| 
			
				
					| 
					
					 Participants of the Africa Task Force workshop in Mombasa.
 | The FIG Africa Task Force organised its first two-day 
					workshop on Peri-Urban Settlements: Tools & Techniques 
					for Surveyors to ensure Environmental and Social Resilience 
					in Mombasa, Kenya, 11-12 November 2010. Each year the Task 
					force will invite an African member association to co-host a 
					workshop. The first workshop was held in Mombasa and it was 
					hosted in co-operation with the Institution of Surveyors 
					Kenya (ISK). Read more ... |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 FIG Council meeting in Copenhagen in November 2010.
 | FIG Council approved the Final Progress 
					Report of the FIG Council Work Plan 2007-2010 at its meeting 
					in Copenhagen in conjunction to the Handover ceremony. The
					
					final progress report 
					will be brought to the General Assembly for its approval 
					in Marrakech in May 2011. At this last meeting of the FIG 
					Council 2007-2010 the Council approved Survey Department 
					from Sri Lanka as an affiliate member, the East Kazakhstan 
					State Technical University named after D. Serikbayev as an 
					academic member and Danos S.A. 
					from Greece as a new corporate member.
 | 
			 
			
				
					| 
					
					 Presidents Stig Enemark and CheeHai Teo at the 
					Handover Ceremony assisted by Robert W. Foster and 
					Juha Talvitie.
 
  President Stig Enemark making the keynote address.
 | The formal Handover Ceremony between the current and 
					incoming FIG Councils and Commission chairs took place in 
					Copenhagen 26 November 2010. At the Handover Ceremony 
					President Stig Enemark gave the President's Chain of 
					Office to the incoming President CheeHai Teo from 
					Malaysia. President Teo together with his Council, new 
					Commission chairs and other officers will now take over the 
					responsibility of FIG. The Handover Ceremony was attended by about hundred 
					representatives from all over the world to recognise the 
					achievements of President Enemark and his team. The busy 
					week included also number of meetings of the FIG Council, 
					new Commission officers (ACCO) and with participating 
					delegations focussing especially on the future FIG 
					conferences. 
					Read more...
 |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The podium discussion at the Seminar
 | The seminar was focused on analyzing the 
					governmental challenge of land restitution to victims of 
					abandonment and dispossession under circumstances that will 
					guarantee that they will be granted their rights to justice 
					and truth and they can enrol in the economic life of the 
					country under conditions of dignity and security. More than 
					200 attended the Seminar, and The Vice President of Columbia 
					also gave a presentation.  
					Read more ... | 
			
			 
			
				
					| 
					
					 Participants in a group photo.
 | The Joint FIG Commission 3 and 7 Workshop and 2010 
					Annual Meeting of Commission 3 took place in Sofia, on the 
					15-17 of November. The Workshop was organized by FIG 
					Commissions 3 and 7 and the Chamber of Graduated Surveyors 
					of Bulgaria. The meeting was the 4th Workshop of FIG 
					Commission 3 in the four-year term of office 2007-2010. 
					Read more ... 
 |  
			
				
					|  | The Consiglio Nazionale Geometri and Geometri Laureati in 
					cooperation with Geoweb S.p.A., have promoted and organized 
					the Second International Training Course of Territorial 
					Survey. The course took place in Rome from the 20th of 
					September to the 8th of October 2010. From FIG the incoming 
					Vice President Chryssy Potsiou attended and gave an 
					opening speech. 
					Read more ... |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Opening of the conference Aleknsandar Nikolovski, 
					Rector of FON University; Mauro Salvemini, President 
					of EUROGI; Bashkim Idrizi, President of Geo-SEE; 
					Prof. Chryssy Potsiou, Chair of FIG Commission 3.
 | The 2010 International 
					Conference on Spatial Data Infrastructures was successfully 
					held at FON University in Skopje, FY Republic of Macedonia, 
					from 15th to 17th September, 2010. The conference was 
					organized by Geo-SEE (South-East Europe Research Association 
					on Geo Sciences) and was supported by six co-organisers 
					(FIG, EUROGI, Chamber of Authorized Surveyors of Macedonia, 
					FON University, ITC, and Geography Department of SUT). A keynote speech was held on behalf of FIG by Prof. 
					Chryssy Potsiou, current chair of FIG Commission 3, with 
					the title “Spatial information management and the current 
					rapid processes of urbanization”. Commission 3 was very 
					well represented at the conference  
					Read more ...
 |  
			
