Esri BeLux takes great pleasure in presenting the 17th Esri European User Conference. The central theme of this year's conference will be "GIS: A Common Language Integrating Europe."

The conference, October 14-16, 2002, will be held close to Bruges, which is one of the cultural capitals of Europe. Filled with monuments and works of art, Bruges is one of the best preserved European cities from the 16th and 17th centuries. The actual conference center is located in the dunes bordering the North Sea.

Throughout its history, Belgium was often plagued with a scene of war and ongoing struggles between the historical Great Powers. During the last century, Belgium has been one of the accelerating forces in unifying and integrating Europe. Today, Belgium hosts the seat of the European Commission, the European Council, and the headquarters of many European and international organizations such as NATO.

With the implementation of GIS, the world has the opportunity to expand their resources to aid in the betterment of the human condition. It allows us to explore questions such as how diverse is Europe? What causes this diversity? How can we help to improve the conditions of life socially, economically, and environmentally? Just through sharing what we know, we create a better and more integrated Europe.

Esri's GIS technology is widely used throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The Esri European User Conference will allow users to explore the concepts of GIS and the products used to implement it. This will be displayed via presentations, posters, on-site demonstrations, and interaction among the attendees. There will be several vertical tracks. Plenary sessions and many technical workshops will be hosted in English, French, and Dutch.