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ESRI MEAUC 2005 - A report
The Middle East and Africa Conference for ESRI Users 2005, the annual GIS event in the Middle East and Africa region was held from 6 to 8 December in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. The conference successfully realized its goals with the attendance of 450 GIS professionals from around the region; 40 speakers that came together in the true spirit of community to share their experiences and knowledge; 15 exhibitors, leaders in the field of GIS, eager to show the latest GIS related products/ solutions.
The plenary session featured keynote speakers H.E. Dr. Essam Sharaf, Minister of Transportation, Government of Egypt and Dr. Hoda Baraka, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Government of Egypt and ESRI President Mr. Jack Dangermond. They shared the new era vision for GIS in Egypt and the entire Middle East.
The plenary session witnessed Jack Dangermond's declaration of plans to launch ESRI North East Africa (ESRI NEA) as being a joint venture company between ALKAN CIT and ESRI. ESRI NEA will act as center of excellence for ESRI in the Middle East and Africa offering the same quality of service provided by ESRI Inc. but with the prices that is affordable in the region. The conference sessions were presented by industry experts eager to share their experiences. The exhibition was inaugurated on the 6th honored by the presence of Dr. Sharaf, and Dr. Baraka where they both were impressed with the new GIS technology as well as the quality of the exhibiting companies. On the 7th Dr. Ahmed Darweesh - Egyptian Minister of State Administration- honored the exhibition with his visit. This year exhibitors were: Quality Standards Information Technology, Hewlett Packard, Lantmateriet, TelCordia, Farsy Maps, ALKAN Telecom, Safe Software, Space Imaging ME, Microsoft, Khateeb & Alami, AED - SICAD, Thales, GISCON, and BAE systems. The event sponsors this year were Microsoft as sole Gold Sponsor, HP sponsor and GIS Development as Media Sponsor. The Gala Dinner was attended by key public figures from Egypt and the Middle East where participants had a good time mingling with GIS community while enjoying the good weather and the oriental live music. All that in the relaxing environment of simplicity, sun, sea and sand in charming city of Sharm-El-Sheikh.
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