Greetings: The IX international exhibition and scientific congress INTEREXPO GEO-SIBERIA-2013

“Advanced Geospatial and Surveying Technologies for Environmental Management and Sustainable Territorial Development”

Novo Siberia, Russian Federation 16 - 18 April 2013

Greetings from Mr. CheeHai Teo, President of FIG.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Warm greetings from our global community and we extend our heartiest congratulations to the Siberian State Academy of Geodesy on its 80th Anniversary. We also congratulate SSAG, its partners and supporters for the successful hosting of the ninth edition of the Interexpo GEO-Siberia in Novosibirsk, an event that combines an international exhibition and scientific congress, that provides a forum for professionals and participants from both near and far, to deliberate and demonstrate the use and usefulness of geospatial and surveying technologies for sustainable environmental management and sustainable development.

Our Profession must recognize ongoing global initiatives on managing all information spatially or geospatially, on voluntary guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forest, on the continuum of land rights toward secure tenure and property rights for all. We also recognize a rapidly changing environment, where we are witnessing newer generation of web-based and mobile services that are stimulating an increasing interest and use of our sciences, technologies and practices in society and industry today. Information with geospatial context is increasingly being used to ensure emergency services arrive at incidents in time, for evidence based decisions, to support the formulation of policies, to ensure citizen-centric delivery systems, to name some, as well as for whole-of-government efficiencies.

We are optimistic as our Professional community has the sciences, technologies and practices to rely upon. Our Professional community also strive to be in touch with political, societal, environmental and economic realities and in the midst of all these, with ethical principles and conduct, serving people, places and policies with our data, information, knowledge and actions. This is a complex and interconnected environment but when this environment is operating synergistically, there can be sustainability.

Over the course of this three-day event, I trust there will be ample opportunities to discuss, debate and deliberate latest and advanced approaches that will allow our Profession to be continually armed with knowledge and best practices, extending the usefulness of geospatial sciences and surveying for the benefit of society, environment and economy, increasing our relevance and contribution.

We wish all delegates, participants as well as the organizers, supporters and sponsors useful
discussions, debates and deliberations.

CheeHai Teo
President
International Federation of Surveyors

28 May 2013