			
			Sydney Declaration - Final version of the declaration adopted as 
			outcome of the XXIV FIG Congress held in Sydney, Australia, 11-16 
			April 2010
			
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The flag alley entrance to the UN-HABITAT Headquarters at 
					Gigiri, Nairobi
 | FIG President Stig Enemark attended 
					the Meeting of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) 
					International Advisory Board (IAB) held 29 October 2010 at 
					the UN-HABITAT Headquarters in Nairobi, and followed by 
					discussions 30 October on future co-operation and 
					partnership between GLTN and FIG. GLTN has agreed upon 18 
					key land tools and argues that the existing lack of these 
					tools, as well as land governance issues, are the main cause 
					of failed implementation of failed implementation at scale 
					of land policies worldwide. Read more...
 | 
			 
			
				
					| 
					
					 Abbas Rajabifard, President of GSDI and Stig 
					Enemark, President of FIG
 | FIG and GSDI (Global Spatial Data 
					Infrastructure Association) signed a Memorandum of 
					Understanding at the FIG Congress in Sydney outlining a 
					framework for co-operation between the two organizations and 
					identifying a range of activities for mutual benefits. The 
					GSDI-12 World Conference was attended by about 600 
					participants from 65 countries throughout the world. It 
					included a range of workshops, 5 plenary sessions and 35 
					technical sessions with about 150 presentations. Read more...
 |  
			
				
					| 
					
					 FIG Vice President Matt Higgins at the IGC-5 meeting
 | The ICG has been formed as a result of 
					recommendations of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Use of 
					Outer Space (COPUOS), as ratified by the General Assembly of 
					the UN. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs 
					(UN OOSA) acts as the secretariat for the ICG. IFIG has an 
					MoU with UN OOSA and is an Associate Member of the ICG. At 
					the end of each meeting, the ICG issues a Joint Statement 
					outlining the highlights of the work of the ICG and any 
					major developments. Read about the status of all of the 
					major GNSS Sub-Systems as well as a summary of the meeting 
					and its work groups. Read 
					more...
 |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Opening ceremony. President François Mazuyer, FGF in 
					the middle and FIG repre-sentative Marc Vander-schueren 
					on the right.
 | The seminar “Assessment of Training 
					Opportunities and Needs for Surveyor and their Technicians 
					in West Africa” was organised by the Fédération des 
					Géomètres Francophones (FGF) in Niamey, Niger, 14-15 October 
					2010. The seminar was co-sponsored by FIG. The successful 
					event gathered about 80 participants from 13 countries from 
					Sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African 
					Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, 
					Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and of 
					course from Niger). 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Henning Elmstroem, President of DdL, 
					Karl-Friedrich Thöne, President of DVW and
					Stig Enemark, FIG President.
 | INTERGEO 2010 was held in Cologne, Germany 5-7 October. 
					The world biggest tradeshow in surveying and geomatics 
					business gathered 17,500 visitors and the INTERGEO 
					conference 1,500 delegates. The number of exhibitors exceed 
					500 companies representing 32 nations. The INTERGEO 
					conference titled "Knowledge and Action for Planet Earth" 
					attracted 1,500 participants. The new conference concept in 
					partnership with other key players has proved to be a great 
					success. In Cologne the European congress EnviroInfo 2010 
					was for the first time organised jointly with INTERGEO.  
					Each day of the three-day INTERGEO conference started with a 
					plenary session introducing a high profile internationally 
					recognised speaker.
 FIG President Stig Enemark 
					provided one of the three keynote presentations. 
					Read more...
 | 
			Strengthening the Partnership 
			with the World Bank - FIG President Stig Enemark and Incoming 
			President CheeHai Teo visited the World Bank 13 September 2010
				
