Minutes

23rd FIG General Assembly
22 and 26 May 2000 in Prague, Czech Republic

Minutes

of the 23^rd General Assembly held at the National House of Vinohrady, Prague, Czech Republic on 22^nd and 26^th May 2000

Introduction

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After distributing the minutes two amendments have been made to the minutes. These are in item 21 Membership subscriptions (the Bureau's goal to stabilise the membership fees) and item 27 The Future Governance of FIG (suggestion during the discussion that someone from a member association who had experience of organising a working week or congress should be appointed to the Task Force). These amendments are highlighted in the text with colour. 21 June 2000

General Assembly, First Session, Monday 22^nd May, 9.00 - 10.30 and 11.00 - 12.00

1. OPENING PROCEEDINGS

After the FIG fanfare Vice President Jerome C. Ives expressed the greetings and apologies from President Robert W. Foster who was not able to participate the General Assembly and Working Week in Prague due to illness in his family. The General Assembly sent its best wishes to President and Mrs Foster. The General Assembly honoured the past Honorary Member Herbert H. Ahrens with a moment of silence. Vice President Ives then opened the 23^rd General Assembly and welcomed the all participants to the Czech Republic.

2. ROLL CALL

Secretary General Christian Andreasen took the roll call. A list of those present at the sessions is attached as appendix to items 2 & 26: Roll Call.
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42 Member associations out of 76 were present that is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid.

Motion: That the delegates and observers attending the General Assembly be entered in the records and that at the second session of the General Assembly roll call will be made only for member associations while other members and participants will be recorded only.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

3. APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints two persons as tellers following the principle adopted at the 22^nd General Assembly so that the tellers will represent member associations hosting the preceding (South Africa) and the current General Assembly (Czech Republic).

Decision: The General Assembly resolved to appoint Mr. Ken Lester (South Africa) and Mr. Milan Klimes (Czech Republic) as tellers for the duration of the meeting.

4. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the previously circulated agenda with following amendments:

• Additional membership applications from Ordem dos Engenheiros – Colégio de Engenheria Geografica (Portugal) as new item 6.1.3 and from Sociedad Colombiana de Topografos (Colombia) as new item 6.1.4 (discussed and decided at the meeting on 26^th May)

• Additional bid, from the Egyptian Committee of Surveying and Mapping, to host the FIG Working Week 2005 (item 22).

• Report of the Congress Director, FIG Congress 2002 (item 28) will follow immediately after item 9 Secretary General’s Report

• Item 21 (Future Governance of FIG) will follow item 22 (Bids to host Working Week 2005)

• List of additional papers that have been tabled at the meeting.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

5. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 22^nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The minutes of the 22^nd General Assembly held in Sun City in 1999 have been circulated previously.

Motion: That the minutes be adopted.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6. MEMBERSHIP

The Ordre des Géomètres-Topographes du Liban (Lebanon) has submitted a formal application to become a member association. The Bureau has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association.

Complete application form has been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Ordre des Géomètres-Topographes du Liban as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The Czech Association of Certified Property Appraisers has submitted a formal application to become a second member association of FIG from the Czech Republic. The Bureau has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association. The application is supported by the existing Czech member association, the Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers.

Complete application letter and form from the Czech Association of Certified Property Appraisers and a letter from the Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers supporting the application has been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Czech Association of Certified Property Appraisers as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The Ordem dos Engenheiros, Colégio de Engenharia Geográfica from Portugal has submitted a formal application to become a member association of FIG on 22^nd May 2000. The Bureau has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association.

Appendix to item 6.1.3: Application form from the Ordem dos Engenheiros, Colégio de Engenharia Geográfica.
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Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Ordem dos Engenheiros, Colégio de Engenharia Geográfica as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The Sociedad Colombiana de Topografos from Colombia has submitted a formal application to become a full member of FIG from Colombia on 24^th May 2000. Currently FIG has an affiliate from Colombia (the Instituto Geográfico Agustin Codazzi). The Bureau has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association. This application has also been discussed with the applying association and the current affiliate member during the visit of the Director, FIG office to Colombia in May 2000.

