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Congress Director's Report at Closing Session 
by Klaas Jan Beek 
This XIX Congress had a duration of seven days with an 
additional three days for Tutorials and Workshops preced- 
ing the Congress. It was shorter than previous ISPRS Con- 
gresses. Another difference compared to earlier Con- 
gresses was that the Technical Sessions were based on 
themes, with much emphasis on broad inter-commission 
sessions. 
The Technical programme was established after the Cie IV 
Symposium in Wildbad, Germany (Sept. 1998). At the end 
of 1999, the 1,400 abstracts as received were evaluated 
and matched with the proposed thematic sessions in con- 
sultation with the TCP's and convenors of these sessions. 
About 1096 of the sessions were re-adjusted after receipt 
of full papers after 1st May 2000, with some communica- 
tion difficulty between Local Organising Committee (LOC) 
and TCPs. The LOC appreciates the many positive reac- 
tions to the Congress Theme "Geoinformation for All" and 
its introduction during the Opening Plenary Sessions and 
exposure during the technical/special sessions. 
We hope that, as a result, the 'message' from the user 
community will have a lasting impact on the activities of 
the ISPRS, in concurrence with the Strategic Plan pre- 
sented by President L.W. Fritz. 
The Exhibition was a great success! The exhibitors appre- 
ciated the compact, one-week programme. The exhibitors 
emphasised the high level of quality of visitors and excel- 
lent interaction. Many new products, giving better insight 
into technological possibilities in the digital era were intro- 
duced. The exhibition also showed a clear tendancy 
towards integration in the production chain from imaging 
to information. The Exhibitor Showcases were also well 
appreciated, both by the exhibitors by the public. 
The statistics of the XIX Congress are quite comparable to 
the XVIII Congress (Vienna). Some statistics of the Amster- 
dam Congress are given here: 
Full Fee Registration 1,290 
Reduced Fee Registration 260 
Accompanying Persons 170 
Day Tickets 400 
Archives - Vol. A 150 
Archives - Vol. B (hardcopy) 140 
Exhibition 1300 
Technical Tours 410 
Tutorials 130 
Workshops 25 
International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. Amsterdam 2000. 
In Table 1 you may find information about the number of 
sessions and their attendance per Commission. A grand 
total of 109 sessions were realised. Not only the Technical 
and Intercommission sessions, but also the poster ses- 
Sions were well attended and appreciated. An average of 
58 persons were present during the sessions, which is very 
motivating. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cie | Number of Total Number | Average 
Sessions of Persons Persons 
per Session 
I 8 589 74 
II 14 1,207 86 
III 17 1,494 88 
IV 20 1,235 62 
V 18 731 41 
VI 6 305 51 
VII 26 762 29 
Total 109 6,323 58 
  
  
  
  
  
  
We have provided the Abstract Book free to all partici- 
pants. New was the Congress CD-ROM: it was given to all 
full participants (1,570 distributed). A supplementary CD- 
ROM will be distributed after the Congress to all full par- 
ticipants. This CD-ROM will include corrected papers, late 
papers and a final list of participants. The Congress Web 
Site (www.itc.nl/-isprs) will include all pictures. 
The LOC has taken the 'Geoinformation for All' slogan into 
practise. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, 
the Congress financially supported the participation of 83 
persons from 35 countries (developing countries, Central 
and Eastern Europe). 
Ladies and gentlemen, we look back upon a different, 
compact and focused Congress. Thanks for your active 
and enthusiastic participation. 
269 
  
ISPRS 
2000