erations, our organising committee suggested that we 
consider as our symbol, the four-leaf clover to symbolise 
the year 2004. As you know clover is the plant used to 
cleanse the soil from chemical fertilisers and insecticides. 
The four-leafed clover is indeed a rarity, bringing joy and 
happiness to its finder. So, | invite you all, here and now, to 
come to Istanbul where you will find your very own four- 
leaf clover in the form of a well-run, consumer-friendly, 
thought-provoking and interesting programme. 
You have all eaten of the unique three-legged chicken, so 
come now to the greener pastures of the four-leafed clover 
in Istanbul. 
Thank you Mr. President. 
  
Address of Outgoing Congress Director, Klaas Jan Beek 
Ladies and Gentlemen: 
A congress director finds himself positioned between two 
extremes: he is the slave of the Council, but at the same 
time he is the slave-driver of his Local Organising Commit- 
tee, while putting also a lot of pressure on many col- 
leagues in the ISPRS organisation. 
| should like to use this opportunity to thank in the first 
place all the participants of this Congress for their enthu- 
siasm and scientific contributions in presentations and de- 
bate. | hope that you will take home very good memories 
and a strengthened sense of solidarity with the world we 
live in, a world which badly needs your scientific support 
to cope with so many developmental problems. On space- 
ship earth there are no passengers, only crew members. 
With your science you can contribute to the realisation of 
our challenging congress theme: ‘Geoinformation for All’. 
Nelson Mandela once said that the most important human 
right in the 21st century will be the right for information. 
You can contribute to that vision. 
| also want to thank all the organisers of this Congress: 
Our PCO Congrex: maybe it is because | am getting older, 
but it keeps amazing me how such an organisation is able 
to manage a complex project like this, requiring many tail- 
  
  
276- 
or-made solutions because of our typical ISPRS culture, 
with such young people, in particular young ladies, who 
have invested huge amounts of their energy to give you an 
unforgettable week here in the RAI. The same goes of 
course for the staff of this RAI Congress Centre and for 
Rose International, the Agency which organised the Exhi- 
bition in grand style. 
| also want to thank the Editorial Committee of the Daily 
News, chaired by Johan Boesjes of GITC, keeping you in- 
formed about the many things happening during the Con- 
gress, including those which you could not always attend 
because of the many parallel activities. GITC was also re- 
sponsible for all printed matter and the CD ROMs of the 
Congress Proceedings. 
| thank the Local Scientific Committee chaired by Martien 
Molenaar, who has just been appointed a the new rector 
of ITC, which will assure continuity in the close ties 
between ITC and ISPRS. As you must have noticed, we 
have introduced a new concept in the programming of the 
scientific meetings, providing them with more focus and 
correspondence with the Congress theme, in good co-op- 
eration with the Technical Commission Presidents and the 
Council. | admit that we borrowed this successful concept 
from an other scientific society with which | have close 
ties: the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS). 
| thank my Local Organising Committee, personified by 
Saskia Tempelman, who during the past four years man- 
aged billions of e-mails and functioned really as the cen- 
tral point of our organisation. But of course also the all oth- 
er members of our Committee have been very effective, 
creating an efficient team, also during this Congress when 
a lot of improvisation and hard work was still required. 
| thank our sponsors who helped us to bring about ninety 
participants from the developing countries to Amsterdam 
and who also greatly supported us in keeping our Con- 
gress Fee at a low level, the high fee was still under 400 
US dollars, including the CD ROM of the Proceedings. 
| thank all colleagues for their support and friendship, 
which for me is the most valuable lasting result of organ- 
ising this Congress, and finally | thank my wife Herma and 
my children for all their understanding and support during 
- International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIll, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.