Appendix to item 6.1.4: Application form from the Sociedad Colombiana de Topografos.
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Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Sociedad Colombiana de Topografos as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The subscriptions of the following member associations are more than three years in arrears

• Nepal Surveyors Society

• Nigerian Institution of Surveyors

The General Assembly has powers to expel from the Federation any member association whose fees are in arrears and shall under normal circumstances expel any member association whose fees are three years in arrears. (Article 4.3 of the Statutes).

The Bureau informed the General Assembly that further the subscriptions of the Ikatan Surveyors of Indonesia are more than three years in arrears. However this member association has informed the Bureau that it wants to stay as a member of FIG and a plan of payments have been agreed between the Bureau and the Ikatan Surveyors of Indonesia. If the association has not paid its arrears by next General Assembly expungement of this association will be decided in Seoul, Korea in 2001.

Recorded that neither reply nor payment has been received from either the Nepal Surveyors Society or the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors by time of the General Assembly.

Motion: That the General Assembly expels the

• Nepal Surveyors Society

• Nigerian Institution of Surveyors.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The Bureau wants to inform the General Assembly on the following changes in the membership of FIG:

The National Survey Authority from Sultanate of Oman has informed FIG 29^th January 2000 that it has resigned its affiliate membership of FIG from 1999 onwards.

The Bureau has admitted the Department of Lands & Survey under the Ministry of Finance of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to become an affiliate member of FIG 20^th May 2000.

The Bureau has admitted M. Alain Bagré from Burkina Faso to become a correspondent of FIG 20^th May 2000.

The Bureau has admitted Josef Attenberger GmbH from Germany and Blom ASA from Norway to become new sponsor members of FIG.

The Bureau wants to inform the General Assembly that 19 academic members have joined FIG by 21^st May 2000. They have joined FIG before the launching of the new version of the FIG Surveying Education Database and marketing campaign of the academic membership. The names of current academic members are included in the roll call list.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the actions that the Bureau has taken with other membership matters.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

The Bureau has received one nomination by its meeting 13^th March 2000. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK nominates Prof. Peter Dale OBE for Honorary President of FIG.

The RICS’s letter of nomination of Prof. Peter Dale for Honorary President of FIG has been circulated as an appendix to the agenda.

According to the Statutes (Article 3.1.6) a Past President of FIG can be appointed as Honorary President when he has rendered outstanding service to the Federation during his period of office. The appointment shall be decided on a vote of the General Assembly (Article 3.2 of the Statutes).

The Bureau fully supports the proposal made by the RICS and proposes to the General Assembly that it appoints Prof. Peter Dale as Honorary President of FIG for his outstanding services to the Federation.

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints Prof. Peter Dale as a new Honorary President of FIG.

Decision: The General Assembly appointed Prof. Peter Dale as a new Honorary President of FIG. Prof. Dale was presented with his badge with golden oak leaves and certificate of Honorary Presidentship.

6.5 Appointment of Honorary Members

The Bureau has received three nominations for Honorary Members before its meeting 13^th March 2000. These are:

• Prof. Ian Williamson, nominated by the Institution of Surveyors, Australia

• Prof. Andrzej Hopfer, nominated by the Stowarzyszenie Geodetów Polskich, Poland

• Grahame Lindsay, nominated by the FIG Bureau.

Nomination letters for an Honorary Member have been circulated with the agenda.

According to the Internal Rules (Article 7.1) nominations for the appointments of an Honorary Member shall be made by a member association or the Bureau, which will consider them and submit them to a vote of the General Assembly. According to the Article 3.2 of the Statutes an individual who has materially assisted the development and promotion of the surveying profession at international level can be appointed to an Honorary Member.

The Bureau supports all three proposals for Honorary Members of FIG.

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints Prof. Ian Williamson, Director, FIG/UN Liaison, Prof. Andrzej Hopfer and Grahame Lindsay, former Vice-President and Secretary General of FIG as Honorary Members of FIG.

Decision: The General Assembly appointed Prof. Ian Williamson, Prof. Andrzej Hopfer and Mr. Grahame Lindsay as new Honorary Members of FIG. Prof. Williamson and Mr. Grahame Lindsay were presented with their badges with silver oak leaves and certificates of Honorary Membership.

7. REPORT OF THE OUTGOING UK BUREAU

A written report of the UK Bureau (1996-1999) for the period from the 22^nd General Assembly until the hand-over to the US Bureau, November 1999 has been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the UK Bureau for their extremely successful work and contribution to the Federation.

