Minutes

 31st General Assembly
15 and 19 June 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden

of the meetings held in the Auditorium
at the Stockholm City Conference Centre, Stockholm, Sweden
on 15 and 19 June 2008

Introduction

In addition to .htm-format this agenda and its appendices are published as .pdf files. 

To be able to read the contents of the .pdf files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. To download this free programme, please click the link below.

Most modern browsers come with Adobe Acrobat plug-in, which allows browsing the .pdf documents within the browser. In this case you can download the document, instead of opening it, by clicking the link with the right mouse button and choosing Save Target As (or equivalent command). Or if you open the document in the browser, you can save a local copy by clicking the Save icon on the Adobe Acrobat toolbar.

To download the minutes in Acrobat format please click here: 
Adobe Acrobat version (171 kB -  20 pages)

To download a full set of minutes as sent to the members in Acrobat format please click here: 
Adobe Acrobat version (2.27 MB - 56 pages)

The individual appendix files can be downloaded below under each item in Acrobat format.

Changes after the minutes have been distributed to the member associations:

• No changes or additional files

1. OPENING PROCEEDINGS

President Stig Enemark opened the 31st General Assembly and welcomed the members and delegates to Stockholm.

A moment of silence was held to appreciate those delegates and active FIG people that had passed away during the past year, especially to respect the memory of Prof. Jean-Marie Becker, FIG Honorary Member from Sweden who passed away in October 2007.

Noted that several greetings and apologies were received from member associations, other members and Honorary Presidents and several Honorary Members who were no able to attend the General Assembly this time. These apologies included especially John Hohol, President of the FIG Foundation who has attended all FIG meetings since 1981.

2. ROLL CALL

Vice President Matt Higgins took the roll call. The roll call was made only for member associations and affiliate members. Delegates representing academic members, corporate members and correspondents as well as honorary presidents and honorary members were entered in the records based on their registrations to the FIG Office at the meeting venue. Recorded that based on the decision of the General Assembly in 2006 only those member associations that had paid all their membership fees to the end of 2007 are allowed to vote at the meeting. A list of member associations that are not allowed to vote was published on the FIG web site as per 15 May 2008.

Appendix to items 2 & 24: Roll Call (139 kB)

52 member associations out of 99 were present at this session, which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid. 48 member associations have the right to vote.

Motion: That present members are recorded in the minutes.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

3. APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS

Motion: The General Assembly shall appoint two persons as tellers following the principle adopted at the 22nd General Assembly so that the tellers will represent member associations hosting the preceding (the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, HKIS) and the current General Assembly (the Swedish Association of Chartered Surveyors, SLF). That the General Assembly appoints Mr. Hon-Kwong Sung from Hong Kong SAR, China and Dr. Maria Ulfvarson-Östlund from Sweden as a teller for the two sessions of the General Assembly.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

4. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

Motion: That the agenda be adopted.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

5. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 30th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Minutes have been circulated previously.

Appendix to item 5: Minutes of the General Assembly in Hong Kong SAR, China, May 2007

Minutes of the General Assembly in Hong Kong SAR, China, May 2007 without appendices, pdf-format. (165 kB)

Motion: That the minutes be adopted as recorded.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6. MEMBERSHIP

6.1 Acceptance of new members

6.1.1 Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines, Inc.

Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. has submitted its membership application to become a member association of FIG. The association has 500 qualified members (B.Sc. Geodetic Engineering). The association is constituted by the Philippine Geodetic Engineering Act. The application meets the criteria for membership in FIG as a member association. The Philippines has been a member of FIG earlier from 1994 to 1998. The Council has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association.

Appendix to item 6.1.1: Membership application from the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (123 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. to become a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.1.2 Chamber of Graduated Surveyors, Bulgaria

The Chamber of Graduate Surveyors from Bulgaria has submitted an application to become the second member association of FIG from Bulgaria. The association has 347 members (226 qualified and 121 qualifying members). The application is supported by the current member association Union of Surveyors and Land Managers in Bulgaria. The Council has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association.

Appendix to item 6.1.2:

• Membership application from the Chamber of Graduate Surveyors from Bulgaria. (29 kB)
• Letter from the Union of Surveyors and Land Managers in Bulgaria supporting the application (105 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Chamber of Graduate Surveyors from Bulgaria to become a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted and the FIG President gave Mr. Angel Yanakiev, President of the Chamber of Graduate Surveyors from Bulgaria the membership certificate.

