FIG founding member Consiglio Nazionale Geometri (CNG) held its 43rd National Congress at the famous top hotel Villa Igiea in Palermo from 17th to 22nd October. FIG president Prof. Holger Magel was invited to address more than five hundred participants from all parts of Italy, and representatives from FIG member countries including France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Malta and Israel. Keeping in mind the conference motto ‘New horizons for the profession: guarantees for the society in evolution’ Professor Magel gave his keynote speech on International Day "About the identity, socio-political role and technical tasks of surveyors on the national and international stage." The next speaker was former chair of FIG Commission 7 and UN FAO current division chief for Land Tenure Dr Paul Munro-Faure, who explained the global work of FAO. According to the themes of both the Palermo conference, ‘New Horizons of the Profession’, and of the FIG presidency, ‘Shaping the Change’, Prof. Magel pointed out a few big issues.

Adaptation
We can no longer rest on our laurels. Surveyors have continually to adapt to new technologies and philosophies of measurements and, for example, land administration, and to change or even enlarge the fields of their activities. This means best education and continuous professional develop-ment. CNG and its members are very well aware of these needs and plan to provide optimal levels of education, thus ensuring that professionals are better prepared and trained for change and evolution. FIG as a global association can give information on trends; for example, an ‘early warning system’ on problems such as mutual recognition, standards, ethical, moral or other qualifications for competing in a single market.

Society
Surveyors must be embedded not only within other technical and business-oriented disciplines, but also within society, politics and among politicians. Surveyors and surveying should be regarded as "guarantors and custodians" of a democratic, just and sustainable society. They should also stand for enhancing good living conditions, especially for the sound economic, ecological and social environments found in many, but unfortunately not all, places. By providing excellent land administration and land management the surveying profession could become an indispensable pillar of societies and institutions.

Pro-active
Within a global and fast-growing European market surveyors have to be alert and aware, not only to survive but to pro-actively exploit the chances of growing new markets such as those existing in property, valuation, land management and GIS. The former director-general of the International Monetary Fund, Professor Horst Köhler, has started a new initiative for Africa. Professor Köhler is very well informed about the need for secure tenure as a basis and starting point for reliable investment and increased welfare. Against this background and in this light surveyors should start initiatives to aid self-help in these countries .

Encouragement
President Magel was deeply impressed by the format and overwhelming technical and social programme, and the benchmarking standard of CNG Congress. He congratulated CNG president Piero Panunzi on this, especially on successfully attracting high-ranking European and Italian ministers and members of parliament, and prominent journalists. Prof. Magel encouraged CNG to continue in its efforts to increase the educational level and life-long learning of Italian surveyors, and expressed his hope that CNG would contribute more intensively than ever to FIG activities. One ambitious signal has already been sent out by CNG: its application to host the Commission 7 Annual Meeting in Verona in 2008!

International Valuation Conference, China

FIG held a Valuation Confer-ence in Xian, China, from 17th to 20th October 2005 in co-operation with the China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Agents(CIREA) and the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS). More than three hundred participants attended.

The conference took place at Xian International Conference Centre and the FIG delegation was led by the vice-president Dr Andreas Drees (Germany). Other re-presentatives included Mr Stephen Yip, chair of FIG Commission 9 ‘Valuation and the Management of Real Estate’, Professor Kauko Vii-tanen, incoming chair of Commission 9, and Mr Henning Elmstrøm, Commission 9 and president of CLGE (The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors).

All keynote speakers underlined the enormous potential of the valuation business and the rapidly growing numbers of investors all over the world. Prof. Kauko Viitanen talked about laser scanning as a tool in valuation, and Anthony Banfield discussed ‘Valuing Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets’. Bill Endsley from the Appraisal Institute compared the situation in different countries in a very in-teresting manner. Henning Elmstroem gave examples of European policy in han-dling valuation information.