Decision: The report was adopted as written. The General Assembly recorded its thanks to the UK Bureau members for their outstanding work and contributions for the Federation and its members. The main results of the work of the UK Bureau were recorded as follows: developing FIG to a fully international body, increasing the FIG profile in UN and its several agencies, increasing FIG activities in general and last but not least the establishment of the permanent office.

8. PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President's written report has been circulated with the agenda. Secretary General presented the President’s report with additional remarks from the President’s visits to member associations in Norway, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Malaysia and China, where he met with the organisations of Chinese appraisers.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the President’s report.

Decision: The report was adopted as circulated and orally supplemented.

9. SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REPORT

The Secretary-General's report has been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the Secretary-General's report.

Decision: The report was adopted as circulated.

10. REPORT OF THE CONGRESS DIRECTOR, FIG CONGRESS 2002

The Report of the Congress Director, FIG Congress 2002 has been circulated with the agenda. The Congress Director made her supplementary report and distributed the first announcement of the Congress 2002. Updated information about the Congress will be available on the FIG web site: http://www.fig.net.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the report of the Congress Director.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

11. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR, FIG OFFICE

The report of the Director, FIG office has been circulated with the agenda. In his supplementary report the Director informed the General Assembly about his participation to the Steering Committee Meeting of the Habitat Professionals Forum in Frankfurt in March, to the CLGE General Assembly in Copenhagen in April, to the 1^st International Conference on Cadastral Systems in Bogotá, Colombia in May and to the 1^st Session of the Preparatory Committee for Istanbul+5 in Nairobi in May 2000.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report of Director, FIG office.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

12. REPORTS FROM CHAIRS OF COMMISSIONS AND AD HOC COMMISSION ON CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

Reports from the all nine technical Commissions and the ad hoc Commission on Construction Economics and Management have been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the reports and records its thanks to the chairs and officers of the Commissions for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13. REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTORS OF PERMANENT INSTITUTIONS

Reports from the permanent institutions

• the International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier OICRF

• the FIG Multi-Lingual Dictionary Board

• the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG

have been circulated with the agenda.

Mr. Jan de Graeve, Director of the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement presented the first numbered copy of the reprint of the early book of land surveying, John Love’s Geodesia, 1^st edition of 1688 to the President. This reprint is produced to finance the Struve Arc project.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the reports and records its thanks to the Directors for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

14. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR, FIG/UN LIAISON

The report of the Director, FIG/UN Liaison has been circulated with the agenda.

In his supplementary report the Director informed orally the General Assembly on the actions arising from the United Nations activities and the strategic commitments of FIG. Further he reported on the FIG participation to the 15^th UN Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2000, to the UN Commission for Sustainable Development meeting (CSD-8) in New York, April 2000 and to the 1^st Session of the Preparatory Committee for Istanbul+5 in Nairobi, May 2000.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report of the Director, FIG/UN Liaison, notes the strategic commitments of the FIG Bureau on the United Nations activities and records its thanks to the Director, FIG/UN Liaison for his past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

15. THE UN/FIG BATHURST DECLARATION ON LAND ADMINISTRATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CO-OPERATION BETWEEN FIG AND THE UN AGENCIES 2000-2003 (THE FIG/UN ROUND-TABLE IN MELBOURNE)

FIG publications no 21 The Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development and no 22 Co-operation between FIG and the UN Agencies 2000-2003 have been circulated with the agenda. Prof. Ian Williamson, Director, FIG/UN Liaison and co-organiser of the Bathurst Seminar and Melbourne Conference presented the recommendations of the Bathurst Declaration.

It was informed that all documentation from the Bathurst Declaration and from the FIG/UN Conference in Melbourne is available on the FIG home page and that the further responsibility of circulating the Declaration belongs to the member associations. Recorded that some member associations have been active in translating the Declaration to their own languages (e.g. into Spanish) and that these will be linked from the FIG home page.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the Bathurst Declaration for information and adopts its recommendations and further notes the FIG/UN Round Table report for information and gives its implementation to the Bureau and Commissions.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

Further recorded that Prof. Williamson presented a cheque of US$5,000 to the FIG Education Foundation as a result from the Melbourne Conference and as an encouraging example for other FIG and its Commissions events for the future and recommending that such a donation should be included in the budget of all events. Prof. Holger Magel, President of the FIG Education Foundation received the cheque on behalf of the Foundation.

