Minutes

1. OPENING PROCEEDINGS

President Chryssy Potsiou opened the 39th General Assembly by welcoming all delegates to Christchurch, New Zealand and the second General Assembly during this four-year term. The President expressed her gratitude to members and delegates for their participation and acknowledged the hard work of NZIS and the local organising committee to ensure that this Working Week could take place at the Horncastle Arena knowing the rebuilding projects that takes place all over the city. The President mentioned that she was aware that some had had difficulties getting visa to New Zealand, and appreciated those who had managed to come.
 
The President welcomed Honorary Presidents Bob Foster, Stig Enemark and Teo CheeHai to the meeting and noted several greetings and apologies that were received from member associations and other members.
 
The President informed that unfortunately, two vice presidents, Pengfei Cheng and Bruno Razza, were not able to attend the Working Week. Both send their greetings and apologies to the General Assembly.

2. ROLL CALL

Vice President Rudolf Staiger took the roll call. The roll call was done for member associations only. Recorded that only member associations that have paid all their membership fees to the end of 2015 were allowed to vote at the meeting. A list of member associations that were not allowed to vote was published and posted on the FIG web site 12 April 2016.

Appendix to items 2 & 22: Roll Call including information on member associations that were not allowed to vote at the General Assembly because of unpaid membership fees for 2015, as updated on 2 and on 6 May 2016.

50 member associations out of 103 were present at this session, which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid.

Motion: That members present are recorded in the minutes.

Decision: The motion was adopted

3. APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS

The General Assembly shall appoint two persons as tellers for the entire General Assembly.  The tellers will represent the member association hosting the current (NZIS), President Mark Allen and the host of the proceeding General Assembly (MIL/MAKLI, Finland) Martti Pietikainen.

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints President Mark Allen from NZIS and Martti Pietikainen from MIL/MAKLI as tellers for this General Assembly.

Decision: The motion was adopted

4. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

The Agenda for the General Assembly was issued as mandated, two months prior the General Assembly on the FIG web site and also sent digitally and by post to all members.

Motion: That the agenda be adopted.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

5. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 38th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Minutes have been circulated previously.

Appendix to item 5: Minutes of the General Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2015, without appendices.

Motion: That the minutes be adopted as recorded.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6. MEMBERSHIP

6.1 Admittance of new Member Associations

FIG Council has received the following applications for member association since the 38th General Assembly.

6.1.1 Géographie, Topographie, Hydraulique, Energie et Construction (GEOTHECO)  Uganda MA-10127

Géographie, Topographie, Hydraulique, Energie et Construction (GEOTHECO), Uganda  has applied for association membership. The association was established in 2008. Their total membership (all categories) is 42. Géographie, Topographie, Hydraulique, Energie et Construction (GEOTHECO) fulfills the criteria of FIG Member association.

Appendix to item 6.1.1: Application form

Motion: That the General Assembly admits Géographie, Topographie, Hydraulique, Energie et Construction (GEOTHECO), Uganda to become a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.1.2 The South African Geomatics Institute, SAGI

The South African Geomatics Institute, SAGI, South Africa has applied for membership. The association was established in 2004. Their total membership (all categories) is 570. SAGI fulfills the criteria of FIG Member association.There is already a member association from South Africa, and they have approved the application of SAGI.

Appendix to item 6.1.2:

•  Membership application from The South African Geomatics Institute, SAGI, South Africa
• Letter of approval from PLATO  

Motion: That the General Assembly admits The South African Geomatics Institute, SAGI, South Africa to become a member association of FIG.  

Decision: The motion was adopted and the FIG President gave Peter Newmarch, President of SAGI the membership certificate.

6.2 Other Member Association Issues

6.2.1 Reinstallation of Federación Argentina de Agrimensores (FADA) Argentina, MA-10002

FADA was unfortunately expelled at the General Assembly in 2014 due to lack of payment. FADA has announced that they would like to return to FIG and has agreed to pay old arrears together with the 2016 membership fee. FIG Council has decided to reinstall FADA and to bring this decision forward to the General Assembly.

