News & Event

The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Education is preparing to host the 11^th edition of the International Conference on Geographic Information Systems (Geo Advances), scheduled to be held in September 2026 in Salalah in Dhofar Governorate.

This annual conference is an international platform that brings together a select group of researchers, academics, and specialists in geospatial technologies from around the world, with the aim of promoting research and exchanging expertise and knowledge.

The selection of the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Education, to organize this conference confirms its pioneering role in employing geographic technologies in school curricula. The Ministry, represented by the Directorate-General of Curriculum Development, has been keen to develop social studies curricula and link them to future skills, geographic technologies, and spatial thinking. Central geographic laboratories have been established in the educational directorates in the governorates, equipped with the latest geographic and surveying equipment and geographic information systems (GIS) applications, to qualify students and prepare them for the labor market. The Ministry has also implemented qualitative projects on a global level, including developing a spatial data structure (digital school atlas) for educational purposes, and establishing the first repository for historical maps of the Sultanate of Oman in geographic information systems, in cooperation with Khatib & Alami and Esri companies.

Organizing this conference in the Sultanate of Oman complements the Ministry's efforts in digital transformation and provides a strategic opportunity to learn about international and local expertise in geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, drone applications, artificial intelligence, processing of two- and three-dimensional spatial data, and related applications.

It is worth noting that the tenth edition of this conference was held in May 2025 in Marrakesh, Morocco, organized by the Faculty of Science at Hassan II University and the Malaysian University of Technology.