16. LIAISON WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

The Memorandum of Understanding between UNCHS(Habitat) and FIG for 2000-2003 and the report on the Co-operation between FIG and International Organisations has been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly approves the FIG/UNCHS(Habitat) Memorandum of Understanding and adopts the report on the co-operation between FIG and other international organisations and records its thanks to all those who have contributed to the development of FIG liaison activities during the past year.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

17. IUSM

The International Union for Surveys and Mapping (IUSM) held its last meeting in conjunction to the 19^th International Cartographic Conference of the ICA in August. At this meeting IUSM was disbanded accordingly to the decision of the 22^nd General Assembly of FIG. At the same meeting it was agreed that the future co-operation will be organised on bilateral basis and that representatives of the member organisations will meet informally during their congresses, for the first time during the ISPRS Congress in Amsterdam, July 2000.

Motion: That the General Assembly records the dissolution of IUSM and the actions that have been taken to establish bilateral agreements with the sister organisations.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

18. FIG WORK PLAN 2000-2003

The draft FIG Work Plan 2000 – 2003 has been circulated with the agenda as a draft FIG Publication no 20: FIG Work Plan 2000-2003. The FIG Work Plan for 2000-2003 includes the goals and vision of the Federation adopted at the 21^st General Assembly in Brighton, the Bureau Work Plan for 2000-2003 and the Commission Work Plans 1998-2002. The Commission Work Plans have been reconsidered by the Commissions in conjunction with finalising the Bureau Work Plan and reflecting also the recommendations for the FIG/UN co-operation for 2000-2003. 

Ad Hoc Commission on Construction Economics and Management has updated its terms of reference and work plan for 2000-2002 after the General Assembly in Sun City. The Terms of Reference and Work Plan 2000-2002 of the Ad Hoc Commission on Construction Economics and Management has been circulated with the agenda.

After comments from the Member Associations the Bureau is further proposing the following addition to the draft FIG Work Plan:

• 2.4.l To develop further co-operation with certification and standardisation bodies to ensure that workable standards which take full account of the needs of FIG’s members result.

Further the Bureau wants to inform the Member Associations on the responsibilities of the individual Bureau members and other FIG officers in implementing the Work Plan. The list of the responsibilities of the Bureau members is attached as appendix to item 18 of these minutes.
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Motion: That the General Assembly

• adopts the Bureau Work Plan for 2000-2003 as proposed in the draft agenda and with addition 2.4.l and notes the list of responsibilities of the individual Bureau members and other FIG officers;

• confirms the up-dated Commission Work Plans for 1998-2002 and further notes the establishment of a new Commission 2 and 9 joint working group on the Education of Valuers; and

• adopts the terms of reference and Work Plan 2000-2002 for the Ad Hoc Commission on Construction Economics and Management.

Discussion: Iain Greenway (UK) questioned that the Work Plan is too general and lacks specificity and proposed therefore that specific goals and expected accomplishments should be developed. Acting President responded that more specific goals could be developed and made available through the FIG web site. Secretary General noted that many organisations are developing business plans or work programmes to provide specific goals for accomplishing near term goals supportive of the long-term goals of their strategic plans. This entails significant work and can be started during the term of office of the US Bureau but may not get implemented for the entire organisation.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

19. FIG ACCOUNTS FOR 1999 AND AUDITOR'S REPORT

Auditor's Report, Income and Expenses Account for 1999 and Balance Sheet at 31^st December 1999 have been circulated with the agenda as well as list of arrears for 1997-1999.

Treasurer Charles Challstrom presented the new structure of the accounting system including the change that all income (subscriptions) are accounted in the year they are due even if the payment will happen first in the incoming year(s).

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the audited accounts for 1999.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

20. BUDGET, 2000 AND 2001

Up-dated FIG Budget for 2000 and proposal for the FIG Budget for 2001 have been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the up-dated budget for 2000 and adopts the budget for 2001.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

21. SUBSCRIPTION RATES, 2002

The General Assembly is required to set levels of fees for member associations two years in advance of the year in which they become payable. Fees are payable in respect of each individual member up to a maximum of 4,000 members; member associations with more than 4,000 members pay fees in accordance with a sliding scale (minute 23 of FIG(GA)M(98)1). Fees for 2000 and 2001 are

The Bureau has considered the FIG financial situation in the perspective of five years to guarantee the continuity of the permanent office and the change to the new governance structure. According to this study the financial situation seems to develop positively but there is still need to collect reserves for the transition period.

