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viding "Information from Imagery." Our sciences and tech-
nologies are no longer data driven but are now information
driven, thanks to many of the marvelous advancements
made in the computer and communications disciplines. We
have broadened our horizons and are now engaged in
extracting the spatial, spectral and temporal information
embedded in imagery. As a result, the global community
already tastes the benefits provided by the rapid advance-
ments toward all-digital technology and for spatially
enabled applications, which are destined to improve the
quality of life for all humankind. This Congress will expose
you to these many achievements and to the scientists from
all over the world responsible for them, and it will recognize
those who have made the foremost achievements.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you some of the
leaders of our sister Societies. They are ICA President
Bengt Rystedt, IAG President Fernando Sanso, IHO Direc-
tor Neil Guy, IGU past President, Hermann Verstappen,
FIG Secretary General Christian Andreasen, ICA Secretary
General Ferjan Ormeling and IAG Secretary General Chris-
tian Tscherning. | ask them please to stand to be recog-
nized. These distinguished guests are meeting here this
week to continue growth of positive interdisciplinary co-
operation with one another and with the international sci-
ence community. There are several other distinguished
colleagues that | wish to recognize here today. May | ask
Honorary Members Friedrich Ackermann and Gottfried
Konecny to rise. | offer best wishes of the Congress to the
other four Honorary Members who could not be with us
today. And | am very pleased for us to recognize Per Olof
Fagerholm from Sweden, a distinguished member of the
ISPRS Council for 16 years, during 1952 through 1968. He
served on the ISPRS Council with Prof. Schermerhorn
back in the early 1950s. We are very pleased to have these
major contributors to our Society here with us today.
Dear distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, | encour-
age you to participate fully in all that Congress Director
Klaas Jan Beek and his hard-working organizing commit-
tee have prepared for you. The Congress is an excellent
opportunity to meet and greet colleagues and friends from
all sectors of our global community. The lasting friendships
you form at an ISPRS Congress will bring a warmth to your
heart that is unforgettable and rewarding.
Many of you may have not seen this Chain of Office which
| am honored to wear today. It was a gift to the ISPRS in
1964 jointly from The Photogrammetric Society and the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Great Britain. It
was given to "symbolize the growing unity of scientists and
technicians occupied with the work of importance for the
peace and prosperity of the world." Let us keep these goals
in mind as we enter this Congress. | wish you all a suc-
cessful Congress and thank you for your attention.
Presentation by Prof. Dr. Ir. Martien Molenaar,
President NSEOG & Chairman Scientific Committee
Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues,
Our Congress Director, Klaas Jan Beek, talks in his open-
ing address about six years of anticipation and prepara-
tion. Well, that might be true for him but the Council of the
Netherlands Society for Earth Observation and Geoinfor-
matics has been thinking about this event for a much
longer period.
For quite some time we have received requests to take
once more a major responsibility on our shoulders for
ISPRS and, indeed, the last time was in the inter congress
period 1984-1986 when we took responsibility for Com-
60 tne
mission VII. At that time, it was also Klaas Jan Beek who
volunteered as Commission President. Since then our
contributions have mainly been at working group level.
Well, why did it take us so long to offer our services again
to ISPRS to take care of a major event? An why now?
When we explained our bid in Vienna we gave several rea-
sons.
One reason was that Willem Schermerhorn organised the
first congress in the new era that started after the Second
World War. So we thought that it would be in his spirit if we
could organise the first congress in this new millennium,
which is also expected to be the start of a new era.
International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.
