Plenary Speakers

During the Opening Plenary session selected political leaders will address the fine balance of users, producers and the ephemeral stardust needed to make an undertaking like INSPIRE work ... !

In the past, economic growth often seemed to depend on using up natural resources as though supplies were unlimited. Recognizing this unsustainable trend the EU is now moving towards a Green economy as major contributor to our overall growth and wellbeing without harming our environment. A Green economy empowered by innovative economic instruments and technologies allowing to better manage our resources more efficiently and where sustainable consumption and production go hand in hand with better policies for water and waste.
This plenary will reflect on the potential of geospatial information and technologies to further empower such a transition towards a Green economy and the relevancy of INSPIRE as geospatial legal framework for this purpose.

The digital transformation of EU business and society presents enormous growth potential for Europe. Geospatial technologies and the management of geospatial information combined with the range of opportunities that technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data – including Earth observation, advanced manufacturing, blockchain technologies and artificial intelligence offer, can be a major contributor to such growth.
This will enable our industry to become a major player in the emerging markets for the products and services of the future while delivering the technologies needed for our society to realise our transition towards a Green economy. Within the partnership of the Urban Agenda for the EU on the digital transition, cities,
EU countries and the European Commission work together to provide more efficient public services and a better knowledge exchange. They focus on future health and social care services, eGovernment, 5G, urban planning, future learning and skills development This plenary will focus on the interplay between the digital transformation and its embedded innovation in technologies and the Green and Digital transition initiatives. It will look at geospatial information from a Big data and digital platforms perspective and reflect on the need for building up Digital Skills , on the importance of ICT standardization and interoperability and the role of Cities and regions as major players in the Digital and Green transition.

The closing plenary session of the conference is in the first place the moment where we take stock of the lessons learned during the conference. Rapporteurs from the Conference Organising Committee – Germany, France, the European Commission and also the European Environment Agency will present and discuss the findings and lesson learned from workshops, plenaries, thematic presentations and posters. This will offer the participants a useful "take-away" package, a source of future 'INSPIREation' . Finally, it is also the moment where once again we have to say goodbye, however not without saying until the next time. No INSPIRE conference is complete without honoring and thanking the current organizers for their hospitality and the announcement and presentation of the next year's conference hosts and venue.