Treasurer Charles Challstrom, however, informed the General Assembly that the goal of the Bureau is to stabilise the membership fees and to increase the amount of other income instead of continuing with annual increases with the membership fees. Amendment 21 June, 2000.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts following membership fees payable by member associations in 2002:

Decision: The motion was adopted.

22. BIDS TO HOST THE FIG WORKING WEEK 2005

By 21^st May the Bureau has received two bids to host the FIG Working Week 2005. They are from The Institution of Surveyors, Australia to host the Working Week 2005 in Sydney, Australia in September 2005 and from the Egyptian Committee of Surveying and Mapping to host the Working Week 2005 in Cairo in April or May 2005.

Application letter from The Institution of Surveyors, Australia has been circulated with the agenda and the application letter from the Egyptian Committee of Surveying and Mapping is attached to item 22 in these minutes.
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Motion: That the General Assembly receives brief presentations from candidates willing to host the FIG Working Week 2005 and notes that the selection of the venue will take place at the second session of the General Assembly on 26^th May.

Decision: The motion was adopted and each of the two candidates were given 10 minutes to make their presentation how they planning to host the Working Week 2005.

23. FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF FIG

The Task Force on the Future Governance of FIG has made its recommendation on the future governance of the Federation. The recommendation includes proposal for an elected administrative Council, changes in the roles and titles of the Council Members etc. It further includes proposals for the transitional period so that the new governance model should be fully operational 1.1.2007 if adopted.

The report of the Task Force with its proposals on the Future Governance of FIG together with a list of frequently asked questions on the consequences and implementation of the proposed future governance of FIG have been circulated with the agenda. An updated version of the frequently asked questions was tabled at the session.

Vice President Tom Kennie, Chair of the Task Force presented the proposals of the Task Force (supported by the Bureau) to the General Assembly. After the first session of the General Assembly there was an open plenary session on this issue that allows debate on the issue. Decisions will be made at the second session of the General Assembly.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the report of the Task Force and its recommendations and makes decisions on this topic at the second session of the General Assembly.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

Monday 22^nd May, 12.00 - 13.00
Plenary Session on the Future Governance of FIG

24. DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS ON THE FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF FIG

The Task Force on the Future Governance of FIG has made its recommendation on the future governance of the Federation. The recommendation includes proposal for an elected administrative Council, changes in the roles and titles of the Council Members etc. It further includes proposals for the transitional period so that the new governance model should be fully operational 1.1.2007 if the proposal is adopted by the General Assembly.

This plenary session was organised to discuss this issue and to clarify the implications of the new governance model. If the basic model will be adopted at the General Assembly in Prague the changes to Statutes and Internal Rules will be prepared for adoption at the 24^th General Assembly in Seoul, Korea 2001.

The amendments to Commission structure will be prepared for approval at the 25^th General Assembly in Washington 2002.

Discussion: The discussion on the proposals of the Task Force on the Future Governance of FIG was held during the plenary session following the General Assembly and are recorded in the supplementary report of the Task Force under item 27.

25. PRESIDENT'S MEETING

45 Presidents and leaders of the delegations attended the President’s Meeting where different aspects of the current problems of the member associations and their relations to FIG were discussed. In the discussion the FIG policy with UN was supported, question how to help developing countries was raised (e.g. support to organise seminars and improve education) and initiative of improving multicultural and multilingual approach within FIG was introduced. In addition financial topics like how to help developing countries and poor associations to attend the working weeks and seminars and participate the work of FIG were discussed. Separate notes from this meeting are circulated to the Presidents and leaders of the delegations.

26. ROLL CALL

Secretary General took the roll call according to the decision made at the first session of the General Assembly so that the roll call was made only for member associations. 46 member associations out of 78 were present which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid.

A list of those present at the session is attached as appendix to items 2 and 26.
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Motion: That the members present be entered in the records.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

27. THE FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF FIG

The FIG Task Force on the Future Governance and Management of FIG has considered the proposals made during the plenary session on 22^nd May and summarised the results to a supplementary report. This report includes also some modified proposals that together with the original Task Force report are suggested to be used as a basis for drafting amendments into the statutes.