					| 
					
					 Stig Enemark, President of FIG; Juergen Voegele, 
					Director of Agriculture and Rural Development Department; 
					and CheeHai Teo, Incoming President of FIG 2011-2014.
 | FIG President Stig Enemark and 
					Incoming President CheeHai Teo visited the World Bank 
					13 September 2010 to strengthen the partnership between FIG 
					and the Land Group of the World Bank. The key purpose of the 
					visit was to review and renew the current Memorandum of 
					Understanding that was signed in February 2007.The 
					presentation by the president and the incoming president 
					also included a list of suggested issues for further 
					cooperation over the coming four year term. The visit was 
					kindly hosted by Keith Bell
					and also included a meeting with Juergen 
					Voegele, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development 
					Department as well as Jolyne Sanjak, Managing 
					Director of Department of Compact Implementation, Millennium 
					Challenge Cooperation (MCC). 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The formation of the new Asociacion Panamericana de 
					Profesionales en Agrimensura (APPA) (Panamerican Association 
					of Surveying Professionals)
 | FIG President Stig Enemark and 
					Incoming President CheeHai Teo attended the XI 
					International Congress, San Jose, Costa Rica, 17 – 19 
					September 2010. The theme for the congress was "Geomatics: 
					Current Trends in Geodesy, Topography and Cadastre" 
					reflecting the current challenges and opportunities 
					encountered by the profession not only in Costa Rica but 
					also the region. The formation of APPA - the Asociacion 
					Panamericana de Profesionales en Agrimensurawas was a 
					highlight and also represented the culmination of efforts by 
					FIG over about ten years to mobilise the surveying 
					profession within Latin America. FIG has pledged to work 
					with this latest regional structure to develop and advance 
					the profession in the Americas. A major opportunity in this 
					regard will be FIG Regional Conference that is likely to 
					held in Montevideo, Uruguay, by the end of 2012. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Current Chair 
					András Osskó together with incoming Chair 
					Daniel Roberge
 | FIG Commission 7 in cooperation with the 
					Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers organized its 
					Annual Meeting between 5 and 11 September 2010 in Karlovy 
					Vary, Czech Republic. Commission 7 has had a 20 year 
					tradition organizing annual meetings each year, separately 
					from major FIG events, based on the consensus of Commission 
					7 delegates. The Annual Meeting 2010 was the last of a 
					four year period chaired by Mr. 
					András Osskó, Hungary. There was a record number of 
					participation in the Annual Meeting 2010 showing the 
					importance of land administration matters world wide. 57 
					delegates attended this annual meeting from 32 countries 
					representing all of the continents.  
					Read more...
 | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Participants at the Workshop in Kazakhstan
 | FIG Commissions 5 (Positioning and 
					Measurement) and 6 (Engineering Surveys) together with 
					Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Land Resources 
					Management, D. Serikbaev East Kazakhstan State Technical 
					University (EKSTU), Siberian State Academy of Geodesy (SSGA) 
					and Regional Scientific and Technological Park “Altai” 
					organised a Workshop on “Innovative Technologies for an 
					Efficient Geospatial Management of Earth Resources”. The 
					Conference was attended by about 100 participants and 
					contained almost 60 presentations.
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 | Prof. Paul van der Molen has decided 
					to retire after a longstanding carrier at the Dutch Kadaster 
					and ITC. Paul is also well know and highly recognized for 
					his contributions to FIG and the global surveying community 
					as chair of FIG Commission 7 1998-2002, Director of OICRF, 
					FIG-UN Liaison Ambassador, Honorary Member, and FIG 
					Vice-President 2007-2008.  
					Read more... | 
			FIG Council adopts the
			Sydney 
			Declaration and new members at its meeting in July
				