Motion: That the General Assembly admits to reinstall Federación Argentina de Agrimensores (FADA) Argentina as member association.

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.

6.2.2 Termination - College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (MA-10069) 

The College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (MA-10069) has regrettably decided to resign from FIG. FIG Council is thankful that the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico has cleared all arrears and there are no outstanding dues. FIG thanks the association for all the work they have done throughout the years they have been member FIG looks forward to a time where they will find it fit to rejoin our global community.

Motion: ThThat the General Assembly notes the resignation of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico.

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.

6.2.3 Termination - Termination - The Irish Institution of Surveyors, (Ma-10042)

The Irish Institution of Surveyors has regrettably decided to resign from FIG, since they have merged with RICS, UK and will be represented through RICS from now on.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the resignation of The Irish Institution of Surveyors  

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.

6.2.4 Reinstallation of National Order of Cameroon Surveyors (NOCS) MA-10015

FIG General Assembly had to expel National Order of Cameroon Surveyors (NOCS) in 2014 due to lack of payments. Now, FIG Office has received full payments from previous years and for 2016, and FIG council recommends to General Assembly to reinstall the association and bring this decision forward to the General Assembly.  

Motion: That the General Assembly reinstalls National Order of Cameroon Surveyors (NOCS) and bring this decision forward to the General Assembly for endorsement.  

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.

6.3 Expulsion of member associations

Subscriptions of following member associations are more than three years in arrears:

• Croatian Geodetic Society, Croatia (MA-10020)
• Fiji Institute of Surveyors, Fiji (MA-10028) (are trying to pay)
• Licensed Surveyors Association in Palestine, Palestina (MA-10065)
• Cadastral Surveyors Association Liberia (MA-10119)

The General Assembly has power to expel from the Federation any member association whose fees are in arrears and shall under normal circumstances expel any member association whose fees are three years in arrears. (Article 4.3 of the Statutes). The FIG office has sent information to these associations informing that if their membership fees are still in arrears at the time of the General Assembly the General Assembly shall expel the above member associations in Christchurch

FIG Council has discussed the situation for the Licenced Surveyors Association in Palestine and deem that Licensed Surveyors Association in Palestine, Palestina to have suspended status taking their current situation into consideration.

Motion: That the General Assembly expels the:

• Croatian Geodetic Society, Croatia (MA-10020)
• Fiji Institute of Surveyors, Fiji (MA-10028)
• Cadastral Surveyors Association Liberia (MA-10119)

If no payment has been received before the General Assembly takes place.

And that Licensed Surveyors Association in Palestine, Palestina (MA-10065) will be registered under suspension status for the year 2016.

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.
It was noted that Croatian Geodetic Society, Croatia and Fiji Institute of Surveyors, Fiji paid their arrears during the week and their membership was restored at the second session of the General Assembly.  

With the reinstatements, admissions and expulsions, the number of member associations is 105 from 91 countries.

6.3 Suspended status 2016

In accordance with its administrative measures, FIG Council, has decided to continue to defer for 2016 the issuance of a membership subscription invoice to the Order of Syrian Engineers and Architects, OSEA as all efforts to maintain contact with them has not yielded results, will deem their membership in suspension giving due consideration to its internal situation. As reported in the General Assembly 2015, there remain existing sanctions on Iran, but this might change during 2016. The FIG office in Denmark cannot for the time being receive payments from Iranian Professional Society of Surveying Engineers (ISS). Ukrainian Society of Geodesy and Cartography has also gained suspended status and has not been invoiced for 2016. Again in accordance with its administrative measures, FIG Council deem their membership to be in suspension. The situation with these associations will be reconsidered by Council again in 2017.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the members with suspension status.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.5 Other membership issues

6.5.1 Affiliate members

The Council has admitted the following national agencies to become affiliate members:  

1. Survey and Land Registration Bureau, Kingdom of Bahrain (AF-20056)
2. Cadastral Agency of Bulgaria, Bulgaria (AF-20058)
3. The State Land Service of Latvia (AF-20057)
4.  LINZ – Land Information New Zealand (AF-20059)
5. National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, NAMIRA, Philippines (AF-20060)
6. State corporation Government for Citicens- Astana Kazakhstan (AF-20061)
7. Reinstallment: Dubai Municipality (AF-20032) – has returned as member of FIG and paid all arrears.