The Bureau has considered the proposals of the Task Force and suggests to the General Assembly that it approves the report and recommendations of the Task Force. The recommendations include proposal of a Nomination Review Group to manage the processing of nominations for positions as President, Vice Presidents and perhaps Commission chairs to guarantee professional, geographic and linguistic diversity of the candidates coming forward for election.

Further there is a proposal for the terms of reference and members of the Task Force - Review of Commission, Task Force and Permanent Institution Structure 2000-2002.

Appendix to item 27: Supplementary report of the FIG Task Force on the Future Governance and Management of FIG to the General Assembly.
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Motion: That the General Assembly notes the reports of the Task Force and adopts the recommendations as follows:

• that new Statutes be drafted for the General Assembly in Korea and that these draft Statutes will be distributed in the 3^rd quarter of 2000 and also posted on the FIG web-site.

• that the Statutes will be drafted to incorporate the initial recommendations of the Task Force supplemented by the key modifications outlined in the supplementary report. The details of the voting procedures will follow.

• in summary the package of recommendations will include:

  • that the term Bureau be replaced by the term Council

  • that the roles of Secretary General and Treasurer by replaced by the term Vice President

  • that the Council shall consist of a President and four (4) Vice Presidents, 30 October 2000

1. that a Nominations Review Group (NRG) be established in order to manage the process of bringing forward to the GA all of the candidates being considered for all elected positions and for ensuring that a ‘balanced’ distribution of candidates is created. The NRG will act under a set of internal rules established by the General Assembly.

2. that the period of office for all posts will be 4 years

3. that no individual may sit for more than 2 consecutive periods on the Council and the period of office of the President shall be limited to one period of four years

4. to ensure continuity the elections will take place on a phased basis with elections every 2 years

• that the Council shall have the ability to co-opt a number of ex-officio members to assist with the work of the Council. These co-opted positions will normally include the Director of the FIG office, a representative of the ACCO and the Congress Director for the next Congress.

• that bids for hosting the Congress shall be open to one, or more Member Associations.

That the General Assembly notes that the work of the original Task Force on the Future Governance and Management of FIG is now almost complete and records its thanks to the members and at the same time establishes a Task Force - Review of Commission, Task Force and Permanent Institution Structure 2000-2002.

That the General Assembly endorses the terms of reference for this Task Force as presented in the Task Force report and nominates following members to this Task Force:

• Dr Tom Kennie (UK) - Vice President, Chair of the Task Force

• Andreas Drees (Germany) - Incoming Secretary General/Vice President

• Matt Higgins(Australia) - Vice Chair, Commission 5 and representative of ACCO

• Gabriele Dasse (Germany) – Chair, Task Force on Under-represented Groups in Surveying

• Stig Enemark (Denmark) – Chair, Task Force on Mutual Recognition of Qualifications and Past Chair, Commission 2)

• Christian Andreasen (USA), Secretary General

• Michel Mayoud (France), Chair, Commission 6

Discussion: Iain Greenway (UK) pointed out that in the NRG there should not be members from the current Council and suggested that someone from a member association who had experience of organising a working week or congress should be appointed to the Task Force – Review of Commission, Task Force and Permanent Institution Structure 2000-2002. Amendment 21 June 2000.

Ernst Höflinger (Austria) suggested that the draft of Statutes and Internal Rules should be circulated in advance so that the members have possibility to make their comments before the final agenda will be circulated. Dr. Kennie replied that the draft Statutes would be posted on the FIG web site in September/October 2000 which allows comments from the members before the Bureau meeting in December 2000.

Bernard Bour (OGE, France) asked if the proposal includes two task forces, one working with the Statutes and the other one working with the Commission structure. Dr. Kennie clarified the proposal so that the current Task Force has almost concluded its work but will continue with drafting the new Statutes based on the proposals by the Task Force. The new Task Force with new members representing also Commissions is needed to study the Commission structure, organising of FIG congresses etc.

During the discussion Dr Kennie proposed further an addition to the Terms of reference to include a study how the multicultural aspects and language issue can be solved in the Commission structure. In the discussion this proposal was rejected and was therefore withdrawn from the final motion.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

28. AMENDMENTS TO STATUTES AND INTERNAL RULES

The recommendations of the Task Force on Future Governance of FIG include a proposal that the posts of the Secretary General and the Treasurer should be changed to that of Vice President already 1^st January 2001. This proposal means that the Statutes should be changed accordingly already now although the other changes to the Statutes would be adopted first 2001. In addition the responsibilities of the new Vice Presidents should be included in the Internal Rules.

