:
Photogrammetry, Mapping, and Remote
Sensing
Keystones of Human Progress
We have come here to this beautiful Nordic city
from all corners of the world, from over 60 coun-
tries, | have been told, to attend the XIII Inter-
national Congress for Photogrammetry. As we
observe the proceedings of this festive opening
session, we are doing so in eager anticipation of
two interesting and stimulating weeks, filled
with papers, discussions, exhibits and various
presentations on science and technology, as well
as chances to renew old friendships and to make
new ones in the numerous social events that
have been planned by the organizers of this Con-
gress.
Since our society is primarily a technical and
scientific organization, that's where our emphasis
UTI MER LIO
sort ir res ed a oe a dn
must be. We must be up to date scientifically
and technically to fulfill our duties in today’s
world. And today’s world confronts us with enor-
mous challenges.
Mankind has been reckless and ignorant in its
use of technology and science. For most of man’s
history he was threatened by nature. Now the
direction of risk has been reversed, and the risk in-
tensified. Man threatens nature. Indirectly, he
threatens himself by willfully (or accidentally)
destroying nature’s balances, and by shortsight-
edly depleting vital, nonrenewable resources.
These negative results touch the lives of all of
us today in one way or another. In some cases
serious consequences of previous mistakes are
obvious today, or exceedingly easy to predict.
Many persons, however, tend to complacently
consider such results of those previous mistakes
only as nuisances; nothing of essential import-
ance. This is where much of the danger lies.
These events are not just nuisances, they are
indications of a persistent long-term trend which,
if left unchanged, will endanger the very life of
future generations.
What is our role? The basic resources of mankind
are all earth related — air, water, food, living
space, shelters, minerals, energy — most every-
thing man needs for his every day life and for his
work and endeavors are provided by mother earth.
When the earth is involved, so are we, surveyors,
photogrammetrists, and people involved in earth
resources exploration. Therefore, we must see
our responsibilities and our duties against this
panorama of the earth, its resources, and the
use of those resources in the activities of man-
kind.
Against this vast panorama, with its enormously
important political, social and economic prob-
lems, our own role, even our entire activities, may
seem insignificant. But this is not so! Certainly
major decisions will be made by our political
leaders, and by our fellow citizens through vari-
ous collective actions. However, these decisions
and actions may very well lack wisdom and long
term validity, if not guided by reliable and timely
information — information provided by us. Thus,
our role is not insignificant; our role is vital.
Therefore, too, our responsibilities are extra-
ordinary, and very important. We, as a group, are
the prime source of information relating to earth
and its resources. The information we provide,
if reliable and timely, may lead mankind to find
answers to the important problems of the world
and may help to relieve, if not even undo some
of the inflicted damages and existing inequities;
at least to the extent that it is feasible within so-
cial, economical, political, and temporal con-
straints.
We, photogrammetrists, as a group, have the
means to carry out inventories of basic resources,
perform explorations for others, monitor, esti-
mate, measure and produce absolutely essential
map products needed for planning and imple-
mentation of all those tasks plus all earth related
developments. To be the custodian of all these
capabilities, so urgently needed to solve some of
the most serious problems of our times, is a tre-
mendous responsibility.
How can we best fulfill our duties? We must be
timely, we must be economical, we must be sen-
37