6.1.3  Institution of Surveyors of United Arab Emirates

The Institution of Surveyors of United Arab Emirates has informed that the association has not been formally established. It wants to withdraw its membership in FIG at the same time as the Survey Department, Dubai Municipality joins FIG as an affiliate member.

Motion: That the General Assembly records that the Institution of Surveyors of United Arab Emirates has withdrawn its membership in FIG and that Dubai Municipality has joined FIG as an affiliate member.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.2 Other membership issues

Affiliates

The Council has admitted following six organisations to become an affiliate member of FIG:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, United States Department of Commerce, USA
• Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster), the Netherlands
• Surveying Department, Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates
• National Land Survey of Finland (Maanmittauslaitos, MML), Finland
• National Survey and Cadastre (Kort og Matrikelstyrelse, KMS), Denmark
• National Land Survey of Sweden (Lantmäteriet, LM), Sweden

The Council has restored the affiliate membership of:

• Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile

The Council has expelled following organisation from the affiliate membership of FIG:

• HMG Survey Department, Nepal

After these changes the number of affiliate members is 25.

The affiliate members from USA, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Sweden were given their membership certificates.

Corporate members

The Council has admitted the following two companies to become a Corporate Member of FIG:

• Derinsu Underwater Engineering Ltd., Turkey, engineering and consulting company (www.derinsu.com), Basic level member (E)
• Al-Mutakamilad Real Estate (Cityplex), Jordan, real estate company (www.cre.com.jo), Regional level member (F).

The Council has restored the membership of Cameroon Engineering S.A. as they have paid their arrears.

The Council has expelled the following corporate member because of unpaid membership fees:

• Remote Sensing Center of Environment Consulting, Saudi Arabia

The number of corporate members is now 34.

Academic members

The Council has decided to adopt following new academic member:

• University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Geodesy and Geomatics, Serbia

The Council has decided to expel following academic members because their membership fees are more than two years in arrears. This list has been corrected 15 June 2008.

• Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Topografía, Catastro y Geodesia, Costa Rica
• Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Department of Geodetic Engineering, Indonesia
• “Dunarea de Jos” University Galati, Cadastre, Environment Management and Protection, Romania
• North University Baia Mare, Surveying Department, Romania
• Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography, Economic and Land Management, Russian Federation
• University of Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Faculty of Engineering, Uruguay

The number of Academic Members is after these changes 80.

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

Decision: The motion was adopted.

7. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

The President has prepared a report on the activities of the President and the Council between the General Assembly in Hong Kong and Stockholm.

Appendix to item 7: President’s report (115 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly accepts the President’s written report.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

8. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COUNCIL WORK PLAN 2007-2010

The Council has prepared a mid-term progress report on implementation of the Council Work Plan for 2007-2010. The report is prepared in the way that it could be used as a standard tool to evaluate implementation of the Work Plan and the Action Plan 2007-2010 that the Council has approved to guide its work.

Appendix to item 8: Mid-term progress report on implementation of the Council Work Plan 2007-2010 (194 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the mid-term progress report on the implementation of the Council Work Plan 2007-2010.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

9. COMMISSION REPORTS

Vice President Matt Higgins, Chair of ACCO has prepared a report on the activities of the Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO) since the General Assembly in Hong Kong. In addition to the written report Vice President Higgins made an oral presentation on behalf of the ACCO focusing on the peer review process to be used at the FIG conferences.

Each Commission Chair has submitted a written report on the Commission activities since the FIG Working Week in Hong Kong SAR, China. These reports include progress reports of the Commission working groups. Each Commission will hold an annual or other meeting during the Working Week in Stockholm.

Appendices to item 9:
9.1 ACCO report (116 kB)
9.2 Commission reports:
      - Commission 1, (146 kB)
      - Commission 2, (163 kB)
      - Commission 3, (180 kB)
      - Commission 4, (135 kB)
      - Commission 5, (133 kB)
      - Commission 6, (157 kB)
      - Commission 7, (121 kB)
      - Commission 8, (137 kB)
      - Commission 9, (123 kB)
      - Commission 10, to be added

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

Decision: The motion was adopted.

10. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRPERSON TO COMMISSION 8 FOR 2008-2010

Mr. Simon Adcock, Chair of Commission 8 has sent a letter of resignation to the Council with effect from 31 January 2008. The Council has taken action to find a candidate to take over the chairmanship of Commission 8 for the remaining period of his term of office 1.2.2008-31.12.2010. As result of these efforts the Council is suggesting that Dr. Diane Dumashie from United Kingdom would be appointed as the Chair of Commission 8. Dr. Dumashie’s nomination is supported by the Royal Institution of Surveyors, RICS. She has served FIG earlier as Chair of Commission 8 from 2002 to 2006.