The proposal of the amendments to Statutes and Internal Rules have been circulated with the agenda.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the proposed changes to Article 5.3 in the Statutes and Article 9.5 in the Internal Rules and to the Responsibilities of the Bureau members.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

29. REPORTS ON WORKING WEEKS 2001, 2003 AND 2004 AND CONGRESS 2006

The General Assembly received brief supplementary reports from the representatives of the organising committees of the forthcoming FIG Working Weeks (Chungwoo Chon, Korea, Harry Greenberg, Israel, Chryssy Potsiou, Greece and Hans Josef Platen, Germany).

• Working Week 2001, Seoul, Korea 6-11 May 2001, information is available on the Working Week web site: http://www.fwww2001.or.kr.

• Working Week 2003, Eilat, Israel 19-23 May 2003

• Working Week 2004, Athens, Greece August 2004

• Congress 2006, Munich, Germany, October 2006.

The reports have been circulated with the agenda except from the Congress 2006 that is attached as appendix to item 29 to these minutes.
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Motion: That the General Assembly notes progress with the arrangements for each Working Week.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

30. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION

President of the FIG Education Foundation, Prof. Holger Magel, made his report on the activities of the Foundation, its finances and results of the Annual Meeting held on 23^rd May 2000. The supplementary report is attached to the minutes as appendix to item 30: Report of the Annual Meeting of the FIG Education Foundation.
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Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the reports of the FIG Education Foundation and decides to establish an FIG Foundation under FIG administration by transferring the FIG Education Foundation from Australia to Denmark and making the necessary legal actions and commitments and by keeping the goals and principles of the FIG Education Foundation as long as possible.

That the General Assembly records its thanks to the Institute of Surveyors of Australia for establishing the Foundation and records its special thanks to John Curdie for being the Director and Secretary of the Foundation.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

31. REPORTS OF THE CHAIRS OF THE TASK FORCES

The reports from Task Forces:

• Under-represented groups in surveying

• Standards

• Mutual recognition of qualifications

• Sustainable development

have been circulated with the agenda.

All Task Forces organised several meetings during the Working Week and the Chairs of the Task Forces reported back to the General Assembly from those meetings. 

The main results from the meetings were:

• At Congress 2002 there will be an evaluation of the Congress registration on Commissions, gender and age groups

• Sylvie Lacroux, UNCHS(Habitat) gave a paper on Under-represented groups in urban development issues including the professional practice

• Task Force has produced proposal on the Commission structure that will be passed to the Task Force on the Future Governance of FIG

• FIG policy on standards issues was discussed both at the Bureau and ACCO and Commissions agreed to participate in this process and increase their support to the Task Force

• Task Force works according to its recently modified terms of reference; it is now also responsible for FIG contribution in ISO TC211 on issues related to professional qualifications, the next meeting of this group is in Amsterdam in July 2000

• The draft version of FIG Agenda 21 was introduced in Prague

• The Bureau agreed on the framework and timetable for the work so that the Task Force (supported by the Commissions) is able to produce the next version to be posted on the FIG web site in October/November

• The draft will be introduced at the 2^nd Prep. Com of Istanbul+5 and the final document approved in Seoul 2001.

• The Bureau and Commissions agreed on the FIG/UN liaison strategy: it is an ongoing commitment, particularly in issues of land and property, and more particularly in developing countries, and countries in transition, post-conflict and re-construction; promotion through FIG-UN web site; commitment to participate in UN Special Sessions Istanbul+5 and Rio+10; and increasing focus on establishing professions (Commission 1) and education (Commission 2)

• Agreed to organise or co-sponsor several events in developing countries jointly with UN and its agencies

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the reports and recommendations of the task forces on

• Under-represented groups in surveying

• Standards

• Mutual recognition of qualifications

• Sustainable development

and records its thanks to all task force chairs for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

32. REPORT FROM ACCO

Vice President Holger Magel, Chair of ACCO, made a report on the Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO) meetings held on 21^st and 22^nd May 2000. This report together with the main items discussed at the Commission meetings during the Working Week are attached as appendix to item 32.
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Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and its recommendations and records its thanks to ACCO for its past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

33. SURVEYING EDUCATION DATABASE AND ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP

Prof. Stig Enemark made a presentation on the revised version of the FIG Surveying Education Database that is now in function online on the FIG web site. The promotion leaflet of the FIG Surveying Education Database and Academic Membership of FIG was also circulated.

