FIG President visits Georgia

Tbilisi, Georgia, 9-12 May 2006

Following the invitation of corporate member LKN Earth Research & Consulting, the only one representative of surveying in Georgia in FIG, President Prof. Magel has visited a country, in which survey profession and education have faced and still face huge challenges and transformation processes. LKN Director General Merab Nadaraia emphasised the importance of FIG President's visit to Georgia, a country which with support of many international agencies and donors has to build up modern infrastructure and market economy mainly based on digitized cadastre and registers. On this way and because Georgia is becoming more and more globally oriented and connected, it is very important for Georgian surveyors to get information and to share experiences with international community. The membership in FIG has to be first priority for Georgian surveyors as Merab Nadaraia confirmed in his discussions with President Magel. FIG President promised full support in establishing an association of surveyors on the way to become new member of FIG already at the Congress in Munich. At a meeting with leading surveyors, universities and survey companies Prof. Magel gave a very informative overview about goals, structure, output and benefits of FIG. A test vote for joining a Georgian surveyors association showed that all representatives are willing to jointly build up this new bridge for surveyors from Caucasus region into the world!

LKN Director Nadaraia regarded the visit and given inputs of FIG President as historic and expressed his strong intention to participate FIG Congress in October with a considerable delegation.

On occasion of his official visit in Georgia President Magel was invited to give a keynote speech at the UNECE WPLA Workshop on Institutional Framework for Securing Real Property Rights in Tbilisi, which took place at the same time on invitation of the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) of Georgia. The umbrella UN committee of WPLA, the former Committee on Human Settlements got recently a new broader orientation and title towards “Housing and Land Management”. Magel addressed the 120 conference participants from 25 countries that this should also have consequences for the goals and strategies of WPLA as it is described in his keynote: “From secure tenure towards urban and rural land management – about FIG’s role serving the needs of politics and societies”. 

• Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Magel, President of FIG: From secure tenure towards urban and rural land management - about FIG’s role serving the needs of politics and societies. Presentation at the UNECE WPLA Workshop on Institutional Framework for Securing Real Property Rights in Tbilisi, Georgia 11 May 2006
  • Handouts of the powerpoint presentation

FIG President Magel on visit of Mtskheta, the birthplace of Georgian Christianity and Identity together with corporate member LKN General Director Merab Nadaraia (1. f. l.) and partner Prof. Joseph Salukvadze (2. f. l.) and LKN Consultion Group Leader Nino Sulkhanishvili.	Preparatory founding assembly of the planned Georgian association of surveying and land management with the FIG President under the chair of Merab Nadaraia.
State Minister Kakha Bendukidze (1. f. r.) was the keynote speaker to the UNECE WPLA Workshop. He was very proud that the new government successfully has combated and reduced widespread corruption.	FIG President together with NAPR first deputy chairwoman Tea Dabrundashvili, who talked about successful ‘Tbilisi Registration Office Reform’. Tea was student of the postgraduate Master program ‘Land management and land tenure’ at Magels TUM.
Deputy Minister of Justice Kote Vardzelashvili addressed the WPLA community. The workshop was first time chaired by Peter Creuzer, Germany (1. f. r.)