Appendix to item 10: Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Diane Dumashie (114 KB)

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints Dr. Diane Dumashie from United Kingdom as the Chair of Commission 8 for the period 1.2.2008-31.12.2010.

Decision: The General Assembly appointed Dr. Diane Dumashie as chair to Commission 8 with acclamation. The General Assembly also recorded its thanks to Mr. Simon Adcock for the services that he has provided to the Federation during many years.

11. REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTORS OF PERMANENT INSTITUTIONS

11.1 International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) OICRF

Prof. Paul van der Molen, Director of OICRF has prepared a report on the OICRF activities since the General Assembly in Hong Kong. He will make a short subsequent report orally at the General Assembly.

Appendix to item 11.1: Report from the International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) OICRF (118 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the Director and the members of the permanent institution for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

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

Mr. Jan de Graeve, President of the IIHSM has prepared a report on the IIHSM activities since the General Assembly in Hong Kong. He will make a short subsequent report orally at the General Assembly.

Appendix to item 11.2: Report from the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG (122 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the Director and the members of the permanent institution for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

12. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FIG FOUNDATION

Mr. John Hohol, President of the FIG Foundation has prepared a report on the FIG Foundation activities from May 2007 to April 2008. Vice President Ken Allred made an oral report on behalf of the President of the FIG Foundation to the General Assembly on the recent activities of the FIG Foundation.

Appendix to item 12: Report of the FIG Foundation activities May 2007 – April 2008 (110 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report of the FIG Foundation and records its thanks to the President and members of the Board of Directors of the FIG Foundation for their past year’s work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13. CO-OPERATION WITH THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE WORLD BANK

As part of the Work Plan 2007-2010 the Council has established the UN Liaison Committee – FIG Responses to the Millennium Development Goals to coordinate co-operation with the United Nations and the World Bank. The Liaison Committee is chaired by the President. A special task of the Liaison Committee is to develop FIG responses to the Millennium Development Goals by organising a joint FIG/World Bank symposium.

The Liaison Committee has prepared a report on the co-operation between FIG and the United Nations including the World Bank since the General Assembly in Hong Kong.

The President made an report to the General Assembly on main issues in the co-operation with the United Nations and the World Bank:

• Preparations for the Joint FIG/World Bank high level symposium in Washington DC, USA in March 2009
• Co-operation with UN-HABITAT (Global Land Tools Network, Seminar in Stockholm in June 2008 and preparations for the 4th World Urban Forum in China P. R., 3-8 November 2008)
• Co-operation with UN FAO: contributions to major FIG events and Commission 7 and 9 events; International Seminar on state and public lands in Verona, Italy 9-10 September 2008
• Participation to the work of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG)

Appendix to item 13: Report on the co-operation between FIG and the United Nations and the World Bank (132 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report on the co-operation between FIG and the United Nations, its agencies and the World Bank and records its thanks to the members of the Liaison Committee and all those who have contributed to this co-operation.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

14. LIAISON WITH INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

The Joint Board of Spatial Information Societies JB-GIS was formally established during the FIG Working Week in Cairo in 2005 and meets annually during a major conference. The meeting in 2007 took place in conjunction to the ICA conference in Moscow, Russia 4-10 August 2007. The Joint Board met informally also during the GSDI-10 in Trinidad 25-29 February 2008. The Joint Board was chaired by President Stig Enemark until the meeting in August 2007 where Prof. Ian Dowman was appointed as the new chair.

FIG has further bilateral agreements of co-operation with several other international associations like ISM, IFHP, CIB, ION, ICEC, FIABCI and IFHS. Some of the partners are also working together in the Habitat Professionals Forum. Since beginning of 2007 the Chairperson of the Habitat Professionals Forum has been President Stig Enemark.

FIG is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and working together with ISO and International Valuation Standards Committee (IVSC) on standards.

The Council has prepared a report on the co-operation between FIG and other professional associations from May 2007 to April 2008. The President made a subsequent report at the meeting.

