FIG Annual Review
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Contents
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Year 2000 was a turning point in the history of the International Federation of Surveyors, FIG. The General Assembly decided in Prague, Czech Republic, on the principles of the new governance model of the Federation. The main issue in this process will be a democratic and fully elected Council with a continuity in administration and policies. This work was then followed by preparations of the detailed statutes and internal rules both by the Task Force on the Future Governance of FIG and by the Bureau in discussions with member associations. The decision of the General Assembly is a natural result in completing the long process that started with the establishment of the permanent office in Copenhagen in the beginning of 1999. The endorsement of the new statutes will take place in Seoul in May 2001. Much work, however, is required before the new governance model is in full operation by January 2007. After adoption of the new governance model the structure of the commissions and permanent institutions still needs discussion. The Bureau is convinced that the new governance model will support the multicultural approach in the administration of the Federation. The highlights of the past year have been, in addition to the highly successful working week in Prague, the increased number of regional joint commission events that show the way to regional activities within FIG. |
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The FIG working week and 23rd General Assembly took place in Prague,
Czech Republic 22–26 May 2000. 42 member associations attended the first
meeting and 46 member associations the second meeting, which is among the
highest figures in the FIG history outside the congresses. The seminar
Quo Vadis and the General Assembly were arranged at the National House
of Vinohrady. The recently renovated house from the 1890s offered good
facilities both for the meetings and the technical exhibition. The opening
ceremony was held at the Bethlehem Chapel in the old town of
Prague. Prague offered unique historical surroundings for
The General Assembly, chaired by Vice President Jerome C. Ives, was the first under the US Bureau that took over the administration of FIG in November 1999. The General Assembly adopted the FIG work plan for 2000–2003. The focus of the work plan is in activating member associations, supporting commission activities, continuing co-operation with the UN agencies and expanding the membership especially in Latin and South America. One of the main tasks will be to implement the new governance structure of the Federation. The General Assembly approved the principles of the new governance structure for the Federation. This includes that the Bureau will be replaced by a Council that shall consist of a President and five Vice Presidents already in the beginning of 2001. The new structure will be taken in full operation 1.1.2007. The General Assembly further decided to establish two new Task forces: one to review the Commission, Task force and Permanent Institution structure and the other one on Cultures and Languages in FIG. The General Assembly further adopted the Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development and endorsed its recommendations and the recommendations on the development of the FIG relationship to the United Nations. In addition, the new Memorandum of Understanding between UNCHS (Habitat) and FIG was ratified. |
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The past year was the first for implementation of the current FIG work plan adopted by the General Assembly in Prague. The Bureau has identified more than 40 specific goals to implement the theme of the current Bureau "Advancing the Global Role of Surveying". The work plan recognizes that the member organizations are the heart of FIG. A major focus of the plan is to be implementing mechanisms for increasing participation by member organizations in FIG activities, and informing the member organizations of FIG and other international surveying activities. Another major objective of our term of office involves the financial condition of FIG. Now that FIG has been established as a legal entity it is no longer necessary to close the financial books at the end of every Bureau, only to begin the next Bureau with no available funds. We have identified as specific tasks to develop a long-term financial strategy for FIG, and to initiate and fund a reserve account. The future vitality of FIG depends on a sound financial footing; it is the intention of this Bureau to achieve that condition and we are making good progress toward this objective. A third major objective of the 2000–2003 Work Plan is to increase membership within under-represented regions; especially the Caribbean and Central and South America. It is also our intention to increase corporate membership. The Bureau has begun implementation of its work plan – with the help of member associations and the ten technical commissions. |
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FIG has for several years had close co-operation with the United Nations and several of its agencies, especially UNCHS (Habitat), FAO and Commission on Sustainable Development. The participation of FIG representatives to the UN Regional Cartographic Conferences has been valuable and much appreciated by those organizations. During 2000 FIG participated the 1st Preparatory Committee for the UN General Assembly on the Overall Review and Appraisal of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul+5) in Nairobi in May 2000. FIG was further invited to participate in the Urban 21 Conference in Berlin last July and the Experts Group meeting in Västerås, Sweden in November 2000 to prepare the draft Declaration on "Cities and other Human Settlements in the new Millennium" and review the implementation of the Habitat Agenda for the UN Special Session on Istanbul +5. FIG participated in the UN Regional Cartographic Conferences for Asia and the Pacific in April 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia resulting in several new initiatives, e.g., in new events for the Mekong region in February 2003. FIG was further invited to present the Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development at the 8th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, April 2000. |
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Co-operation between FIG and the other international professional surveying organisations has been developed on bilateral basis since IUSM was disbanded in 1999. The main goal with bilateral agreements is to create co-operation that is more closely related to commission activities and provides more deliverables. The first Memorandum of Understanding with sister organisations was signed with the International Society for Mine Surveying (ISM) in Krakow during the ISM Congress in September 2000. A similar Memorandum of Understanding was prepared with the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) for adoption at the General Assembly in Seoul, 2001. The UNCHS (Habitat) Professionals Forum includes architects, planners and surveyors with the goal to combine several professions to implement the Habitat Agenda. As a result of this co-operation, which was initiated by several associations and UNCHS (Habitat) in 1999, FIG was invited to make a presentation at the Urban 21 Conference in Berlin in July 2000. FIG is also represented in the Steering Committee of the Professionals Forum. |
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The technical and professional work of the Federation is performed by the ten technical commissions and their activities. The Bureau is pleased with the many activities of the commissions when organizing their own events but especially with the increased number of joint events. Commissions 2, 3, 5 and 7 are examples of commissions that implement not only their own work plans and policies but also the FIG policy. A good example was the Commission 2 seminar organized in Rosario, Argentina in October representing the Federation and promoting FIG in South America and Latin America. Commission 3 on spatial information management has started its arrangements for organizing, jointly with UNCHS (Habitat) and the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya, a larger conference in Nairobi to be held in October 2001. That will be the biggest FIG commission-driven event ever in Africa. This event is also a good example of the joint commission activities that have increased remarkably over the years. Another good example was the Symposium for the Mediterranean area organized in September 2000 in Malta to which five commissions took part under Commission 5 leadership while The Land Surveyors Society, Malta made the practical arrangements.
