XXIII International FIG Congress, German Intergeo

Dear Colleagues,
We are happy to welcome you to FIG Congress 2006, which concludes the German chairmanship of FIG from 2002 to 2006. It is in fact the second time that German surveyors have led this world-wide federation, and I am proud to say that the German Council certainly has lived up to the motto of “Shaping the Change”. Structural reforms successfully initiated by our predecessors have now been completed, and we have assisted FIG to increase and strengthen its role as a re-spected and highly esteemed global partner for the United Nations and many other international, regional and national institutions.

Successful and memorable milestones in achieving these goals have without any doubt been our annual Working Weeks in Paris, Athens and in Cairo. I must also mention the unexpected popularity of our regional conferences, introduced for the first time in 2001. Such experiences can only lead us to encourage you to attend our FIG Congress 2006, which together with the coinciding expert fair INTERGEO 2006 will bring together thousands of surveyors from all over the world for enriching encounters and inspiring exchange of ideas. Not only will this be the biggest geodetic event ever in Germany, it will also set the record for FIG Congresses, with more than 15,000 visitors expected, and delegates from almost a hundred countries.

A FIG conference is always the occasion for making up the accounts of achievements. FIG Commissions and the hosting nation will demonstrate what has been accomplished during the German chairmanship and how much of the work plans have been implemented.

Munich, the world-renowned Bavarian capital of science (including geodesy and geo-informatics), technology, arts and culture, and of ‘joie de vivre’, has been chosen as venue, and we are convinced that you will find our confer-ence rewarding both professionally and socially. We will do our utmost to make this Congress unforgettable!

Don’t hesitate to make this unique Congress even more colourful, more enriching and interesting by your participation. We are looking forward to welcoming you!

Prof. Holger Magel, president, FIG

International Seminar on Cadastre for Sustainable Development
Bogotá, Colombia, 22nd to 24th November 2005

The Municipality of Bogotá, Department of Cadastre (Catastro Bogotá) and the National Cadastre Colombia, IGAC organised this seminar, supported by the ATOS ORIGIN SPAIN project co-financed by the European Union and the Colombian Government. In South and Latin American countries cadastral activities based on Spanish tradition focus on taxation and fiscal purposes. These countries have recognised the importance of multipurpose cadastre organisation and begun to develop, modernising such organisations and changing their fiscal purpose to make them into multipurpose institutions. About two hundred professionals from twelve Latin American and Caribbean countries participated, along with five invited international experts. During the seminar, top officials representing the National Cadastres of participating countries reported on developments and results towards the multipurpose cadastre. There appears still to be much to do. There was general consensus amongst the National Cadastre repres-entatives on the importance of improving international relations with professional organisations such as FIG. As a result of the seminar the representatives of the different National Cadastres signed an agreement to form an Association (Group) of Latin American and Caribbean Cadastres.

András Osskó, chair-elect, FIG Commission 7

CLGE International Conference 2005 - European Professional Qualifications in Surveying
Brussels, Belgium, 1st to 2nd December 2005

The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (French abbreviation CLGE) held a conference in December in Brussels with a focus on Euro-pean professional qualifica-tions for surveyors. The clear message from the conference was that the surveying profession throughout Europe is changing from a main focus on surveying and measurement science to spatial science and land management. The latter involves the man-agement of rights, restrictions and responsibilities in land, with property systems and legal issues the core element. In this perspective, the future of the profession looks very promising. Educational programmes are also changing to focus on the provision of qualifications and compet-ence needed within this multidisciplinary arena. What is not changing, however, is the public perception/image of the surveyor as someone carrying out measurements, in green rubber boots. We will have to change this perception in order to make politicians understand the importance of the work of the surveyor and its central contribution to society, and to attract a sufficient number of good students to enter the profession in the future. Improved interaction has to be established between the regulated and the free market within the area of surveying. Surveyors must be able to not only to manage within change, but also to manage change itself.

Stig Enemark, vice-president, FIG