					| 
					
					 FIG Council discussing the issues related to the FIG 
					Congress in Sydney.
 | The FIG Council had a Council meeting by 
					email in July to follow up the outcome of the FIG Congress 
					in Sydney. At this meeting the final version of the
					Sydney 
					Declaration was endorsed. The Council also approved new 
					members: the Ethiopian Surveying Professionals Association 
					(ESPA) as a member association (to be endorsed by the 
					General Assembly; China Land Surveying and Planning 
					Institute as affiliate member; two new corporate members: 
					FARO and Hi-Target Survey Instruments Company Ltd from China 
					both at silver level; and Zonguldak Karaelmas University as 
					a new academic member. In addition arrangements for the 
					handover meeting 25-26 November 2010 were approved. | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Yerach Doytsher at the XVI Cadastral Week
 | The Faculty of Engineering through its 
					Cadastral and Geodesy Engineering program at the Distrital 
					University of Bogota, Colombia together with the Colombian 
					Chapter of SELPER (The Society of Latin American Specialists 
					in Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems) 
					organized the 16th Cadastral Week. The event hosted almost 
					250 participants from the Academia and the private and 
					public sectors in Colombia as well as attendees from other 
					Latin America countries. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The winning entry: Elementary School National Map Drawing 
					Competition
 | “Smart Korea 2010”, the third successive 
					annual Korean NSDI Expo that also incorporates a series of 
					themed symposiums, is the national specialized geospatial 
					symposium and exhibition. This year, the organizers’ aim was 
					the promotion of the convergence of geospatial science and 
					smart technologies that should bring about a better future. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Commission 2 on technical tour
 | The Commission 2 Workshop focused on 
					surveying education and in particular how educators around 
					the world respond to changes in the survey profession and 
					keep their courses relevant and stimulating for students. 
					Also explored were the opportunities that exist to enhance 
					surveying teaching and learning by sharing approaches and 
					investigating the benefits of a variety of new 
					technologies.  
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The Honourable Minister of Development, Negara Brunei 
					Darussalam making his officiating address at the Seminar
 | The Survey Department, Ministry of 
					Development, Negara Brunei Darussalam, an affiliate member 
					of FIG and the Brunei Institute of Geomatics, a member 
					association of FIG, invited FIG to the Seminar “Land 
					Surveying Basis for Development”. Vice President Teo held a 
					keynote presentation during the official opening session. 
					The one day seminar highlighted not just the latest 
					developments in land surveying practices and technologies 
					but also the significant role and contribution of surveyors 
					towards development. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					 Participants at the IGS workshop and Vertical Rates 
					Symposium
 | The Newcastle University Geodesy Group 
					hosted approximately 200 participants in the International 
					GNSS Service (IGS) Workshop 2010 and the COST Action ES0701 
					Vertical Rates Symposium. The Workshop focused on the 
					application and status of current IGS operations and 
					possibilities for future improvements. The final day of the 
					meeting examined application of GNSS to tide gauge vertical 
					land movement, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), 
					subsidence and tectonic motion. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					 Chairman of PAQS TEOH WeiSin  and FIG Vice 
					President TEO CheeHai during the 14th PAQS Board 
					Meeting.
 | FIG was invited to the 14th PAQS Congress 
					and the Board Meeting of the Pacific Association of Quantity 
					Surveyors by the current Chairman of the PAQS, Mr. TEOH 
					WeiSin (from the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and 
					Valuers), to address and interact with the PAQS Board over 
					the proposed collaboration and MoU between FIG and PAQS. The 
					meeting was held at the Resort World Convention Centre, 
					Sentosa Island in Singapore on the 25th July 2010. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Participants at the Expert Group Meeting in Yogyakarta.
 | Transparency in land administration (TLA) is the first 
					and foremost training program that the Global Land Tool 
					Network (GLTN) has been implementing in cooperation with the 
					Training and Capacity Building Branch (TCBB) of UN-HABITAT 
					and the International Institute for Geo-information Science 
					and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente. This 
					joint activity for South and South East Asia was hosted by 
					the Department of Geodetic Engineering, Gahjah Mada 
					University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. FIG was represented by 
					Vice President TEO CheeHai. 
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					|  | FIG Commission 5 and 6 Workshop on “Innovative 
					Technologies for an Efficient Geospatial Management of Earth 
					Resources” 3-7 September 2010 will be the first FIG 
					event to be held in Kazakhstan. This workshop is organised 
					by FIG, Agency of RK for Land Resources Management, D. 
					Serikbaev East Kazakhstan State Technical University, and 
					Siberian State Academy of Geodesy (SSGA). Read more about 
					the workshop in the
					