The council has expelled the following affiliate members because of unpaid membership subscriptions:

1. ANZLIC, Australia (AF-20001)
2.  National Land Centre in the  Ministry of Natural Resources, Rwanda (AF-20016)
3. Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá D.C., Colombia (AF-20046)

After these changes the number of Affiliate members is 49 from 46 countries.

6.5.2 Corporate members

1. ISQ Portugal (CM-30051, Category F) has resigned
2. COWI, Denmark ((CM 30011) has changed their membership to Category D.
3. New member: CM-30060 Beijing Spatial Corporation
4. New member: CM-30061 GeoReference, Engineering Consultants Saudi Arabia   

After these changes the number of corporate members is now 24.

6.4.3 Academic members

FIG Council has admitted the following University to become Academic member:

1.  Ghent University Belgium (AC-40141)
2. University West, Department of Engineering, Sweden (AC-40142)
3. Papua New Guinea University of Technology (AC-40143)
4. Polytechnic of Namibia, Department of Land and Property Sciences (AC-40144)  

The Council has expelled following universities because of unpaid membership subscriptions:  

1.  University of Botswana (AC-40010)
2. University of Mines and Technology, Ghana (AC-40030)
3. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia (AC-40041)
4. Agricultural University of Cracow, Poland (AC-40054)
5. University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Puerto Rico  (AC-40055)
6. Kingston University School of Surveying, United Kingdom (AC-40073)
7. University of Prishtina Department of Geodesy, Kosovo (AC-40116)  

The number of Academic Members after these changes is 92 from 55 countries.

6.4.4 Correspondents

The number of correspondents is unchanged from 2015, and amounts to one from Tonga.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the actions that the Council has taken with other membership matters.

Decision: The motion was adopted. Membership certificates were handed out to the new members that were present, and the rest will be sent to the member by post.

7. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

PPresident Chryssy Potsiou has prepared the President’s report on the activities of the Federation since the General Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria in May 2015

Appendix to item 7:

• Handouts of the president’s presentation

Motion: That the General Assembly accepts the President’s report.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

8. COUNCIL RESPONSES FROM GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2015

Minutes from FIG Member Association Forum 2015 were presented at the second General Assembly in Sofia, 21 May 2015. The following proposals were presented to the FIG Council. FIG Council promised to get back to the General Assembly 2016 with a follow up and status on these issues.

Council response is shown in italics.

1. Global Surveyors Day
   1.1. Establishment of a Global Surveyors Day, and that there will be a GA decision in New Zealand.
   FIG Council responded to this last year already. In principle FIG council endorses the idea, but the national associations should be the driver. FIG can provide a Web communication platform where national associations can exchange ideas. FIG can encourage the national associations to do some kind of happening, but cannot initiate the ideas. FIG Council has decided that FIG will not set a specific date and there will not be a General Assembly decision in Christchurch. Unfortunately FIG does not have people to carry this task through. If FIG sets a date there will be expectations that FIG will also do some kind of action.
   1.2. Celebrations to be dedicated to a Surveyor of the Year and a topic from the broad field of surveying activities. Address to history group to suggest topics, and surveyors who may support the organisation of the events.
   FIG Council has decided not to initiate a proposal of a Surveyor of the Year. The idea is good, but again, if this is initiated there will also be expectations that there will be some action which will be difficult throughout a year. FIG can distribute information.
2.  Improvements in the established relations between the member states
   2.1. Short information for every member association on FIG web site
   This proposal is being implemented. In 2015, membership updates could be done electronically by the member and a text about the association included. All members are encouraged to submit a text. In the second half of 2016 the member association information will be available of FIG.
   2.2. Link from FIG web site to the national web site
   This feature has existed for many years on the web site. If a link is missing members are encouraged to contact FIG Office.
   2.3. Template information in all FIG languages
   It is decided and included in the Statutes and Internal Rules that the FIG language is English. It will not be possible for FIG to translate the information from national associations into other languages. FIG information (from web site) is already translated into various languages, and if a national member can formally translate the FIG information to another language, FIG Office will be happy to upload this on the FIG web site. FIG also encourages the national associations to include information about FIG in their national language on their national web site to spread out the information about FIG to as many as possible.
   
