Dreams Do Come True... Sometimes!by Yousef Eissa, Acting Assistant Head of the Land Information Centre (LIC) |
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About
ten years ago while I was sitting in my old humble
porta-cabin office, a tall man of European descent entered
and asked me whether I was 'Yousef'. And as far as I knew,
that was the name my mother gave me when I was born, so I
answered 'yes'. Unaware that the gentleman was looking for
some other 'Yousef' in the Municipality, I invited him to
have a seat and listened to what he had to say.
After talking to him for a while, I found out that he was a sales person or a representative from an international firm that was specialized in map making which had developed a new technology for producing maps using computers. My curiosity and interest in this subject prevented me from revealing my identity and tell him that I was the wrong 'Yousef'. So I let him carry on his explanation of the services that his company could provide.
He showed me lots of literature and pictures depicting all kinds of maps that they made for various countries in the world. However, one picture, or rather, a computer screen capture attracted my attention more than any other. It was a screen capture of a planned subdivision in a GCC city done entirely on a computer. It showed everything from roads, streets, green areas to buildings and many other features both existing and those planned for the future. I was stupefied especially when he explained how while using a computer you could change, add, edit, colour and do many things in a flash.
From that moment on, a dream started to form my mind. That dream was an electronic map of Doha showing all features in vivid colors and clear details displayed on every computer in every office in the Municipality. As I was having this dream, there was an individual in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture (MMAA) who was actually planning to introduce this type of technology to the Ministry. That individual is HE Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamad Al Thani , former MMAA Minister, who in 1989 announced the introduction of GIS in the State of Qatar.
And now, less than 10 years later, my dream has finally come true. From my own desktop computer, not only can I access the map of Doha, but all kinds of maps of other areas in the country with more information and details than I ever dreamt of. Now could anybody please tell me who that idiot was who said that dreams never come true?