					invitation brochure and on the workshop web site:
					http://www.ektu.kz/ | 
			 
			
				
					| 
					
					 ISPRS President Orhan Altan and FIG President Stig 
					Enemark.
 | The International Society for 
					Photogrammetry ISP (now International Society for 
					Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, ISPRS) celebrated its 100 
					year anniversary at the Technical University of Vienna. 
					President Stig Enemark represented FIG. As part of 
					the celebrations the Joint Board of Geospatial Information 
					Societies JB GIS launched a new publication “Geoinformation 
					for Disaster Risk Management” at the UN Office for Outer 
					Space Affairs (UN-OOSA).  
					Read more.... |  
			
				
					|   | 
					
					 Aboriginal dance at the opening
 ceremony.
 |  
					| The XXIV FIG Congress Facing the Challenges – Building 
					the Capacity held in Sydney Australia 11-16 April 2010 
					turned out to be the biggest FIG congress ever. With more 
					than 2,200 participants from 100 countries it gathered the 
					biggest attendance to an FIG event. The total number of 
					presented papers exceeded 800. Read the
					full report and see the
					picture 
					galleries. The congress 
					
					proceedings including handouts of PowerPoint 
					presentations are also available. Read also the
					report from 
					the General Assembly and see the
					
					minutes. |  
			
				
					|  | FIG 
					Annual Review 2009 is available on the web and as a hard 
					copy. You can download it from here as a
					
					.pdf file
					(32 pages, 3.47 MB) from here. Hard copies have been mailed to all members in May 2010. 
					Further copies can be ordered from the FIG Office, email:
					fig@fig.net. |  
			
			Eight new FIG publications launched at the FIG Congress in 
			Sydney 
			
				
					| Eight new FIG publications were launched and circulated at 
					the FIG Congress in Sydney in April 2010. FIG Office has 
					sent a hard copy of all new publications to all FIG members 
					in May 2010. |  
			
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 Sangay Khandu and President Stig Enemark.
 | Related to a consultancy on the national 
					Cadastral Resurvey Project in Bhutan, President Stig 
					Enemark met with Mr. Sangay Khandu, Honorary 
					secretary of the Bhutan National Land Commission. Bhutan 
					Discussions were around the ongoing cadastral resurvey 
					project and the development of a national land policy. 
					Bhutan is currently establishing the cadastral and 
					legislative basis towards a modern democratic and market 
					based society. 
					Read more ... | 
			
			
				
					|  | FIG Vice President Prof. Dr. Dalal S. 
					Alnaggar represented the FIG President at the 40th 
					Congress of Ordre des Géomètres-Experts (OGE) l’Agenda 21 
					des géomètres-experts in June in Marseille. She attended the 
					congress for four days including meetings of the Fédération 
					des Géomètres Francophones (FGF) and the Mediterranean Union 
					of Surveyors (UMG). The 40th OGE congress with 700 
					registered participants from 30 countries was a big success. 
					The congress focussed in three main topics: sustainable 
					management of companies; sustainable management of territory 
					and planning; and sustainable management of land. 
					Read more... | 
			