3.  Changes and improvements in the management of FIG
   3.1. Visibility of the benefits of FIG Membership for the membership of national association
   FIG Council will work on making the benefits of being a member more visible. There are many benefits for a national association – some are fairly easy to describe, but many are intangible and difficult to measure. A first step could be for the national associations to include more information about FIG on their national web sites (as mentioned in 2). 
   3.2. FIG should provide support for countries with little experience in certain survey practices. Professional support and guidelines are needed for the developing countries and countries in crisis
   

   FIG is an umbrella organisation, and is not working on a consultancy basis. It is not possible for FIG to engage in single cases, nor provide direct professional support, but FIG works on general principles that can be used by many, e.g. through the FIG Publications. There are no single solutions applicable to all, therefore it is not possible to use FIG brand to approve certain solutions. FIG has been approached several times for professional support, but we cannot do this as a NGO. FIG provides a good network of experts.
   It is possible for members to get involved in the FIG technical commissions and through this channel get/provide information and get involved in the compilation of publications, etc. Therefore members (and potential members) are encouraged to participate in the work that is taking place in FIG especially through the commissions. It is also possible to use the LinkedIn forum (or facebook) to ask questions and receive replies.

Appendix to item 8: Minutes from the FIG Member Association Forum 2015

Motion: That FIG General Assembly notes the update and records its thanks to the participants of the Member Association Forum 2015 for their active role in FIG and constructive proposals.

Decision/Action: The motion was adopted.

9. REPORTS FROM FIG COMMISSIONS

Each Commission Chair has submitted a written report on their Commission activities since the FIG Working Week in Sofia. These reports include progress reports of the Commission working groups. Each Commission will hold a meeting during the Working Week (Wednesday 4 May, 17:30-18:30). Each Commission gave a short report on Commission activities to the General Assembly apart from Commission 8, as the Chair of Commission 8 was unfortunately not able to come to Christchurch.
 
There were comments from delegates on commission 10 in relation to BIM (Building Information Management), and how the commissions can cooperate on this theme since it is inter-disciplinary, and BIM will have a large impact in the following years. Another question was about how much the commissions cooperate with other professional groups.

Appendices to item 9: Commission reports and hand outs:

• Commission 1 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 2 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 3 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 4 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 5 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 6 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 7 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 8 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 9 Report - Hand Outs
• Commission 10 Report - Hand Outs

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the reports of the Commission Chairs and records its thanks to the chairs and other officers of the Commissions for their ongoing contributions.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

10. REPORTS FROM FIG NETWORKS

Each Network Chair has submitted a written report on their Network activities since the FIG Working Week in Sofia. The Chairs  of the Regional Capacity Network and Young Surveyors Network gave a short oral report on the Network activities to the General Assembly.

Appendix to item 10:

• 10.1 Standards Network Report

• 10.2 Regional Capacity Network Report - Hand Outs

• 10.3 Young Surveyors Network Report - Hand Outs

Motion:: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the Chairs and the members of the networks for their ongoing contributions.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

11. REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTORS OF PERMANENT INSTITUTIONS 2015-2016

11.1. International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) OICRF

Dr. Christiaan Lemmen, Director of OICRF has prepared a report on the OICRF activities since the General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur. He made a short report to the General Assembly.

Appendix to item 11.1:

Report from the International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) OICRF

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the members of OICRF for their past year’s work and contribution.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

11.2. International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG

Mr. Jan de Graeve, Director of the IIHSM has prepared a report on the IIHSM activities since the General Assembly in Sofia. Unfortunately, the Chair, Jan de Graeve, was not able to attend. He and other members of IIHSM have attended FIG for almost 40 years each which is certainly an achievement for which the President thanked the active participants of IIHSM. John Brock, IIHSM, made a short report to the General Assembly.

