  As the title of this symposium implies, one of the aims is to examine the
future of astrometry as we move from an era in which thanks to the Hipparcos
Catalogue everyone has become familiar with milliarcsecond astrometry to an era
in which microarcsecond astrometry will become the norm. I will take this look
into the future by first providing an overview of present astrometric
programmes and how they fit together and then I will attempt to identify the
most promising future directions. In addition I discuss the important
conditions for the maximization of the scientific return of future large and
highly accurate astrometric catalogues; catalogue access and analysis tools,
the availability of sufficient auxiliary data and theoretical knowledge, and
the education of the future generation of astrometrists.