The Commissions are also active in organizing their own annual events. Last year Commission 7 on cadastre and land management organized its annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany in May followed by an international symposium on land markets. Commission 3 organized its annual meeting and seminar attracting about 100 participants to Athens, Greece in October 2000. Both Commissions have also introduced a successful concept on national reports on the commission expertise. As an example of the many activities of the Commission working groups, the seminars organized by Commission 7 Working Group "Reforming the Cadastre" during the Austrian Geodetic Congress and the 13th International Course on Engineering Surveying (cosponsored by Commissions 5 and 6) in Munich should be mentioned. FIG further contributed to the national surveying congress in Bogotá, Colombia in November, 2000. The Bureau met during the ACSM national congress in Providence, Rhode Island in the USA in December 2000. The Commission chairs participated in seminars in Sofia, Bulgaria and San Salvador, El Salvador. In Prague FIG established a new task force to review the role and structure of commissions, task forces and permanent institutions in FIG. The Bureau looks forward to final proposals to encourage the commissions to take an even more active role in implementing the goals of the Federation. |
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FIG has been actively involved in international standardization both in ISO but also by preparing the FIG Guide on Standardization. The Task force on under-represented groups in surveying has continued its work publishing a quarterly newsletter. The Task Force on Mutual Recognition was the subject of a joint expert seminar hold in November in Delft on Enhancing Professional Competence of Surveyors in Europe. This seminar was a cooperative effort of FIG and the European surveying association CLGE. The Task Force on Sustainable Development completed its work at the end of 2000 by publishing the draft "FIG Agenda 21". This is an important contribution from FIG to implement Agenda 21 and the Habitat Agenda in the surveying profession. A new task force on cultures and languages in FIG was established by the General Assembly in Prague. |
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The number of member associations was 79 members from 68 countries at the end of 2000. In 2000 an application for membership was accepted from Ordre des Géomètres-Topographes du Liban (Lebanon), Czech Association of Certified Property Appraisers (Ceská spolecnost certifikovaných odhadcu majetku) (Czech Republic), Ordem dos Engenheiros, Colégio de Engenharia Geografica (Portugal) and Sociedad Colombiana de Topógrafos (Colombia). In addition Jordan, Guatemala and El Salvador joined as affiliate members. The new affiliate members from Latin America were supported by the US aid project "Hurricane Mitch Recovery Program". The number of academic members was already 28 at the end of 2000. The number of corporate members was 10 at the end of 2000. The new members that joined during the year were Josef Attenberger GmbH and Terra Map Server GmbH from Germany and Blom ASA from Norway. |
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The General Assembly decided to reorganize the Foundation under the FIG umbrella at its meeting in Seoul. This was implemented by moving the former FIG Education Foundation from Australia to Denmark where it is administrated from the FIG office. The new format of the Foundation will offer better opportunities for FIG to serve its members in developing countries with greater efficiency, and to assist young surveyors in those countries. |
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The Bureau intends to visit as many member associations as possible during its term of office. It is, however, unable to visit all countries due to a shortened term of office while we convert to the new governance structure. Before the Prague working week I visited Norway, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Malaysia and China. Following the working week the Bureau members or FIG representatives have visited members in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Kenya, Korea, Japan, Malta, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, USA and Venezuela.
