Location Key to Europe's Digital Agenda Says the Association for National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies

“A vibrant digital single market needs quality information from a trustworthy source,” Ingrid Vanden Berghe, President of EuroGeographics told guests. “The authoritative, interoperable geographical information provided by our members crosses national borders and is a vital link among otherwise unconnected information frameworks. It increasingly underpins many everyday activities as well as a new generation of web-based applications provided by industry, SMEs and governments. Uses include providing location information for place-based and thematic policy and services, reducing the costs of these and delivering many benefits in health care, traffic management, environmental monitoring, national security and many other areas of European society.”

“To support the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable growth, EuroGeographics’ members are currently working to develop the European Location Framework which will link data to a common, maintained location framework of definitive, reliable public sector reference data to realise a host of benefits for a wide range of users.”

The keynote speaker, Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein MEP stressed the importance of taking a holistic view of the challenges that society faces and the very many opportunities to improve the economy and provide safer societies. She encouraged businesses, especially SMEs and governments, to work together to realise the benefits from the use and re-use of properly funded Public Sector Information.

To find out about EuroGeographics’ activities, visit www.eurogeographics.org