Appendix to item 11.2: Report from the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the Director and the members of the permanent institution for their past year’s work and contribution.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

12. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FIG FOUNDATION 2015-2016

Mr. John Hohol, President of the FIG Foundation has prepared a report on the FIG Foundation activities from June 2014 to March 2016. He made a short report to the General Assembly. In this report he noted that this year is now the 7th time that Trimble supports the Foundation Dinner by a large contribution to the Foundation.

Appendix to item 12:

• Report of the FIG Foundation activities 2015-2016
• Result 2015

Motion:That the General Assembly adopts the report of the President of the FIG Foundation and records its thanks to the President and members of the Board of Directors of the FIG Foundation for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13. REPORTS FROM THE FIG TASK FORCES (2015-2016)

FIG has currently four Task Forces.

13.1. Task Force on Real Property Markets

The Task Force assesses the progress of establishing the real property markets in the countries with economies in transition. The Task Force is chaired by Pekka Halme, Finnish Association of Geodetic and Land Surveyors MIL. A session on Real Property Markets will take place during this Working Week.

Appendix to item 13.1

• Status Report from the Task Force
• Hand outs
  

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report from the Task Force and records its thanks to the Chair of the Task Forces and their members.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13.2. Task Force on Corporate Members  

The Task Force is established to strengthen the FIG relationship with corporate members. The Task Force is chaired by John Hohol, National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) in cooperation with Bryn Fosburgh, Vice President of Trimble.  

Appendix to item 13.2

• Status Report from the Task Force
• Hand outs

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report from the Task Force and records its thanks to the Chair of the Task Forces and their members.  

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13.3. Task Force on Scientific Journal  

The Task Force is established to investigate the usefulness and need and if justified, the steps forward in order to introduce an FIG peer review Journal (electronic or printed). The Task Force is chaired by Yerach Doytsher, Association of Licensed Surveyors in Israel (ALSI). Council expects a final proposal to be presented and adopted at the General Assembly 2017. A special session is included in the technical programme at the WW2016 where the FIG Scientific Journal will be discussed. 

Comments from delegates – noted in italics:

• whether there is a need for a FIG Journal
• FIG covers too many topics for one journal
• several commissions already have a cooperation with a relevant journal
• difficult to start a journal, and especially to get it recognised, you start at the bottom.
• Scopus indexation can take a long time

Appendix to item 13.3 – Status Report from the Task Force

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report from the Task Force, notes the proposed session and time line and records its thanks to the Chair of the Task Forces and their members.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13.4. Task Force on Commission Structure  

The Task Force assesses the Commissions and investigates if there is a need to revise their structure and to provide a proposal on possible improvements. The Task Force is chaired by Mikael Lilje, Swedish professionals for the built environment, Samhällsbyggarna.

At the General Assembly under this agenda item there was a possibility for discussion of the proposal.

During the conference days of the Working Week Members of FIG will furthermore have a possibility to discuss the proposal in more details with the Task Force at:

1. Lunch meeting on Wednesday 4 May (grab your lunch bag and attend at Concourse Room, HA)
2. The Member Association Forum on Thursday 5 May 11:00-12:30  

A summary of the comments received during the first General Assembly session and these meetings will be presented at the 2nd General Assembly session together with a proposal on how to take the Task Force forward.

Comments from delegates – noted in italics:

•  Concern that the proposal is not based on a thorough analysis of the need for a change
• The Task Force jumps too fast to a conclusion. More documentation on the proposed structure is required
• The current structure provides a home for all surveyors and includes the whole range of issues
• Changes must be considered carefully (a) to be inclusive and cover all aspects of surveying, (b) to be inclusive and provide space/official posts  for those associations who wish to be active, (c) to be inclusive and cover all regions
• Recommends Council to consider carefully and give time to the members to discuss
• We are not in a hurry
• If few large commissions it will be too much for a commission chair to chair all parts of it
• Need to discuss the whole structure and not only the structure of the commissions
  
• Do not leave out commission 9 and 10. Real estate and construction are important areas for surveyors. FIG is an inclusive federation and should remain so.
• There is also the option to elect 10 commission chairs (within the current structure) in 2017.

