Under the Honorary Presidency of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, the International Congress on Engineering in Geomatics and Surveying will be celebrated between the 18th and the 21st of February, 2007. It will be organized by the Real Academia de la Cultura Valenciana, the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia and the Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Técnicos en Topografía, coinciding with "Congreso Nacional TOP-CART 2008" and an International Symposium organized by Commissions 2 and 3 of the FIG (Federación Internactionale des Géomètres). Furthermore, two exhibitions will take place at MuVIM (Museo Valencià de la Ilustració i de la Modernitat), and at the Real Academia de Cultura Valenciana.

In a developed society the knowledge of the territory is essential for all type of activities (economic, political, social, recreational, etc.) and this knowledge is provided by Surveying, Cartography and other compatible sciences and techniques.

No modern state can work correctly without a deep knowledge of how, and under what conditions, is the earth property distributed and how it is being used, not only for fiscal reasons, but also for the development of city-planning policies, farming, creation of infrastructures, etc. Thus, without the collaboration of Surveying and Cartography and their technicians, that is, the Technical Engineers in Surveying, that knowledge will always be partial and, therefore, little useful or useless.

The last technological developments in these disciplines, promoted by the great advancement of computer science and its ease of access for all citizens, have caused a drastic change in the instrumentation and in the methods used, making it necessary for professionals to have a forum in which to meet and exchange their professional knowledge and experiences, with the purpose of providing society with the best initiatives from the engineering field in which they are experts.

Congreso Nacional TOP-CART 2008 is the meeting point for all the professionals and organizations, public and private, that, in a direct or indirect way, are related to territory, surveying, cartography and similar sciences. Its main aims are:

• The diffusion and knowledge of the last advances and new technical features, through the technological-commercial exhibition.

• The exchange of information and experiences during the cycle of conferences and roundtables to be celebrated in the congress.

• The elaboration of a referring of technical and professional conclusions.

In this occasion, the event will reach an international importance thanks to the participation of re-knowned researchers involved in the study of this field. It represents an essential part of the professional development and that we have to incorporate in our daily tasks (Presidents of FIG, ICA, ISPRS, IGGU, important members of FAO, World Bank, Habitat Program of UN, etc.).

The Organizer Committee invites public and private entities, scientific associations and all the professionals related to Surveying, Cartography and similar sciences to participate and cooperate in that Congress with their attendance or with their own experiences and projects.

THE ORGANIZER COMMITTEE