Istanbul to host a global confrence

The intergovernmental Group on Earth Observation (GEO), one of the world’s largest and most important organizations in the field of earth observation, will organize its eighth committee conference in Istanbul on Nov. 16 and 17.

The meeting will be hosted by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). GEO’s annual conference will bring together world renowned scientists and decision-makers in fields such as natural disasters, climate change, biological variety and sustainable agriculture.

GEO has 87 member countries and 61 international institutions. The 2011 conference will bring together more than 500 Turkish and foreign participants for two days.

There will also be exhibitions and special sessions during which institutions will promote their projects and businesses as part of the event. The exhibition will be open between 2 and 6 p.m.

Steven Fetter, the assistant director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Kathryn Sullivan, the first U.S. female astronaut and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) deputy administrator; and Robert-Jan Smits, the European Commission director-general of research and innovation are among the experts that will participate in the conference.