The FIG Surveying Educational Database is available on the FIG home page (http://www.fig.net). It includes information about 200 universities and 400 surveying courses. The promotion material with access codes and passwords to the SEDB will be distributed to universities and institutions during the summer. With their individual password they are able to update their own information directly into the database. Further there are additional benefits to the Academic members and discussion groups for academics and students.

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the new SEDB and activities taken to promote the Academic Membership.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

34. SELECTION OF VENUE FOR WORKING WEEK, 2005

Motion: That the General Assembly makes its selection for the venue of the FIG Working Week 2005.

Decision: On a secret ballot, Cairo, Egypt got the absolute majority of the votes and was selected for the host of the FIG Working Week 2005.

35. GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF THE FIG LOGO

The Bureau has noted the increasing use of the FIG logo for a wide range of applications. In the light of this it is felt that it would be useful to develop a set of guidelines on this issue. Therefore the Bureau informs the General Assembly that guidelines will be developed to outline the process of reviewing any documents and the marketing design issues including both not for profit and for profit use of the logo.

36. AD HOC COMMISSION ON CULTURES AND LANGUAGES IN FIG

OGE (France) seconded by AFT and other delegations made a proposal for the creation of an Ad Hoc Commission on Cultures and Languages in FIG. In its proposal OGE mentioned that "According to the FIG Statutes, Article 1, alinea c and d, FIG is a place to support international collaboration for the progress of surveying in all fields and applications. We must admit that a large number of countries (in Africa, South America, South Europe, Asia,…) do not participate anymore and that the number of participants to the Congresses has decreased significantly between Melbourne 1994 and Brighton 1998. The use of a unique language, which leads to a unique culture, shows its limits. We are in a hurry to react on that situation. Exchanges and communication must be rebuilt to give FIG its full efficiency. It is necessary to encourage cultural and linguistic diversities instead of limiting them. This important debate justifies the creation of an ad hoc Commission, in full respect with the aims of FIG, named "Cultures and languages". Considering the emergency and importance of the situation, we ask for a vote during this session."

Discussion: During a lively discussion on this topic several delegations showed support to the proposal although also questions on the terms of reference and goals of the proposed ad hoc Commission were raised. Further it was noted that perhaps a Task Force should be a better body to study these issues when the aims of the proposal belong to all Commissions. After the discussion the Bureau considered it would be best to start working with this proposal as soon as possible and therefore agreed to make a proposal on establishing the ad hoc Commission as proposed in the French proposal. According to the Statutes the composition, chair, terms of reference and work plan of the ad hoc Commission shall be approved by the Bureau.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts to establish an ad hoc Commission following the proposal of OGE (France).

Decision: The motion was adopted unanimously.

37. PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION

The Acting President expressed thanks to the Organising Committee and people responsible for the arrangements. A Certificate of appreciation and the FIG table banner were handed over to the Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers and Certificates of appreciation were delivered to Petr Polák, President of the Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers and Chair of the Organising Committee, Václav Slaboch, Jiři Vaingát, Milan Klimeš, Josef Weigel, Pavel Hánek, Aleš Ohrablo, Miroslav Roule, Jiři Drozda and finally Ingrid Vojteková and her team in the Guarant Ltd.

38. CLOSING PROCEEDINGS

On behalf of FIG the Acting President thanked all those who had contributed to the successful organisation of the meeting. The Acting President invited Mr. Chunwoo Chon, President of the Korea Confederation of Surveyors and representatives of the Korean delegation and the organising committee of the FIG Working Week 2001 to receive the FIG banner from Petr Polák, President of the Czech Union of Surveyors and Cartographers and Mr Milan Klimeš and Mr. Josef Weigel, representatives of the organising committee.

The Acting President formally closed the 23^rd General Assembly.

Frederiksberg
5 June 2000

Data supplied by the FIG Office.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that this data is accurate errors might exist. Requests for updates and corrections should be emailed to the FIG Office.