Council noted the comments and reminded the delegates to attend the lunch meeting where further discussion is possible.

Council furthermore invited to further discussions at regional level such as at the Workshop on Sustainable Real Estate Markets Policy Framework & Necessary Reforms in Athens, Greece and at Intergeo, October in Germany, in connection with the Africa Network meeting in November 2016, in the Asia region and if there are other possibilities in other areas.

Appendix to item 13.4

• Report/Proposal from the Task Force  
• Hand Outs
• Council proposal of options

Motion: That the General Assembly:

• records the report/proposal from the Task Force and records its thanks to the Chair of the Task Forces and their members
• records the organised meetings and possibilities for discussions
• records the proposed working and time schedule for the Task Force  

Decision: The motion was adopted and the General Assembly proposed that the President will supervise and ensure the further communication, participation and engagement of Member Associations into discussions in order to facilitate the compilation of an improved version of the proposal to be submitted in time for a new decision (either adoption or further modification) during the next Working Week.

14. CO-OPERATION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE WORLD BANK

Since the 38th General Assembly, FIG has continued to collaborate with the World Bank and various agencies and structures within the United Nations. The collaboration within 2015/16 was reported by the FIG President under item 7, Presidents report.

Appendix to item 14.1: Terms of Reference for the Network on Regional Capacity Development.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report on the co-operation between FIG and the United Nations, its agencies and the World Bank and records its thanks to all those who have contributed to this co-operation.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

15. 11.  LIAISON WITH INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

TThe Joint Board of Spatial Information Societies JB-GIS was formally established during the FIG Working Week in Cairo in 2005 and meets annually during a major conference. The meeting of JB-GIS in 2015 was held in August 2015. FIG has collaborative MoUs with a number of the organizations who are part of JB-GIS.

FIG has further bilateral agreements of co-operation with several other international associations like ISM, IFHP, CIB, ION, ICEC, FIABCI, IFHS, PAIGH and PAQS.

FIG is represented in International Construction Measurement Standard Coalition by Chair of FIG Commission 10, See Lian Ong who has been appointed chair of the Standard Setting Committee. FIG is represented in the Trustee Board by the President.

FIG is represented in International Land Measurement Standard Coalition by Mr. Maurice Barbieri.

IG Council has furthermore decided to join the Ethics Standard Committee.

FIG is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and working together with ISO and International Valuation Standards Committee (IVSC) on standards. 

The collaboration within 2015/16 was reported by the FIG President under item 7, Presidents report.

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report on the liaison with other international associations.

Decision:The motion was adopted.

16. FIG ACCOUNTS FOR 2015, AUDITOR'S REPORT AND BUDGETS 2016-2019

Vice President Rudolf Staiger presented the report to the General Assembly. The report includes the auditors report from 2015, official accounts (income statement 2015) and balance sheet 31 December 2015, a summary of 2015 accounts, an updated budget for 2016 and proposals for budgets 2017-2019 and proposal for membership fees for member associations in 2018.

Appendix to item 16:

• Report on Financial Issues (including 2015 accounts and budgets 2016-2019)
• Hand outs

Annexes:

• 16A Auditor's Report, Income Statement for 2015 and Balance Sheet at 31 December 2015
• 16B FIG Result 2015
• 16C FIG Budgets 2016-2019

Motion: That the General Assembly

• adopts the audited accounts for 2015,
• adopts the Finance Report, and
• adopts budgets for 2016–2019

Decision: The motion was adopted.

17. SUBSCRIPTION RATES FOR 2017 AND 2018

The General Assembly has to set levels of fees for member associations two years in advance of the year in which they become payable. Fees are payable in respect of each individual member up to a maximum of 5,500 members. The membership fee structure was changed in 2009. Membership fees have been discussed as part of the finance report, appendix to item 16.

The 2015 General Assembly approved membership fees for 2017 as follows under the condition that Council would re-consider at the end of 2016 whether it would be responsible too keep the fee stable.