				
					
						| 
						
						 Mr. 
						Batsukh and President Enemark.
 | In connection with a consultancy on the 
						Property Rights Project of the Millennium Challenge 
						Account-Mongolia, President Enemark met with Mr. 
						Batsukh, Chief of ALACGaC being affiliate member of 
						FIG. Discussions were around the ongoing development in 
						Mongolia towards a market economy based on clearly 
						identified private land rights. President Enemark also 
						met with the staff of ALACGaC and highlighted the core 
						role of efficient and effective cadastre systems in 
						supporting the privatization process and building a 
						modern society. 
						Read more... | 
			 
			
				
					| 
					
					 The Parliament Palace - a perfect setting for the 
					conference.
 | The conference entitled “The Cadastral 
					surveyor – Paving the Way to the Future” was organized 
					by the European Council of European Geodetic Surveyors 
					(CLGE) in cooperation with the Romanian Association of 
					Private Surveyors, the Romanian Geodetic Union, and the 
					Romanian Agency of Cadastre and Land Registration. The 
					conference also included the launch of the adopted “Code 
					of Conduct of the European Surveyors” that is an 
					important and very useful document also in a global context 
					as well as the adoption of the Bucharest Declaration stating 
					some key principles of the role of the cadastral surveyors 
					in serving society. Read 
					more... |  
			
				
					| 
					
					 | The meeting was organized by United Nations 
					Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department for Economic 
					and Social Affairs (DESA) in cooperation with the 
					Cartographic Section of the Department of Field Services 
					(DFS). Experts from 16 countries and 15 Regional and 
					International Organizations attended the Meeting. The 
					purpose to establish a global mechanism for discussion and 
					coordination of critical issues in the field of geographic 
					information management. 
					Read more... |  
			
		 
			
				
					| 
					
					 Stig Enemark, FIG President 2007-2010 and Teo 
					CheeHai, President Elect 2011-2014 after the election.
 
 
  Malaysian delegation making their presentation for the 
					General Assembly.
 | The FIG General Assembly 2010 was held in 
					conjunction to the FIG Congress 2010 in Sydney, Australia. 
					The General Assembly was attended by 67member associations 
					and the total number of participants exceeded 300. The 
					biggest interest in the agenda was election of the next FIG 
					President and new Vice Presidents. Mr. Teo CheeHai 
					from Malaysia was elected as the next FIG President in a 
					very close race. He will be the first FIG President from 
					Asia. The term of the new President is four years starting 
					1st January 2011. Dr. Chryssy Potsiou from Greece and Prof. Rudolf 
					Staiger from Germany were elected as new Vice Presidents 
					for term of office 1.1.2011-31.12.2014 and Dr. Dalal S. 
					Alnaggar from Egypt for term of office 
					1.1.2011-31.12.2012.
 FIG Congress 2014 was given to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after 
					a very tight competition.
 The General Assembly decided that a Sydney Declaration will 
					be published as outcome of the Congress. Final version of 
					the
					Sydney 
					Declaration
					is now available.
 The FIG Office has sent all members a hard copy of the 
					minutes together with the FIG Annual Review and a set of 
					latest publications.
 Read full report from the General Assembly:
 |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 | The World Bank Conference was a follow up to the conference 
					in March 2009 organised jointly between World Bank and FIG. 
					This year, however, the contribution from FIG was limited 
					due to the FIG Congress in Sydney taking place just prior to 
					the WB annual conference. The conference aimed to increase awareness of the successful 
					implementation of innovative approaches which can help to 
					not only improve land governance, but also contribute to the 
					well-being of the poorest and the achievement of the MDGs. 
					The conference was organized around three themes: Large 
					Scale Agricultural Investments; Land Governance; and 
					Research and Capacity Building. 
					Read more.
 | 
			
