News in 2013
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FIG Working Week 2015 - preparation meeting
Sofia, Bulgaria 26-28 February 2013
At the General Assembly of
FIG in Rome 6-10 May 2012, Bulgaria was chosen to be the host of the Working
week 2015, and the preparation for it already started in June 2012.The local
organizing committee has been established and is already far into the
preparations. They met with FIG President CheeHai Teo and Manager Louise
Friis-Hansen in Sofia, Bulgaria to work on the further progress.
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The Local Organising Committee meeting in the office of the Geodesy,
Cartography and Cadastre Agency |
FIG met with the President of the Chamber of Graduated Surveyors in
Bulgaria (CGS), Angel Yanakiev, and Conference Director Zlatan
Zlatanov. Both are known faces from many earlier FIG Conferences.
Bulgaria has always been actively involved in FIG, and is the only former
Eastern European country who has organized a FIG Congress in 1983 in one of
the former East European socialist countries initiated and led by Professor
Georgi Milev, Union of Surveyors and Land Managers in Bulgaria. Prof.
Milev is a very know person within FIG since he has been actively involved
in FIG for more than 40 years. Also the 31st meeting of the FIG Permanent
Committee (now General Assembly) was held in 1964 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is
therefore a pleasure that the Working Week is now again going to take place
in Bulgaria.
During the meetings there was also time to a visit at Geodesy,
Cartography and Cadastre Agency, meeting Executive Director Alexander
Lazarov. He highlighted some of the challenges the Bulgarians are
working with right now.
| He pointed out that it is important for surveyors to understand
the new role of surveyors in the country, going from a focus on
measurement to act in a much broader perspective and to have to find
customers in stead of only relying on the public sector. The
Universities are working intensely on the surveying education for
young graduates to meet the new demands. A different way of thinking
is needed and this is one of the reasons why the Bulgarians wanted
to host a FIG Working Week. FIG Working Week can maybe also open the
eyes of the politicians and government to understand the role of the
surveyors in the country. There have been some European initiatives,
but it demands that the government has an interest as well. |
Meeting at Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency, from left,
Conference Director Zlatan Zlatanov, Executive Director Alexander Lazarov,
FIG President CheeHai Teo, dipl. eng.
and conference secretary Tatyana Arshinkova, and
President of CGS Angel Yanakiev. |
This also gave an opportunity to meet the Local Organising Committee
using the meeting facilities of the Agency. Both the Agency and the Local
Organising Committee hope that the Working Week can give an International
perspective to the Bulgarian surveyors and can also be useful in their
further cooperation with the government and public sector. The Local
Organising Committee is very engaged and are already deeply involved in the
preparations.
Working Week 2015 preparations
The Working Week will take place 17-21 May 2015 at the National Palace of
Culture – Congress Centre Sofia, which is the largest multifunctional
complex in South-Eastern Europe. It is located in the city centre and is
surrounded by a number of 4 and 5 star hotels just minutes away. Only 15
minute drive from Sofia International Airport, the Congress Centre is easily
accessible via public transportation.
| The overall theme of the Working Week is “From the wisdom
of the ages to the challenges of modern world”In Ancient
Greek, Sofia means "wisdom". Today a Statue of Saint Sofia stands on
a column in the middle of a busy crossroad. The statue is a symbol
of the city because St. Sofia is the city’s patron. Since Sofia
means “wisdom” she holds a an owl in her left hand, and in her right
hand she holds a laurel wreath – a powerful symbol for Greeks and
Romans meaning peace, success, reputation etc. Today, the Bulgarian
surveyors struggle with many challenges of the modern world – some
are unique for Bulgaria, e.g. as a former socialist country, but
many of their challenges are universal and can be recognized
throughout the world. |
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Last but not least, FIG Working Week will be the first Working Week held
by the Council that will be elected at the FIG Congress 2014´in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Currently, the partners of the Chamber of Graduated Surveyors for FIG
Working Week 2015 are:
- University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy;
- Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency;
- Union of Surveyors and Land Managers in Bulgaria;
- Metropolitan Municipality;
- Association of Topographical Companies;
Organising committee:
Chair of the Conference: dipl. eng. Angel Krumov Yanakiev
–
President of the CGS
Conference Director: dipl. eng. Zlatan Georgiev Zlatanov
– a member
of the Executive board of the CGS
Vice – President of the Conference: dipl. eng.