The World Bank lists of the low-income economies and the lower-middle-income economies are available at: http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups 

The 2017 subscription fees were kept at the same level as for the years 2012-2015.

Although the budget 2017 shows a deficit and 2018 only a small surplus, Council is also conscious of the economic condition that members are operating under and in particular member’s challenges with their national membership and budgets.  Council wishes to respect this as well and both Council and FIG Office will continue to be prudent in its financial management. Council therefore proposed after reconsidering that the level of subscription for member associations for 2017 and also for 2018 to remain at the same level as in the previous years.  Council has initiated a Task Force to work on how to attract corporate members and the hope is to increase the fees received by corporate members to limit the deficit or turn it into a positive result. The current Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese Society for Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, CSSMG on Internships to the FIG office is another way to provide support to FIG. Vice President Staiger took the possibility in his presentation to thank CSSMG very much for this contribution.

Vice President Staiger commented during his presentation of the financial report that member associations should be prepared for an increase of fees for 2019.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts following membership fees payable by member associations in 2017 and 2018:

Decision: The motion was adopted

18. ELECTION OF TWO VICE PRESIDENTS FOR 2017-2020 – PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES 

FIG Council has received four proposals for the two open posts of FIG Vice President:

• Yerach Doytsher, Association of Licensed Surveyors in Israel
• Orhan Ercan, Chamber of Surveying and Cadastre Engineers of Turkey
• Sunil Lalloo, Institute of Surveyors of Trinidad and Tobago
• Mikael Lilje, Swedish professionals for the built environment  

The profile templates of each candidate are attached. Each candidate had 10 minutes to introduce himself and make a presentation focussing on his/her ideas and goals for developing the FIG agenda to the General Assembly. Sunil Lalloo was unfortunately not present and there was no presentation of him.

The elections will take place at the second session of the General Assembly by blind votes on Friday 06 May. The elections will take place one position at a time. If there will be no absolute majority in the first voting, second vote will be organised between those two candidates that have most votes. 

Appendix to item 18 and 24: Profiles of the candidates:

• Yerach Doytsher, Association of Licensed Surveyors in Israel
• Orhan Ercan, Chamber of Surveying and Cadastre Engineers of Turkey - Hand outs
• Sunil Lalloo, Institute of Surveyors of Trinidad and Tobago
• Mikael Lilje, Swedish professionals for the built environment - Hand outs

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the presentations of the candidates, makes its careful consideration at the elections during the second session of the General Assembly on the 06 May.   

Decision: The motion was adopted.

19. POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTION OF COMMISSION CHAIRS ELECT FOR 2017-2018 

The General Assembly will normally elect a Chair Elect for each of the ten FIG Commissions for term of office 1.1.2017-31.12.2018. Under normal circumstances the elected Chair Elect will be elected as the Chair of the Commission at the FIG Congress 2018 for the period 2019-2022.

The General Assembly in 2015 appointed a Task Force to evaluate the current Commission structure and consider if any changes are needed. The recommendations of the Task Force on the Commission Structure and the decision of the General Assembly may or may not affect the number of commissions. Based on this on-going work, respectfully FIG Council has decided to postpone the election of Chair Elect for the 10 Commissions until the new structure has been settled or the current structure confirmed by the General Assembly. Voting for the period 2019 to 2022, for either structure scenario will take place in 2018 at the latest.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the decision by FIG Council and adopts the proposed time frame.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

20. DECISION OF THE VENUE FOR FIG WORKING WEEK 2020 – PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES

The FIG Working Weeks are organised by FIG together with a local member association. FIG will together with the local member association have full responsibility of the arrangements and of the financial result. This offers FIG better opportunities in terms of organising events and generating revenue. Therefore the Council has to ensure that all candidates are aware of the role of FIG and split of responsibilities for organising the Working Week. This General Assembly will decide on the host for the 2020 Working Week.

The FIG Council has received two bids to host the FIG Working Week 2020, and FIG Council thanks all bidding member associations for their special engagement and contribution to FIG.

The Council has prepared a desktop summary on the bids. In the summary report the following considerations, as laid out in the invitation documentation, are described for comparison: