As we approach the 21st Congress of ISPRS in Beijing, it is worth reflecting on the heritage that has been left to us by the past leaders of the Society. The Austrian Society was formed in 1907, the German Society in 1909 and the International Society of Photogrammetry (ISP), the original name of ISPRS, was formed in Vienna on 4 July 1910, at the initiative of Professor Eduard Doležal from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria. Plans are underway to celebrate the Society's centenary on 4th July 2010 in Vienna Austria. The plans include an extraordinary General Assembly in the morning to ratify a new Strategic Plan for the Society, a formal celebration of the formation of the Society and recognition of its achievements in the afternoon, and a Gala Dinner in the evening. It is hoped that as many people as possible from all Ordinary, Associate, Regional and Sustaining Members will be able to attend this significant event that recognises a major milestone in the Society's history. In December 2007 the first formal meeting of the organising committee to plan the celebration was held in Istanbul Turkey, to ensure that it is a great success.
It is important that we recognise the major contribution made by Professor Doležal in forming the Society, as well as those of the many professionals who followed him. These professionals were motivated by the foundations established by Professor Doležal to maintain and advance the Society over the next almost 100 years. The technologies with which ISPRS is associated have changed rapidly since the Society's early days, when the airplane had only just been developed and the acquisition of aerial photography was in its infancy. In those days photogrammetrists developed methods to avoid the major computational load in processing aerial and close range photography. It is a long way to the digital aerial and space imaging and automatic processing that are now available to experts in ISPRS. The aims and goals of the Society have adapted to the technology changes over the years. The Society was originally involved in the development and applications of aerial and close range photography. Today, the Society has expanded its range of activities to what is referred to in the logo as ‘information from imagery', and includes the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences. While ISPRS continues to be the major international organisation working on the topic of photogrammetry, it shares the fields of remote sensing and spatial information sciences with other international bodies. It is dependent on scientists working in the areas of remote sensing and spatial information sciences to continue to advance these areas, thus demonstrating the role that ISPRS can play in these topics.
The success of ISPRS is largely due to the expertise of the leaders of the Society and the participants in the Society's Technical Commissions and Working Groups, many of whom work for the Society with little recognition. The future of the Society will depend on contributions of future generations of experts and scientists who are motivated to continue to pursue its aims and goals. Recognising the contributions of our forefathers in ISPRS should ensure that the Society will continue to attract dedicated people to manage ISPRS and successfully pursue its aims and goals. I strongly urge all new professionals in ISPRS to participate in ISPRS activities and reap the benefits that the Society can provide. If they feel further motivated to serve in one or more of the positions in ISPRS, then this will provide additional benefits to those who are willing to do so.
I have worked in ISPRS Working Groups, Technical Commissions and Council since the 1970s. Working as the First Vice President at the Beijing Congress will be my last responsibility in the Society before I bow out of ISPRS activities. It has been an exhilarating experience for me to work with colleagues from all over the world on developing scientific and technical programs as well as leading in the administration of the Society, an experience for which I am grateful and feel privileged to have taken part in. A legacy of my period as President of ISPRS is the formation of The ISPRS Foundation, which aims at funding worthy individuals to participate in ISPRS activities. I hope that I will be able to continue to work for the Foundation in the future.
John Trinder
First Vice President
Operations Officer, ISPRS Foundation