			
				
					| 
					
					 The famous Copacabana Beach with the Sugar Loaf cliff
 | The Fifth World Urban Forum (WUF-5) organised by UN-HABITAT 
					took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 22-26 March 2010. The 
					theme of this WUF-5 was “The Right to the City - Bridging 
					the Urban Divide”. Through a series of round-table 
					discussions, dialogues, and networking events participants 
					discussed formal and informal ways of action-oriented 
					proposals on how to bridge the urban divide. 
					Read more... | 
			Eight new FIG publications launched at the FIG Congress in 
			Sydney 
			
				
					| 
					
					 FIG pub no. 45. Land Governance in Support of The Millennium 
					Development Goals.
 
  FIG publication no. 51: Hanoi Declaration: Land Acquisition 
					in Emerging Economies
 | Following eight new FIG publications were launched and 
					circulated at the FIG Congress in Sydney in April 2010. FIG 
					Office will send a hard copy of each publication to all FIG 
					members in May together with the General Assembly minutes. 
					You can read the publications already now as .pdf files. |  
			
				
					|  | FAO Land Tenure Group and FIG Commission 7 
					WG 7.3 have launched a publication “FLOSS 
					in Cadastre and Land Registration - Opportunities and Risks”. 
					Land administration and cadastral systems in the 21st 
					century depend on the use of information technology (IT) 
					tools. This publication explores the advantages, and 
					disadvantages of open source solutions within the context of 
					cadastre and land registration. It is the result of four 
					years of cooperation between FAO and FIG WG 7.3. |  
			
				
					| 
					 Meeting with the traditional leaders of the Accra.
 | The Accra Conference of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors 
					was organized jointly with CASLE and FIG Commission 8. The 
					conference attracted about 1,000 surveyors mainly from Ghana 
					but also many from Nigeria. The theme of the conference was 
					“The Surveyor: Partner in National Development” that 
					was very well reflected through the conference. FIG 
					President 
					Stig Enemark attended  as well as Dr. Diane Dumashie 
					(Chair of FIG Commission 8) who organised one of the 
					key features, the almost full day seminar focusing on “Peri-Urban 
					development: The Role of Traditional Authorities and Land 
					Professionals”. 
					Read more... |  
			
			
			
				
					| 
					 Workshop attendees.
 | FIG Vice President Matt Higgins 
					gave an invited keynote at the opening of the 1st Asia 
					Oceania Regional Workshop on GNSS. The Workshop was convened 
					by a new organisation known as Multi-GNSS Asia with strong 
					support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). 
					The purpose of the workshop was to bring together interested 
					parties to discuss the implications of next-generation of 
					Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and was conducted in 
					Thailand because Multi-GNSS issues are particularly relevant 
					in the Asia Oceania region and because it will be the area 
					of the earth with the largest combined coverage from the new 
					systems.
					
					Read more... | 
			
			
				
					| 
					 Clarissa Augustinus,
					UN-HABITAT; Stig Enemark, 
					FIG, and 
					Paul Munro Faure,  FAO at the RICS Headquarters, 
					London.
 | FAO and its partners are 
					preparing Voluntary Guidelines to improve the governance of 
					tenure and other natural resources. Such voluntary 
					guidelines are to assist States, civil society and the 
					private sector in improving the governance of tenure, and 
					thus contribute to alleviation of hunger and poverty, 
					empowering the poor and vulnerable, enhancing the 
					environment, supporting national and local economic 
					development, and reforming public administration. The 
					meeting in London for private sector was a key part of the 
					consultation process in this regard. Read more...
 |  
				 
					
						|  
  | The World Bank has published a book on Innovations 
						in Land Rights Recognition, Administration, and 
						Governance in the World Bank Studies series. The 
						publication is an out come from the
						FIG/World Bank 
						conference that was held in March 2009. The 
						conference is also covered in the FIG publication no. 
						45: Land Governance in Support of The Millennium 
						Development Goals - A New Agenda for Land Professionals.
						
