East and West Mingle at EMEA User Conference

Istanbul, Turkey, was the perfect setting for the latest European (and this time also Middle Eastern and African) User Conference October 15-18, 2000. More than 500 delegates from more than 30 countries participated in the three-day event, which was organized by the local Esri distributor ISLEM GIS.

The first day featured the opening speeches by Jack Dangermond, David Maguire, and several other speakers among which were Professor Banger of the Turkish Prime Ministry and Lawrie Jordan of ERDAS. Those who participated in the Twentieth Esri User Conference in San Diego in July were struck with the similarities.

The poster session in the evening was a good opportunity for the delegates to visit the many partners in the exhibition in order to get updated about their products and services. More than 20 partners had a booth, among them Compaq, LizardTech, ERDAS, Miner & Miner, Space Imaging, and Navigation Technologies.

The two days that followed were filled with user presentations, technical workshops, and a special defense track.

What would a conference in Turkey be without a dinner party during which the participants could get a glimpse of the colorful past of that country? Sultans, a royal military band, folk dancers, and, of course, graceful belly dancers were the entertainment between the courses and made this Ottoman dinner an unforgettable event.

During the last day the participants could enjoy a boat trip over the Bosporus Strait during which both the European and the Asian shores were explored, forming a perfect closure of this wonderful event where people of East and West mingled in the best possible way.

During the conference people could already get information about next year's conference, which is going to take place in Lisbon, Portugal, October 17-19, 2001.

ArcNews home page