It will be no news to you, readers of GIM International, that there is a growing interest in use, users and usability within the realm of geo-information acquisition, processing, management and dissemination. The ICA has responded to this by establishing a new Working Group on Use and User Issues. Some thirty people interested in this met during the ICA conference in A Coruña, Spain on 13th July 2005 and agreed on the following terms of reference for the period 2005-2007.

• Set up an on-line bibliographical database. The main categories in this bibliography are the user, usability (user-centred design and methods and techniques of evaluation/testing) and improvement of user abilities.
  
• Set up a forum on the Web to exchange knowledge and information.
  
• Set up a database of individuals working on or with expertise in the various use and user issues and denote it with keywords to stimulate exchange of information.
  
• Foster publications on use and user issues in cartography and geo-information processing and dissemination.
  
• Organise a workshop or seminar in 2006.
  
• Promote sessions on use and user issues at ICC 2007 in Moscow, August 2007.

In the meantime, work has started on:

• establishing a dynamic mailing list of people interested in contributing to the activities of the Working Group; if you want to be added to it, email to address below
  
• designing a website http://kartoweb.itc.nl/icawguse/
  
• categorisation required for bibliographical database tested by asking WG members to submit key references
  
• organising a seminar; of several options the Annual Symposium of the British Cartographic Society appeared the most realistic opportun-ity for hosting a seminar: 7th to 10th September 2006 in Manchester, UK and the organisers have reserved half a day for presentations on use and user issues, arranged with the help of the Working Group
  
• arranging other ad hoc meetings at other conferences and symposia (e.g. Association of Polish Cartographers (Wroclaw, 23th to 25th November 2006); GICON 2006 (Vienna, 10th to 14th July 2006); Intercarto 12 (Berlin, 28th to 30th August 2006); GIScience (Münster, 20th to 23rd September 2006)).
  

  
  If you are interested in the activities of this new ICA Working Group, please contact ITC, Department of Geo-Information Processing, P. O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands, e-mail: elzakker@itc.nl