Vice President Drees visits CNG and FAO in ItalyRome, Italy 11-13 September 2006
Dr. Andreas Drees, FIG Vice President and the FIG Director visited Rome 11-13 September 2006. The purpose of this visit was the first international "Professional Enhancement Course for Surveyors" organised by the Consiglio Nazionale Geometri (CNG) with co-operation of the University of Pavia for Italian and international surveyors. The number of participants was about 25 representing most regions of Italy and invited students from several European and Mediterranean countries (Greece, Germany, Malta, Israel, Turkey and Jordan). Most of the students were either doing their master's degree or at post graduate level. The teachers were professors and experts from Italy with and from Greece and Turkey. The speciality with this course was that it was as three-week course covering all aspects of surveying. This refresher course was the first given in English by CNG. The association has plans to develop the course as a tradition. The first course was organised at Istituto Technico per Geometri "Leon Battista Alberti" in EUR in Rome. Mr. Piero Panunzi, President of CNG, opened the course and expressed in his speech his warmest thanks to all participants. He mentioned that "the course will be held in English with the participation of both teachers coming from abroad and from Italy, and it is addressed to Italian student and students coming from other countries". President Panunzi focused on the international aspects of the course, but at the same time he wanted to emphasise the Italian students on the importance of languages as a system of universal empathy. "The course accomplishes high qualifying professional tasks, it will form tutors and will promote the accurate knowledge of the territory as presupposition of good programmatic choices and also of social links between citizens of different populations", concluded President Panunzi. Dr. Drees gave the FIG greeting at the opening session of the course, emphasising the importance of such courses in the globalising world. He also encouraged other member associations to consider the concept of CNG in organising their CPD (continuous professional development) programmes in two aspects: bringing participants from other countries to increase international networking among surveyors and to give these courses in foreign languages. The other opening addresses were given by Prof. Casella, Leader of the course from the University of Pavia as well as Mr. Kurt Rieder, President of the European Group of Surveyors (EGoS). As the opening ceremony was attended also by Mr. Malcolm V. Lelliott, Secretary General of EGoS and Prof. Basil Psarianos, Past President of EGoS the meeting also offered a good opportunity to discuss the co-operation between FIG and EGoS in the future. EGoS also considers CPD as a key factor in developing surveying profession. During the visit to Rome Vice President Drees and the FIG Director also visited the Headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. At the FAO they had a meeting at the Land Tenure Service of FAO meeting with Dr. Paul Munro-Faure, Head of the Land Tenure Service and with Dr. Mika Törhönen and Dr. David Palmer. In the mid term programme in land tenure services the focus is on following normative activities: land tenure in emergency work; compulsory purchase of land and compensation; state land management; low-cost land tenure security; good governance in land administration; designing post emergency land tenure institutions; and making land information accessible for the poor. Many of these topics are also mentioned in the new draft work plans of FIG Commissions for 2007-2010. This also good opportunities for several commissions, especially to commissions 8 and 9 in addition to the long-term co-operation between FAO and Commission 7. It should be mentioned that Paul Munro-Faure is a past chair of Commission 7 and Mika Törhönen is a co-chair to one of the working groups for 2007-2010. FAO is also co-sponsoring two technical sessions in the Munich Congress, where it will also launch two new publications. FAO is especially interested to co-operate with FIG in disseminating its reports and information. The current field activities of FAO tenure services include more than twenty projects. These range from technical support in project preparation and implementation, and supervision if FAO's field programme and those of the World Bank and other international finance institutions. The types of projects include projects on land consolidation, land administration and land taxation and common property resource management. FIG representatives also had a meeting with CNG on their bid to host FIG Working Week 2011 in Rome. The General Assembly will decide on the venue between four candidates at its meeting in Munich in October 2006.
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