Memories of ACRS

Sarath Jayatilake, Former Deputy Surveyor General Sri Lanka

It is with great pleasure that I am writing this message for the 20th Anniversary memorial book of the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing having had the privilege of participating in 9 of the conferences and being very actively involved in organizing the two Conferences held in Sri Lanka in 1983 and in 1996.

Former Surveyor General of Sri Lanka, late Mr. Christopher Nanayakkara was one of the few Asian Remote Sensing scientists along with Prof. Sunji Murai who mooted the idea of the formation of an Asian Association on Remote Sensing and the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing in the late 1970's. Hence from that time Sri Lanka has been involved very actively in the affairs of the Asian Association on Remote Sensing and the Asian Conference on Remote
Sensing.

I have been associated with the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing from 1983, when the Asian Conference was organized for the first time in Sri Lanka. Organizing the main conference, the Asian Association meetings, poster sessions, the social events, the vendor presentations, organizing the arrivals and departures of the foreign delegates, post conference technical tours, local technical papers, the conference lunches and dinners etc were a very great experience. However when the next turn of hosting the confe-rence came in 1996 to Sri Lanka, the organization of the conference was much easier with the experience gained and it was also a great pleasure in doing so.

During the entire period, the most striking feature of the conference, which I noticed was the goodwill and the spirit established by the scientist of various countries, and the good network of human relationships that were bonded.

The social evenings of the conferences took a great step in the formation of these bonds and understanding which has developed among the remote sensing scientists of Asia and the delegates from the developing countries who attend this conferences. The usual welcome party along with the musical items by each country delegates will never be forgotten by those who have ever attended an Asian Conference on Remote Sensing. It was indeed a treat watching the various items by the countries and also to see the delegates of the developed countries also joining in this event.

The Asian Conference on Remote Sensing has gone from strength to strength mainly due to the hard work done by Prof. Sunji Murai. Prof. Murai says very often that the spirit of friendship should come first. He has been successful in implementing this idea within the remote sensing community in Asia.

Having had the experience of very active involvement in the organization of the 1983 and 1996 conferences in Sri Lanka, I am personally aware of the tremendous support and encouragement given by Prof. Murai in organizing these conferences. I also have seen the tremendous effort he has put in to help the young scientists of the region, he has also brought in a new concept to the Conference by awarding prizes for the promising young scientists in order to encourage them. Hence this Conferences are of a unique nature, as spirit of a friendship, built into the system.

I wish the Asian Association and the Asian Conference many more useful years for the scientists of Asia.