APPENDIX TO ITEM 8
Report for the 23rd General Assembly
FIG Working Week in Prague, 22-26 May 2000
President's Report
UK Bureau to US Bureau
The handover from the United Kingdom Bureau to the United
States Bureau took place on November 8, 1999, in Washington, DC. The event was
hosted by the National Geographic Society and was addressed by an Under
Secretary for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
of the US Department of Commerce, by the President of the National Geographic
Society, the Vice President of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping,
FIG Past President William Radlinski and out-going FIG President Peter Dale. For
the new US Bureau it was gratifying to have the support of institutions like
NOAA and the National Geographic Society, providing a positive and optimistic
beginning for our term of office.
Work Plan 2000 - 2003
In the first four months of our term of office the US Bureau
met twice and has finalized the Bureau Work Plan for 2000 - 2003,
"Advancing the Global Role of Surveying". The Bureau has identified
more than 40 specific goals and responsibilities in the work plan, assigning
them to specific individuals with target dates for completion.
The Bureau Work Plan 2000 - 2003 recognizes that the member
organizations are the heart of FIG. A major focus of the plan is to be:
"Implementing mechanisms for increasing participation by member
organizations in FIG activities and informing member organizations of FIG and
other international surveying activities." As President I intend to
concentrate on this effort and request the active participation of all delegates
in the effort to involve their member organizations in the workings of FIG. I
will continue Past President Peter Dale’s custom of meeting with the
leadership of our member organizations during Working Weeks and the Congress; it
will be helpful if every delegate would encourage the leaders of their
organizations to attend. Between the time of the handover of the Bureau last
November until the Working Week in Prague I will have visited Norway, Finland,
Estonia, Sweden, Malaysia and China. It is the intention of our Bureau to visit
as many member organizations as possible as well as national associations who
are potential members of FIG.
Another major objective of our Work Plan involves the
financial condition of FIG. Now that FIG has been established as a legal entity
it is no longer necessary to close the financial books at the end of every
Bureau, only to begin the next Bureau with no available funds. We have
identified as specific tasks "to develop a long-term financial strategy for
FIG and present the strategy to the General Assembly in Washington 2002",
and "to initiate and fund a reserve account." The future vitality of
FIG depends on a sound financial footing; it is the intention of this Bureau to
achieve that condition.
A third major objective of the 2000 - 2003 Work Plan is to
"increase membership within under-represented regions; especially the
Caribbean and Central and South America". While the profession in some of
these countries may not be organized sufficiently to qualify for FIG membership
we intend to encourage organization at the national level and FIG membership
where possible. It is also our intention to increase sponsor membership.
Copenhagen Office
The creation of a permanent office in Copenhagen and the
appointment of Markku Villikka as Director of Administration has provided for an
exceptionally smooth transition of the Bureau from the UK to the US. It has also
changed the role of at least two of the Bureau members. We have agreed that the
Bureau officers called for in the Statutes, the Secretary General and the
Treasurer, will carry the informal title of Vice President during our term of
office. We will recommend that the statutes be revised accordingly.
Governance
At our Bureau meeting in January we received the draft report
of the Task Force on ‘Future Governance and Management of FIG’, presented by
Tom Kennie, Vice President and chair of the Task Force. The Bureau is in full
support of the Task Force recommendation being brought to the general Assembly
even though it limits the term of our Bureau. We urge careful study of the
report and the support of the General Assembly for its recommendations, which we
believe will provide for a more democratic method of organization for FIG.
Bathurst Declaration
The Bathurst Workshop on Land Tenure and Cadastral
Infrastructure for Sustainable Development was held in Bathurst, Australia in
October, 1999. The product from that workshop is the "Bathurst
Declaration" (The UN/FIG Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable
Development), a document that will be presented to the General Assembly by Ian
Williamson, Director FIG-UN Liaison, one of the workshop coordinators (with Don
Grant Australian delegate to FIG Commission 7). Following the Bathurst Workshop
another meeting, the FIG/UN Roundtable, was held in Melbourne. The Roundtable
produced the document "Co-operation Between FIG and UN Agencies
2000-2003". Both documents chart the course for this Bureau with United
Nations agencies and others and provide an excellent basis for these high level
activities. The Bureau is in full support of the Bathurst Declaration and urges
similar support by the General Assembly.
Congress 2002
The XXII International FIG Congress will be held in
Washington DC from April 20 through April 26, 2002, at the Mariott Wardman Park
Hotel. The Exhibition and all meetings and technical sessions will be held in
the hotel. Congress 2002 will be held in conjunction with the American Congress
on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) and the American Society of Photogrammetry and
Remote Sensing (ASPRS), for the first time in five years that ACSM and ASPRS
have met jointly.
Conclusion
My thanks and congratulations to Peter Dale and the UK Bureau
for their work with the United Nations and other international organizations,
and the start-up of the office in Copenhagen. These efforts have made it easy
for us to begin our term of office, and to concentrate our attentions on the FIG
membership.
Robert W. Foster
President of FIG
Robert W. Foster
President of FIG
8 March 2000
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