Appendix to item 14: Report on the co-operation between FIG and other professional organisations (119 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly confirms the report on the liaison with other international associations.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

15. REVISION OF THE FIG STATUTES AND INTERNAL RULES

The FIG Statutes, Internal Rules and other regulations have been adopted by the General Assembly in 2001. Several parts have been amended thereafter. After the transition period of the governance structure is now completed the Council has made a thorough revision of the statutes and internal rules as decided by the General Assembly in Hong Kong in May 2007. The revision is based on the work of the Task Force on FIG Governance Structure and the discussions that the Council has had with the member associations.

The new version of the statutes and other regulations include a thorough revision of the language and various adjustments to bring the legal base up to date with actual policies and practices. However as a result there is need only for a few changes that are of political nature. These changes can be listed as follows:

Statutes:

• Membership: In special cases a member association may include a number of (small) countries.(§ 3.1)
• Membership fees: Other members than member associations shall be expelled if their fees are more than two years in arrears. (§ 4.3)
• Governance of the Federation: General Assembly shall be held during the first half of the year. (§ 6.1)
• Governance of the Federation: Member associations must advise the Director of the name of their voting delegates in advance to the General Assembly. (§ 6.5)

Internal Rules:

• Affiliate members: Governmental and regional bodies can be admitted to affiliate membership, if they fulfil the other criteria of membership. (§ 3.2)
• Elections: Time for nominations to positions in the Council and to Commission chairs and chairs elect will be shortened from six to four months because the Nomination Review Group and Commission Review Group procedures have been discontinued. (§ 9.1, § 9.2, § 11.4)
• Commissions: Term of Commission chairs and chairs elect will be harmonised with those of the Council i.e. starting 1.1 and ending 31.12. (§ 11.4)
• Commissions: Only member associations will be allowed to make nominations for Commission chairs and chairs elect (§ 11.8)
• Conferences: Decision on the venue of the Working Week and the Congress will be made four years prior the event instead of current five years (e.g. the next Congress will be decided at the General Assembly to be held at the Congress). As a result all main decisions will then be made at the General Assembly held during the Congress.(§ 17.2)

The Council has decided further to propose an additional change to internal rules in 9.4 § on election of Council members and in 11.9 § on election of commission chairs as follows:

“--- If no single candidate for that post gains an absolute majority of the votes cast, a second vote will be held between the two candidates that have the most votes. In the event of a tie on that vote, the final decision shall be made by selecting a name by blind ballot.”

To help the member associations to see all changes there is a full set of the statutes, internal rules and other guidelines together with the current regulations as an attachment. All changes that are not linguistic improvements have been highlighted. The purpose of the update is to get all regulations up to date but without putting too much effort on the linguistic issues.

A new publication of the Statutes and other regulations will be published and circulated to all members after the General Assembly together with the minutes.

Appendix to item 15: FIG Statutes, Internal Rules and Guidelines (current and revised versions) (357 kB) - 43 pages
Statutes as publication in .htm-format (FIG publication # 40)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the revised Statutes and Internal Rules and other guidelines as proposed by the Council and presented in the appendix, and including the proposed changes to internal rules §9.4 and §11.9.

Decision: The new statutes, internal rules and other regulations were adopted unanimously.

16. DECISION ON THE VENUE OF THE FIG WORKING WEEK 2013

The Council did not receive any proposals for the venue of the Working Week 2013 by the deadline in December 2007.

In the revised statutes it is proposed that the venue of the Working Weeks and Congresses will be decided four years before the meeting (now five years). Because the Council expected that the General Assembly will adopt this proposal, the Council has not encouraged applications for 2013 after the deadline passed, but instead proposes that the venue of Working Week 2013 will be decided by the General Assembly in 2009.

Motion: That the General Assembly decides according to the revised internal rules that the venue of the FIG Working Week 2013 will be decided by the General Assembly in 2009. Bids to host the Working Week have to be submitted to the Council by the end of 2008.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

17. FIG ACCOUNTS FOR 2007 AND AUDITOR’S REPORT AND BUDGET FOR 2008 AND 2009

Vice President Ken Allred presented a financial report on the economic situation of the Federation. This report includes summary of the accounts for 2007, an updated budget for 2008 and proposal for budget 2009 with notes and principles of the investment policies adopted by the Council.

The Auditors Report includes the auditors report from 2007, official accounts (income statement 2007) and balance sheet 31 December 2007.

Appendices to item 17:
17.1 Financial Report – Accounts 2007 and Budgets 2008 and 2009 (284 kB)
17.2 Auditor's Report, Income Statement for 2007 and Balance Sheet at 31 December 2007 (740 kB)
17.3 List of member associations whose membership fees are in arrears for 2007 and earlier and that are not allowed to vote, as 15 May 2008

The Council has decided to recognise the continuous financial support and sponsorship of the Danish Association of Chartered Surveyors, DdL to the FIG Office.