						http://www.fig.net/pub/figpub/pub45/figpub45.htm Editors of the World Bank publication Innovations in 
						Land Rights Recognition, Administration, and Governance 
						are Klaus Deininger (World Bank), Clarissa 
						Augustinus 
						(UN-Habitat), Stig Enemark (FIG) and Paul 
						Munro-Faure (FAO).
 The publication is based on an on-going partnership 
						between the World Bank, FIG, the Global Land Tool 
						Network and FAO which provides tools that can help to 
						address land governance in practice and at scale. The WB 
						hopes that this publication will increase awareness of 
						and support to the successful implementation of 
						innovative approaches. The papers were all presented at 
						the World Bank’s Annual Conference on Land Policy and 
						Administration in 2009 that was organised jointly by the 
						WB and FIG.
 The book is available now in paperback e.g. from Amazon. 
						To read more have a look at:
						
						http://www.amazon.com/Innovations-Recognition-Administration-Governance-Studies/dp/0821385801#_ 
						or at the World Bank e-library at : 
						
						http://elibrary.worldbank.org/content/book/9780821385807.
 ISBN: 9780821385807. 380 pages
 |  
				Whole Brunei is now available on 3-D map 
					
						| The entire sultanate of Brunei Darussalam can now be seen in 
						3-D. The implementation of this project was revealed in December 
						2010 by the Ministry of Development that through the Brunei 
						Survey Department has successfully completed one of the National 
						Development Plan (2007-2012) projects that involves aerial 
						surveys i.e. a 3-Dimensional Digital Terrain Model (DEM). Using 
						the most accurate laser scanning technology known as LiDAR, the 
						project began in 2009. Data measured on the ground is at every 
						one-metre distance apart (exceeding six billion measurements for 
						the whole country) with 15 cm accuracy (horizontal and vertical) 
						in areas including forest areas, where tree heights can also be 
						estimated by using the information of the top of the canopy and 
						the ground elevation. This endeavour has made Brunei among the 
						best mapped countries in the world by providing highly valuable, 
						and positive impact on its natural resource management, flood 
						mitigation, climate change, forest conservation programme and 
						improved urban and rural development.According to Haji Mohammed Jamil bin Haji Mohammed Ali, 
						the Surveyor General, the Survey Department has plans to provide 
						the data through the Web Geoportal. According to him, among the 
						challenges would be marketing the product to stakeholders and 
						interested local companies.
 |  
				First Annual National Conference of Ethiopian 
				Surveying Professionals Association (ESPA) held 18 September 
				2010
					
						|  | The First Annual 
						National Conference of Ethiopian Surveying Professionals 
						Association (ESPA) was held at the Ethiopian Mapping 
						Agency 18 September 2010. The conference attracted 
						several hundred participants from all over the country. 
						It was the most historic moment and important event in 
						the ESPA’s activities and surveyors of Ethiopia as a 
						whole. Participants represented national government and 
						non-governmental organizations in surveying disciplines, 
						representatives of stake holder organizations, and 
						ESPA’s regional representatives. The meet was organized by leaders of the 
						association and active participation and support of members and 
						sponsors such as the Ethiopian Mapping Agency. The agenda 
						included the annual report and strategic plan. In addition that 
						FIG Profile was presented. ESPA is very proud of being accepted 
						as a member of FIG since the establishment of the association. The meeting was chaired by the Vice President and the annual 
						report by the Honorary Secretary because President Dr. 
						Tilahun Irdino was unable to participate because of his 
						illness. The presentations and discussion were instrumental and 
						informative. The meeting costs were raised from registration 
						fees, supplemented by income from sponsor organizations. Contact
						espa@gmail.com |    |