News before 2002

  • International Conference on Spatial Information for Sustainable Development in Nairobi 2-5 October 2001

    Recommendations from the International Conference on Spatial Information for Sustainable Development are available on this web site (also as .pdf-file). 

    His Excellency, President Daniel arap Moi arrives to the opening ceremony and greets Jes Ryttersgaard, Chair of FIG Commission 3. Dr. Don Okpala from UN-HABITAT in the middle and Prof. Holger Magel, Vice President of FIG (behind Mr. Ryttersgaard).

    The International Conference on Spatial Information for Sustainable Development was organized by the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK), the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-HABITAT. The conference attracted more almost 500 participants from almost 40 countries. Almost 100 papers were presented and the proceedings exceeded 800 pages. The Conference was opened by His Excellency, President Daniel arap Moi and the keynote presentation was given by Mr. Daniel Biau, Deputy Executive Director of UN-HABITAT on behalf of Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT.

    FIG Commission 3 on Spatial Information Management was in charge for organizing this conference and it also held its annual meeting during the event. FIG Commissions 1 (Professional Standards and Practice), 2 (Professional Education), 5 (Positioning and Measurement), 7 (Cadastre and Land Management), 8 (Spatial Planning and Development) and 10 (Construction Economics and Management) participated as well.

    The Conference was sponsored by UNEP, Geomaps, Intergraph and IQSK. It is further supported by the University of Nairobi, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, ICA and ISPRS and several corporate sponsors.

    During the Conference a Special International Symposium on Cost Management of Low-Cost Housing was arranged. It attracted almost 100 participants. The organisers of this event were ICEC Region 3 (Africa) and the Africa Association of Quantity Surveyors AAQS together with IQSK.

    The proceedings of this conference are available on this web site. 

In June 2001, five years after Habitat II, the General Assembly of the United Nations held a special session to review and appraise implementation of the Habitat Agenda worldwide. On each of the three days of the special session, the Habitat Professionals Forum convened lunchtime discussions to exchange professional views concerning key aspects of the Habitat Agenda. Each session featured one resource person who was asked to make a brief presentation; followed with an active discussion with the participants.

On the first discussion of the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure, Prof. Holger Magel, Vice President of FIG, provided a keynote presentation Access to Land and Security of Tenure as a Condition for Sustainable Human Development, followed by a discussion with all participants. The discussion was facilitated by Dr. Irene Wiese – von Ofen, Chair of the Steering Committee, Habitat Professionals Forum. 

The FIG Working Week 2001 hosted by the Korea Confederation of Surveyors was held in Seoul, Korea 6 – 11 May 2001. The theme of the Working Week was "New Technology for a New Century". In the conference there were over 30 technical sessions and workshops in which more than 150 papers were presented. Almost 1,000 participants attended the technical conference. More than 250 foreign visitors from 50 countries enjoyed the Korean hospitality.  More news and pictures from the Working Week on the FIG web site

Full papers (in .htm and .pdf-formats) and abstracts (in .htm- and .pdf-formats) of all papers are available on the FIG web site.

The proceedings of the technical conference are available also as hard copies. The abstracts are printed in a book (277 pages) and the full papers are published ion a CD-Rom. Both volumes are available from the Korean Confederation of Surveyors, email  juhkim@kcsc.co.kr. The price for both the book and the CD-Rom is US$ 40. 

FIG Agenda 21 and FIG Guidelines on Women's Access to Land were endorsed by the General Assembly as well as the statutes for the FIG Foundation. More information about the General Assembly and the Working Week available on the FIG web site

  • 10th FIG International Symposium on Deformation Measurements, Orange, California, USA, 19-22 March 2001
    Papers of  the 10th International FIG Symposium on Deformation Measurements organised by FIG Commission 6 have now been posted on the web. The web version includes all papers submitted digitally, including the poster papers. They are available at http://rincon.gps.caltech.edu/FIG10sym and at the FIG web site.
Proceedings from the first Joint CLGE/FIG seminar on Enhancing Professional Competence that was held 3 November at Delft University of Technology are now available as hard copy and on this web site. The aim of the seminar was to develop a suitable framework for the surveying profession in Europe as a basis for enhancing professional competence through the principle of mutual recognition of professional qualifications which has been established in law at the European level. This is the first joint activity to combine the efforts of FIG and CLGE (The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors). The seminar attracted some 50 participants from 17 countries representing the educational sector and the professional surveying community in the European region. 

Requests for the hard copies:
Secretary General Gerda Schennach, CLGE, email: gerda.schennach@bev.gv.at or FIG office, email: fig@fig.net

  • CLGE-FIG Seminar on Enhancing Professional Competence in Delft
    A joint CLGE/FIG seminar on Enhancing Professional Competence was held 3 November at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The aim of the seminar was to develop a suitable framework for the surveying profession in Europe as a basis for enhancing professional competence through the principle of mutual recognition of professional qualifications which has been established in law at the European level. This is the first joint activity to combine the efforts of FIG and CLGE (The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors). The seminar was by invitation only and attracted some 50 participants from 17 countries representing the educational sector and the professional surveying community in the European region.
  • OICRF launches a revised web site
The International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) – OICRF, a permanent institution of FIG has released its new web site in March 2001. The renewed web site has a highly optimised search engine and a database structure to comfort all users. The OICRF now offers you documents in .pdf-format that are directly downloadable. It remains, of course, possible to receive the requested document via e-mail. Please experience the site. 
  • Commission 3 Seminar in Athens, 4-7 October 2000
    Commission 3 Annual Meeting and Seminar was held in Glifada, Athens 4-7 October. The seminar was attended by almost 100 delegates from 17 countries. The proceedings from the seminar titled "Spatial Information Management - Experiences and Visions for the 21st Century" will be published on the Commission 3 web site later this year. The next Annual Meeting and International Seminar will be held in Nairobi, Kenya 2-5 October 2001. This meeting will be hosted by FIG, UNCHS(Habitat) and ISK, Kenya. 
  • Mediterranean Surveyor in the new Millennium, FIG Seminar in Malta 18-21 September 2000

    The FIG Seminar organised by Commissions 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and sponsored by the Land Surveyors Society Malta attracted about 120 surveyors to Malta in September 2000. 
    Un symposium FIG très réussi à Malte : "Le géomètre méditerranéen dans le nouveau millénaire", 18-21 Septembre, 23 October 2000

    CD-ROM including all presentations from the FIG Seminar is now published. The were are titled: The Survey market and profession; Reports on the situation in the Mediterranean countries; Education and continuous professional development; Land management and cadastral issues in the Mediterranean region; Standardisation and quality aspects; Navigation safety and port infrastructure: charting perspective; Geodetic networks for specific applications; The role of hydrography in the 21st century; New technical trends; Special topics.
    To purchase the CD-ROM, please contact the FIG office, email fig@fig.net.

  • UN/FIG Conference in Melbourne - The Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development

Director JoAnna DiSano UN-DESA, a keynote speaker and conference supporter together with the organiser of the Melbourne Conference Prof. Ian Williamson (left) and Prof. Peter Dale, President of FIG after the Conference at the FIG/UN Roundtable.

The United Nations and FIG arranged jointly an International Conference on Land Tenure and Cadastral Infrastructures for Sustainable Development in Melbourne 24 - 27 October 1999. The Conference was preceded by a Workshop in Bathurst, where 40 international experts prepared the Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development. Both events were attended among others by 5 UN agencies and the World Bank.