Director, FIG office visits Ghana Institution of Surveyors
February 10-15, 2005
FIG Regional Conference to be held in Accra, Ghana, March
9-12, 2006
The FIG Council decided in Jakarta last October that the 5th FIG Regional
Conference will be organised in Accra, Ghana in March 2006. It will be the
first FIG Regional Conference to be held in Western Africa and the first FIG
event in the region since the PC-meeting was held in Abuja in 1973. The
Director, FIG office visited Ghana February 10-16, 2005 to plan the
conference and its programme. The visit was linked to the 36th Annual
General Meeting of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) and the Forum
on Land Administration Project (LAP). The Annual General Assembly was the
highlight of the surveying week held February 11-17, 2005. The programme of
the week included the administrative meetings as well as a symposium round
the land administration project that has been started in Ghana. The LAP is
one of the biggest land administration projects in Africa and will take
several years. The first five-year project has now been under way for more
than one year. The focus that this preliminary stage has been on capacity
building and pilot projects. The LAP is financed by the World Bank and
several European development programmes.
The preparations of the Regional Conference are already well under way.
During the visit the main theme of the conference was discussed as well as
the sub-themes. The proposed theme is “Modern Technologies in Promoting
Land Administration and Good Governance”. The conference will be held at
the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra which offers excellent facilities for
the conference. It is expected that the conference will attract almost 500
participants from this African sub-region, the host country and overseas.
GhIS has also start work to get its members more involved in international
co-operation and for the conference. It has established network system based
on the FIG Commission structure (see the invitation for GhIS here).
Ghana can offer interesting professional and sightseeing options during
the conference or as pre- or post-conference tours. The technical tour will
bring you to the Gold Coast where you are able to visit the Gold Coast
Castle and its history in the slave trade as well as to Kakum National Park
where you can admire the rain forests during a canopy walk. Ghana is
considered to be the safest and most quickly developing country in the
Western Africa.
The 36th Annual General Meeting attracted almost 300 participants from
the 950 members of GhIS. The theme of the AGM was “Land information
systems – an effective tool for land administration in Ghana”. Mr Charles K. Sagoe, President of the GhIS gave an interesting overview in
this topic in Ghana as the presidential speech. You can read his speech also
on this web site.
At the General Assembly Dr. B. E. Kwesi Prah was elected as the
new President of GhIS for 2005-2006. The official handover of the Presidency
took place at the Annual GhIS Awards Night at the Avion Club on the last
evening of the week. More than 650 members with their spouses attended this
traditional and memorable event. The keynote speech was given by Prof. Kwesi Audam, Vice Chancellor of KNUST. He told in his presentation about
the new structure of education at this university that is becoming the
leading university in Sub-Saharan Africa on information technology.
Surveying and GIS have a special status in this development.
GhIS also launched its web site at the conference. To learn more about
the host of the next year’s FIG Regional Conference, please click in to
www.ghanasurveyors.org
Picture Gallery
The Annual Lecture of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors. Mrs
Matilda
Esi Fiadzigbey represented the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mine
- she is also a Past President of GhIS. At the podium the Council
members and on the back Past Presidents of GhIS. |
The Annual Lecture was attended by 350 members of GhIS and the lecture
was given by President Charles K. Sagoe. |
Greeting from the FIG Council was brought by Director
Markku Villikka. |
President Sagoe making his speech at the Annual General Meeting of GhIS. |
New Council members were elected at the AGM and they swore the oath at
the Annual Awards Dinner. |
Also the new President Dr.
B. E. K. Prah was awarded the
President's Chain at the dinner. It was given to him by President Sagoe
and Hon. Secretary Emmanuel Martey. |
Seminar on Land Administration Project (LAP) was part of the programme
of the Surveyors' Week - President Prah speaks to the participants. |
LAP is also of great interest to the chiefs of Ghana who attended
actively on the discussion at the seminar. |
The Executive Committee of GhIS is well prepared to welcome
international surveyors to Ghana in March 2006. |
Surveyor General of Ghana promised support to the first FIG Regional
Conference in Western Africa during a courtesy visit by Dr. Prah and the
FIG Director. |
Stephen Djaba, Geo-Tech is an active member in FIG and also
member of the LOC in 2006. |
The Conference is planned to take place at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel
in Accra. |
Independence monument to celebrate the independency of Ghana that it got
in 1957. |
Kwame Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and has now a
Memorial Park and mausoleum in Accra. |
At the African market you can find art craft from Ghana and the region. |
The technical tour in 2006 will include a visit to Gold Coast where you
can visit the castle that was a starting point for many slaves that were
taken to America. |
Ghana has also big rainforest areas that can be viewed also during an a
canopy walk - part of the conference programme as well. |
Dam at the Volta River is one of the biggest technical constructions in
Africa. |
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