The International Geospatial Society: A Young Initiative

The International Geospatial Society (IGS) is the individual membership arm of the GSDI Association. While only geospatial organisations may join the GSDI, the IGS permits individuals not attached to such organisations to become more fully engaged with peers from around the world. The IGS enhances communications globally among individuals who are actively involved in promoting, developing or advancing spatial data infrastructure and related concepts.

A Brief History
The International Geospatial Society initiative began in June 2009 during the GSDI 12 World Conference which was held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Through the GSDI Association, processes were developed for the election of the first IGS president and vice-president, each for a two-year term. This election was held electronically in the first half of 2010 and members from 50 different countries participated.

Open List of SDI and GIS-related Theses
In recent years, many university graduates have completed a master’s or PhD thesis on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), GIS and related topics. However, these documents are spread across many different locations which often makes them difficult to find. Because many IGS members are affiliated with universities and research centres, a collaborative project was launched to compile a list of such postgraduate theses produced from the year 2000 onwards. The entry for each thesis includes a complete citation (incorporating the author’s name, title, institution and date), an abstract and, if applicable, a link to the openly available, full-text version of the document online. All entries were uploaded into the GIKNet document archive (http://giknet.org/depot) as an open access document prior to the IGS meeting that was held in May 2012 as part of the GSDI 13 Conference in Quebec City, Canada (http://gsdi.org/gsdi13).

IGS Members Highlighted in the GSDI and IGS Global News
Members of both the GSDI Association and the International Geospatial Society receive the GSDI’s bi-monthly GSDI and IGS Global News publication, which is edited by Roger Longhorn, vice-chair of communications of the GSDI Outreach and Membership Committee. A new, regular section has been added to each issue of GSDI and IGS Global News to present IGS members. In the March/April issue, the column entitled ‘IGS Member of the Month’ contained profiles of two IGS members. This initiative has been very well received by IGS members, who have been invited to submit their profiles for sharing with the community.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks for the support given by the GSDI board and for the collaboration of IGS members, whose contributions, ideas and suggestions are the lifeblood of the International Geospatial Society.

More Information About the IGS
Information about the GSDI Association can be found at www.gsdi.org. A short flyer outlining the benefits of International Geospatial Society membership is available in English at http://bit.ly/Lc7pSL and in Spanish at http://bit.ly/KPCNXU.