One word that echoed the most at the recent INSPIRE-Geospatial World Forum was ‘collaboration’. The conference itself was a live example of a collaborative platform. Having the likes of ministers and governor taking the same stage as geospatial industry representatives is a milestone for the community, a result of constant effort and dedication of our industry visionaries.
To quote Sanjay Kumar’s introductory remarks at the conference, ‘Geospatial community is passing through a transitional phase and gaining momentum towards being an inherent and integral stakeholder of local, regional and global communities.’ Today, the industry consists of hundreds of visionaries, thousands of scientists, millions of professionals, billions of users and all of us are influencing trillions of dollars for social and economic development globally.
While the conference proved to be a major success, the follow-up actions will determine how much further our industry can grow. Rather than putting it all on the shoulders of certain group of people, why not we, as geospatial professionals, too, play our role by leaving our silos and start thinking as a community. This is the only way for geospatial industry to make an impact in the world economy and society.
