News in 2015

Ensuring the Rapid Response to Change, Ensuring the Surveyor of Tomorrow, FIG Kick-Off Event

24 January 2015, Athens Greece

Chryssy Potsiou at the Kick Off Event. Photo by Kenneth Swindaman

At the FIG Congress 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the new FIG President, Vice Presidents and Commission Chairs were elected for the period 2015 – 2018. FIG celebrated this transition on 24 January 2015 in Athens with a Kick-Off Event and seminar. The main theme of the seminar was “Ensuring the Rapid Response to Change, Ensuring the Surveyor of Tomorrow”, which is also the theme for the current FIG Council 2015-2018. Invited speakers addressed the theme. The Kick Off event also celebrated the change in leadership of FIG.

Around 60 International participants and more than 100 Greek surveyors attended the event. Because of the Greek election that was scheduled to take place on the following day, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, energy and Climate Change was not able to attend, nor the President of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TCG) Christos Spirtzis, but the rest of the programme was carried through as planned. The presentation by Dr. Vanessa Laurence Co-Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts of Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), took place by Skype. The event was organised by the Technical Chamber of Greece together with FIG.

Special thanks to the Gold Sponsors of the event: Attica Bank and Eurobank, as well as the Silver Sponsor: Marathon Daa Systems, and the Bronze Sponsors: Gaia SA, Geosystems Hellas, and the Association of Geoinformatics and Cadastre Companies.

The day started with the traditional FIG Fanfare where after FIG Past President CheeHai Teo (2011-14) handed over the FIG chain to President Chryssy Potsiou. At the end of the day there were certificates to mark the outgoing Commission Chairs who have served as Chair for the past 4 years, and the new Commission Chairs were all given the special FIG Bronze pin to mark their new positions as Chair.

The FIG Council 2015-2018, from left VP Rudolf Staiger, President Chryssy Potsiou, VP Diane Dumashie and VP Pengfei Cheng. VP Bruno Razza is not present in the picture. Photo by John Hohol

The wonderful view to Acropolis from the center of Athens. Photo by John Hohol

After the event FIG Council will use all input from the day to adjust and finalise the FIG Work Plan 2015-18 with the good and relevant information and knowledge provided during the day.
FIG Council and Commission Chairs also held meetings during the event in Athens.

(More to follow)

The programme in pdf

Programme and handouts

MORNING SESSIONS	Chair: Robin McLaren, Know Edge Ltd, RICS
Welcome address by Greek hosts	Christos Spirtzis, President of TCG Chronis Akritidis General Secretary of TCG Speech Giannis Machikas President of HARSE Socrates Alexiadis, General Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Prof Angelos Siolas, Vice Rector of National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Prof Marinos Kavouras, Dean of the School of Rural and Surveying Engineers, NTUA Handouts Gikas Manalis, CEO, Attica Bank, (Gold sponsor) Dimitris Andritsos, MSc MRICS Chief Executive Officer, Eurobank Property Services SA, (Gold sponsor) Handouts
Looking ahead	Prof Chryssy A. Potsiou, Associate Professor, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, NTUA FIG President Ensuring the Rapid Response to Change, Ensuring the Surveyor of Tomorrow Handouts Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, Co-Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts of Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), formerly Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey (Skype presentation) The importance of surveying: looking to the future Handouts - extra
Economic Developments	Prof Nicolas P. Retsinas, Harvard Business School Boston Opening Doors to Private Investment
Land Management Developments	Paul Munro-Faure, Deputy Director of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global FAO guidelines on governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests Handouts Gavin Adlington, Lead Land Administration Specialist, The World Bank Cadastral Survey in the 21st century, and why the 19th Century matters Handouts
	John Kontos, Marathon Data Systems (Silver sponsor) Handouts
AFTERNOON SESSIONS
Technological Developments	Prof Pengfei Cheng Director General, National Quality Inspection and Testing Center for Surveying and Mapping Products of China, and FIG Vice President Developing Emergency Mapping, Meeting the Surveyor of Tomorrow Speech SeeLian Ong, KMN Property Developer and Consultant, formerly Global President of RICS, Chair of FIG Commission 10 Building Information Modeling (BIM)-Global Maturity in Adopting BIM Handouts
	Chair: Diane Dumashie, RICS, FIG Vice President
Professional and Institutional Developments	Kees de Zeeuw, Director, Kadaster International, The Netherlands A new era: Dynamic Information Management Handouts Robin McLaren, Know Edge Ltd Tomorrow’s Surveyor Today – Member Associations' Responsibilities Handouts Brent A. Jones PE, PLS Global Manager, Cadastre/Land Records Esri The Changing Value of Professional Associations Handouts Malcolm Lelliott, General Secretary of EGoS The Private Sector and its Response to Change. Mobility of Professionals within Europe Handouts Artemis Valani, Surveying Engineer, Consultant The experience of a Greek Young Surveyor Handouts
FIG Response to Change	Robert W Foster, PE,PLS FIG Honorary President, past ASCM President Looking Back, Looking Ahead Handouts CheeHai TEO, Licensed/Chartered Surveyor, Malaysia Former FIG President FIG: 2011 – 2014 Handouts Prof Rudolf Staiger, Professor, Dept. of Surveying Engineering and Geoinformatics, University of Applied Sciences Bochum FIG Vice President ACCO-Achievements and future Goals Handouts John Hohol, President of FIG Foundation The FIG Foundation -‎ Building A Sustainable Future. Activities and Accomplishments During The Past Four Years Handouts Marc Vanderschueren, Director/Surveyor in Charge of the International Relations for the General Administration of Patrimonial Documentation of Belgium Technical and Political Support of FIG and FGF (Federation of French Speaking Surveyors) for the African Associations of Surveyors Handouts Prof Chryssy A. Potsiou Associate Professor, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, NTUA FIG President The FIG Work Plan 2015-2018 Handouts (2nd part)
Closing of Inauguration ceremony

Louise Friis-Hansen
FIG Manager
Copenhagen, 28 January 2015

28 January 2015