Rumen Zhelev Georgiev
- a member of the Executive board of the CGS
Secretaries of the Conference: dipl. eng.
Kremena Boyanova –
secretary of the CGS and dipl. eng. Tatyana Arshinkova – secretary of
the CGS
Members of the Local Organizing Committee:
- prof. Borislav Marinov – Dean of Faculty of Geodesy
- prof. Slaveyko Gospodinov - University of Architecture, Civil
Engineering and Geodesy
- prof. Penyo Penev - University of Architecture, Civil Engineering
and Geodesy
- phd. Ivan Klalchev Ivanov vice president of the Union of Surveyors
and Land Managers in Bulgaria
- dipl. eng. Boris Grozdanov Krastev – member of Union of Surveyors
and Land Managers in Bulgaria
- dipl. eng. Svetla Zaharieva - member of the Executive board of the
CGS
| The logo of the Working Week 2015 shows the national theatre
Ivan Vazov. This is the first theatre in Bulgaria and the national
culture institute. The building is one of the main symbols of the
city and the country and it's more than 100 years old. The name
comes from the famous Bulgarian writer, Ivan Vazov who iss the
patriarch of Bulgarian literature. With his creations he has kept
the Bulgarian spirit alive through the ages. This is a building that
influences every Bulgarian citizen. |
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Bulgaria and Sofia
Bulgaria is an interesting country with an impressive history. The
history of Bulgaria has been determined by its strategic location between
Asia and Europe and this location has influenced the Bulgarians ever since.
Before the Christian era, Greece and Rome conquered the region and left
substantial imprints on the culture of the people they found there. In 632
the Bulgars, originally from Central Asia, formed an independent state north
of the Black sea that became known as Great Bulgaria. After converting to
Christianity and adopting a Slavic language in the ninth century, the
Bulgarians consolidated a distinct Slavic culture that subsequently passed
through periods of both expansionist independence and subordination to
outside political systems.
| Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is located at a strategic
crossroads. The route from Western Europe to Istanbul passes through
Sofia via Beograd and Skopje, then through Plovdiv to Turkey. Sofia
also connects The Near East and The Middle East, lying between the
banks of The Danube and the shores of The White Sea on the one hand,
and between The Black Sea and The Adriatic on the other. Sofia, has
a population of around 1.2 million people and is is one of Europe’s
most compact and walkable capital cities, although it’s still one of
the least known by foreign travelers. Although no grand metropolis,
Sofia is nevertheless an attractive and cultured city with plenty of
attractions. |
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral |
Museums, art galleries, theatres, fine restaurants, can be found in
Sofia. Sofia is also a surprisingly green city, with huge swaths of parkland
within the city boundaries and the ski slopes and hiking trails of mighty Mt
Vitosha right on the doorstep. The city has developed quickly over recent
years and a new affluence is apparent in the trendy international boutiques,
upmarket hotels and flashy cars with blacked-out windows, but there are also
great inequalities. Although life is not easy in Sofia, most Sofians have
hope for the future of their city as one of the EU’s newest capitals. Among
the highlights is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the symbols of
Bulgaria, constructed in the late 19th century. It occupies an area of 3,170
square metres (34,100 sq ft) and can hold 10,000 people. The city is also
known for the Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The SS. Cyril and
Methodius National Library houses the largest national collection of books
and documents (1,714,211 books and some 6 million other documents) and is
Bulgaria's oldest cultural institute.
Louise Friis-Hansen
April 2013
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National Palace of Culture – Congress Centre Sofia |
The Hilton Hotel which is right next to the congress Centre |
15 April 2013
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