IIC Technologies at GWF2026: Hydrospatial Infrastructure and the Blue Economy

Jonathan Pritchard joined an impressive panel at GWF2026 in Amsterdam for a discussion on Hydrospatial Infrastructure and the Blue Economy, alongside Mark Heine (CEO, Fugro), John Nyberg (IHO), and Dean Angelides (Esri), moderated by Greg Scott from PVBLIC Foundation.

Jonathan's central message was clear: the IHO's technical programme provides a common language for all marine and ocean data providers, but it requires ongoing collaboration and development to reach its full potential. Oceans are unique environments, and the safety of navigation places specific constraints on data infrastructure that cannot be overlooked. Any framework built for multiple domains must account for those requirements: safety, data integrity, and security. Without them, the infrastructure will not be fit for its primary purpose.

IIC's contributions to the IHO technical programme, working groups, and the development of S-100 ECDIS were highlighted as examples of what committed, open-standards collaboration looks like in practice. A key theme throughout: leaving no one behind means truly leaving no one behind, and that requires open standards and accessible software tools for all.