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First National GIS Symposium in Saudi Arabia
The 1st National Symposium on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was held from November 21 - 23, 2005 in Al-Khobar and attracted 500 registered participants. It brought together various stakeholders in the geospatial domain on to one platform for interacting, sharing knowledge and experiences in the geospatial sciences and discussing a broad range of topics such as the latest developments in technology, and new applications.
The Symposium was organized by the High Committee of Geographic Information Systems in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia under the patronage of Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, Governor of the Eastern Province. The Organizing Committee included representatives from Governorate of the Eastern Province, Dammam Municipality, Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province, Ministry of Water and Electricity in the Eastern Province, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Telecommunication Company and Saudi Electric Company. The exhibition, parallel to the symposium, showed the latest GIS technologies, applications and development in the geospatial field. During the exhibition, twenty seven organizations and companies showcased their activities, products, services. More than 600 professionals visited the exhibition which was held for three days.
Sixty papers were submitted to the Symposium Scientific Committee, out of which 31 were accepted and presented
by distinguished speakers from the industry, academia and
local government. The presented papers covered the following topics:
- Urban and Regional Planning
- Municipal Development and Management
- Utilities & Telecommunications
- Environment and Natural Resources
- Internet GIS
- GIS & GPS
- Enterprise GIS
- E-Government and E-Commerce
- GIS Planning and Implementation
- GIS Education and Training
In the Panel Discussion, representatives of the High Committee of Geographic Information Systems in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, held an open discussion which
highlighted many issues and recommendations to be done in the GIS field. Many of these issues were documented and
were sent to His Highness Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, Governor of the Eastern Province for review and approval.
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