As President I helped the Danish Association of Chartered Surveyors, DdL, celebrate their 125th anniversary in Copenhagen in September after which I flew to Krakow, Poland, where I met with the Council of the International Society of Mine Surveying for signing of our new Memorandum of Understanding. I enjoyed taking part in the symposium "The Mediterranean Surveyor in the New Millennium" in Malta that same month. In December the Bureau met in Providence, Rhode Island in the US, where the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping held a joint conference with the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Later in December the Director, FIG Office and I visited Japan; we were warmly greeted by representatives of the local surveying profession who arranged a tour for us of the Sokkia and Topcon facilities. From there we traveled to Seoul for a review of plans for WW2001. |
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The FIG office will continue in its Copenhagen office into the foreseeable
future. The Bureau will sign a new contract with the Danish Association of
Chartered Surveyors, DdL, in Seoul.
The FIG information delivery system is now available to more people than ever. The FIG web site includes relevant information for surveyors and through the web site we can reach people that we may never contact through traditional communication methods. In 2000 the FIG Bulletin was published only once but returns to the quarterly schedule in 2001. The proceedings from the FIG working week 2000 as well as from the main seminars are available both in electronic format and as hard copies. |
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FIG Members 31st December 2000MEMBER ASSOCIATIONSAlgeria Argentina Australia Austria Bahamas Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Canada China Colombia Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Estonia Fiji Finland Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia FYROM France Germany Ghana Greece Hong Kong, China The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors Hungary Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kenya Korea Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Palestinian Authority Papua New Guinea Poland Portugal Romania Russia Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Syria Trinidad
and Tobago Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom U.S.A. Vietnam Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe (79 members from 68 countries) AFFILIATESChile, Colombia, El Salvador *), Guatemala *), Jordan *) CORRESPONDENTSAntigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Guyana, India, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico, Mongolia, Senegal *), Tanzania (Zanzibar), Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia and Tuvalu ACADEMIC MEMBERSArgentina Australia Botswana Canada Chile Colombia Denmark Finland Germany Hong Kong, China Hungary Ireland Kenya Norway New Zealand Romania Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom USA CORPORATE MEMBERSBerntsen International Inc, BLOM ASA*), GITC Bv, Josef
Attenberger *) Members admitted during 2000 |
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Key contactsPresident Vice-presidents Congress Director Director, FIG-UN Liaison Commission 1 (professional standards and practice) Commission 2 (professional education) Commission 3 (spatial information management) Commission 4 (hydrography) Commission 5 (positioning and measurement) Commission 6 (engineering surveys) Commission 7 (cadastre and land management) Commission 8 (spatial planning and development) Commission 9 (valuation and the management of real estate) Ad hoc commission on construction economics/management Task force on under-represented groups in surveying Task force on standards Task force on mutual recognition of qualifications/reciprocity Task force on sustainable development Task force on the future governance and management of FIG Chair: Dr Tom Kennie E-mail tkennie@ranmore.co.uk Task force on the review of commission, task force and permanent
institution structure 2000–2002 Task force on cultures and languages in FIG Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier (OICRF) FIG Multi-Lingual Dictionary Board International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement FIG Foundation FIG office
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The FIG Annual Review 2000Published by the International Federation of Surveyors FIG
ISSN 1018-6522 Material from this Annual Review may be reproduced freely. |
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Robert
W. Foster
The
opening ceremony of the FIG Working Week 2001 was held at the Bethlehem
Chapel, the Ceremonial Hall of the Czech Technical University in the
historic centre of Prague.
The
Mayor of Prague, together with Vice President Jerome and Mrs. Nancy Ives.
The City of Prague hosted a reception to the head of delegations in the
Old Town of Prague behind the famous clock tower.
The
Bureau had its meeting in Providence in December 2000. Vice Presidents
Charles Challstrom and Jerome Ives and Deputy Congress Director John Hohol
discussing the future strategies of the Federation.
Dr.
Klaus Töpfer and Markku Villikka signed a new MoU between Habitat and FIG
during the First Prep. Com of Istanbul+5 in Nairobi.
The
joint Commissions 2, 3, 5 and 7 Seminar in Malta in September was a new
initiative to expand the regional activities of the Federation.
Commission
2 Seminar in Rosario, Argentina, was the first FIG Commission organized
event in South America and a good start for the membership expansion in
Latin America. FIG representatives Stig Enemark (to left), John Parker and
Pedro Cavero at the plenary session.
The
first ever CLGE and FIG Seminar in Delft focused on the enhancing
professional competence in Europe.
Mr.
Sarkis Fadous, President of the Ordre de Géomètres-Topographes du Liban,
receives the membership certificate from Vice President Jerome Ives.
Prof.
Holger Magel receives a check of US$ 5,000 on behalf of the FIG Foundation
from Prof. Ian Williamson at the General Assembly in Prague.
Prof.
James P. Reilly, President of the American Congress on Surveying and
Mapping ACSM and Robert Foster, President of FIG at the ACSM Annual
Conference in Providence, USA in December 2000, where the Bureau discussed
among other issues the FIG Congress 2002, Washington, DC.
Director,
FIG Office visited the Sociedad Colombiana de Topógrafos at their annual
conference in Bogotá in November 2000.
