International events organiser Montgomery Asia has announced that its highly anticipated flagship geospatial and location intelligence event for Southeast Asia, Geo Connect Asia, has gone hybrid. Bringing together the latest innovations in smart cities, digital construction, remote sensing and UAVs, amongst many others, Geo Connect Asia 2021 will take place at the heart of Singapore, with both a physical event on 24th and 25th March 2021 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre, as well as a virtual Geo Connect Asia 2021 for delegates and visitors.
Themed “Global Solutions for Asia’s Geospatial & Location Intelligence Markets”, Geo Connect Asia (GCA) 2021 will be Southeast Asia’s inaugural online & offline conference and business-led geospatial services and location intelligence event. It is also set to be Singapore’s first large-scale physical-virtual event to-date in 2021, combining a two-day conference, technical talks and plenary sessions to provide a forum for an industry which is crucial to regional development as ASEAN economies continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic. GCA 2021 is where digital transformation embraces smart and sustainable cities as drivers of change and will provide a personalised meeting space for business and educational exchange.
A safe, trusted and innovative MICE experience
GCA 2021 will be the next pilot tradeshow to trial the ‘hybrid event’ prototype developed by the Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences. The prototype seeks to provide delegates with the degree of interaction they would be accustomed to in a regular tradeshow setting – but in a far safer way which minimises infection risks.
Riding on the learnings and insights from TravelRevive, GCA 2021 will pilot creative solutions to enhance health and safety for delegates, as well as digital enablers to allow participants a seamless experience in the current Covid-19 environment.
Geo Connect Asia Conference
The event highlight is the Geo Connect Asia Conference themed, “Mapping the Data-driven Future Economy”. It will be led by high-level speakers and thought leaders from across the global geospatial industry, providing a strategic and collaborative platform for industry professionals, government agencies, start-ups and more to exchange knowledge, expand networks, and develop global solutions for burgeoning geospatial & location intelligence markets across Asia. The two-day conference will comprise various panel sessions where industry experts will share invaluable insights, provide responses to real and current challenges and will also facilitate both face-to-face and virtual business meetings to be conducted in the safe environment complying to Safe Management Measures (SMM).
The conference will feature 40 leading international speakers including Hwang Yu-Ning, Chief Planner & Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore; Philipp Kandal, Head of Engineering, Geo, Grab, Singapore; Dr Winnie Tang, Founder & Honorary President, Smart City Consortium, Hong Kong; David Henderson, Chief Geospatial Officer, Ordnance Survey, United Kingdom; Robbie Schingler, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Planet Labs, United States; and Farizan D’Avezac de Moran, Senior Consultant, GreenA Consultants, Singapore. Key highlights of the GCA 2021 Conference include 10 keynote addresses, panel sessions and extensive dialogue.
Rupert Owen, Montgomery Asia Event Director and Co-founder, said, “We are hugely excited to announce that Geo Connect Asia 2021 will be Singapore’s first physical-virtual event of its size in 2021. Going hybrid is set to be a game-changer in this new normal, as international travel remains limited while physical events are slowly allowed to resume (under strict health & safety protocols). There has also been significant clamour for the safe resumption of face-to-face meetings after a very long interval, and a dual-platform approach brings the best of both worlds. In spite of challenging market conditions, we have been receiving strong support from the industry, including Bentley Systems as Gold Sponsor, to participate in Geo Connect Asia 2021, to add to a strong list of previously committed companies. We look forward to providing a very personalised experience for the ASEAN geospatial community and the associated industries and at the same time reaching out to a much wider audience in a virtual space.”
Ng Siau Yong, Director of the Geospatial and Data Division and Chief Data Officer at the Singapore Land Authority, said, “SLA continues to support Geo Connect Asia as a Knowledge Partner, as the event is a key lynchpin of the geospatial community in Singapore and ASEAN. The geospatial sector has a role in accelerating opportunities and economic recovery as the region’s economies shift to the new normal. Geo Connect Asia could act as a catalyst for accelerating the broader adoption of cutting-edge geospatial technologies across a vast range of sectors in Southeast Asia. As Singapore forges ahead towards becoming a Smart Nation, geospatial technologies will have a growing role to play in the country’s growth and transformation.”
Andrew Phua, Executive Director of Exhibitions & Conferences at the Singapore Tourism Board, said, “STB will continue to support and collaborate with our MICE industry to cement Singapore’s position as one of the world’s leading destinations for safe, trusted, and innovative MICE events. The event’s focus on digital transformation and sustainability in smart cities is in line with the opportunities that Singapore is exploring in the new environment. Geo Connect Asia 2021 is also the first hybrid tradeshow of the year in Singapore, and we look forward to a safe and fulfilling experience for all our visitors and delegates.”
