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6th FIG Regional Conference
in San José, Costa Rica, 12-15 November 2007
Coastal Areas and Land Administration
- Building the Capacity
The 6th FIG Regional Conference was organized by the
International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and the Colegio Federado
de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos de Costa Rica (CFIA)/ Colegio de
Ingenieros Topógrafos de Costa Rica (CIT) which is the FIG member
association in Costa Rica. As has been the case with the previous FIG
regional conferences the conference in San José was organized in
co-operation with other international and regional organizations like the
United Nations and its agencies as well as with international and regional
spatial information societies. The conference was open to participants from
all over the world however with the main focus on Latin America and the
Caribbean. To help regional and local participation the conference was held
in English and Spanish. The FIG Regional Conference attracted participants
from 30–50 countries representing all continents.
This was the first time that the FIG Regional Conference was
held in Latin America. Costa Rica offers best possible venue for such an
important event. The theme of this regional event was selected so that it
focused on the hot topics in the region which are capacity building, land
administration and environmental issues, especially the use and future of
coastal regions. Based on the outcome of the conference “Coastal Areas
and Land Administration – Building the Capacity” FIG will also prepare
an FIG publication “Methodologies for Pro-Poor Coastal Zone Management”
At the opening ceremony the keynote addresses were given by
Ing. Juan Manuel Castro Alfaro, President of CFIA/CIT, Prof. Stig
Enemark, FIG President, and Mr. Fernando Zumbado, Costa Rican
Minister of Housing. The welcome address on behalf of CFIA was given
by Ing. Freddy Bolanos, Representing the Executive Director of
CFIA, Ing. Olman Vargos Zeledon
In the technical programme there were 21 technical sessions
and workshops. Running three sessions in parallel the sessions attracted a
lot of delegates and held a very high professional standard so as did the 3
Plenary Sessions on each of the 3 topics of the conference and they were
well attended. Totally 60 papers were presented and published.
The technical exhibition was compact having booths covering
surveying and geomatics technology internationally and in Costa Rica.
Social highlights of the week included on Monday the Welcome
Reception at the CFIA headquarters. This activity gave the delegates a time
for relaxation and an opportunity to observe and enjoy the Choir of CFIA. On
Tuesday the Costa Rican Cultural Evening Evening at the Pueblo Antiguo Park
took place. In this event fireworks, typical dances, typical drinks, typical
food, Costarican music, and a Costarican mascarade was organized for the
delegates. The Farewell Dinner on Wednesday evening was given in the Ramada
Hotel Conference Center.
The Closing Ceremony took place on Wednesday and addresses
were given by Arq. Eugenia Morales, Sub Director of CFIA, by Ing. Juan Manuel Castro Alfaro, President of CFIA/CIT, and by Prof.
Stig
Enemark, FIG President. At the end of the ceremony appreciations to the
6th FIG Regional Conference was given by Prof. Stig Enemark who
thanked the organizers for a well prepared Regional Conference.
The joint Technical/Social tour on Thursday collected about
205 delegates to the Poas Volcano followed by lunch at the Colinas del Poas
restaurant. Finally the last stop of the tour was at the Coffee Britt
company to have a coffee tour. In this location the participants learned
about the processes in a coffee plantation and enjoyed a very entertaining
and informative show telling the history of coffee..
The event drew attention of the press and the media. As a
result of this event a whole page in the most important news paper of Costa
Rica was printed on Saturday 17 of November. Besides that the objective of
the event was addressed in three of the main radio news stations.
Before the conference the FIG Council and Commission officers
had their administrative meetings.
Links to material from the Regional Conference in Costa
Rica
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