In the discussion Rafic Khouri (OGE, France) asked about the project income in the accounts. It was explained that this is mostly about the administering the FIG events and that FIG is not involved in project work in normal terms.

Robert W. Foster (Honorary President) raised the issue of collecting a fund reserve as stated in the Council work plan and questioned if the target should be put even higher than 1.5 times the annual expenditure. He also asked for an FIG investment policy that will safeguard the FIG funds.

Karl-Friedrich Thöne (DVW, Germany) asked about the proposed increase in membership fees which for big associations is more than inflation rate. He asked the Council to study the sliding scale used for big associations and to consider whether it could be revised. He also requested that the Council should provide some justification for the use of the budget funds and more transparency in the accounting and given finance information to the General Assembly. He asked to get the information in Vice President Allred’s presentation included in the minutes and in the future with the agenda papers.

President Enemark promised that the presentation on finances will be included in the minutes of this meeting and that similar information will be circulated with the agenda papers in the future to improve transparency and better enable the General Assembly to act as political auditors of the finances. He also encouraged DVW to send a letter to the FIG Council on the DVW ideas and promised that the Council will consider the issues carefully and take the possible action.

Appendix to item 17 in the minutes: Handouts of the presentation given by Vice President Allred at the meeting. (612 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the audited accounts for 2007 and budgets for 2008 and 2009. That the General Assembly records it special thanks and recognises the sponsorship that DdL has given to the FIG Office since its establishment in 1999.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

18. SUBSCRIPTION RATES FOR 2010

The General Assembly has 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. Fees for 2008 and 2009 are:

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report and records its thanks to the members of the Task Force for their past year’s work. That the General Assembly further notes that Dr. Spike Boydell (UK/Australia) has been appointed as a member to the Task Force.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

23. PRESIDENTS' MEETING

Totally 52 people attended this Presidents’ Meeting out of which 38 were Presidents or leaders of delegations. At the meeting relations between member associations and FIG were discussed as well as experiences from the FIG Working Week 2008. A separate memorandum of this meeting is circulated to the participants of the meeting and to the Presidents of member associations.

Appendix to item 23: Invitation to Presidents of FIG member associations. (73 KB)

General Assembly, Second Session, Thursday 19 June, 11:00 - 13:45
Auditorium, STOCCC

24. ROLL CALL

Vice President Matt Higgins took the roll call. The roll call was made only for member associations and affiliate members. Delegates representing academic members, corporate members and correspondents as well as honorary presidents and honorary members were entered in the records based on their registrations to the FIG Office at the meeting venue. Recorded that based on the decision of the General Assembly in 2006 only those member associations that had paid all their membership fees to the end of 2007 are allowed to vote at the meeting. A list of member associations that are not allowed to vote was published on the FIG web site as per 15 May 2008.

Appendix to items 2 & 24: Roll Call (139 kB)

52 member associations out of 98 were present at this session, which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid. At the beginning of the session 49 member associations had the right to vote.

Noted that the General Assembly has appointed Mr. Hon-Kwong Sung from HKIS, Hong Kong SAR, China and Dr. Maria Ulfvarson-Östlund from SLF, Sweden as tellers to this session of the General Assembly.

Motion: That present members are recorded in the minutes.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

25. MEMBERSHIP

Affiliate members

The Council has adopted following three organisations as affiliate members:

• General Directorate for Surveying, Ministry of Water Resources, Republic of Iraq
• Lao National Geographic Department, Lao PDR
• Siberian State Academy of Geodesy, Russian Federation

After these changes the number of affiliate members is 28.

President Enemark gave the representatives of the new affiliate members from Republic of Iraq and Lao People’s Democratic Republic their membership certificate.

Academic members

The Council wants to inform the General Assembly that there has been a mistake in the listing of payments and that therefore the University of Puerto Rico, Civil Engineering Department, Puerto Rico has wrongly been listed as an expelled academic member. After this correction the number of academic members is 80.

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

Decision: The motion was adopted.

26. ELECTION OF VICE PRESIDENTS 2009-2012

The General Assembly has listened to the presentations of the four candidates for the position of the FIG Vice President at its first meeting. At this meeting the General Assembly will elect two Vice Presidents to the Council for the term of office 1.1.2009-31.12.2012.

The election will be between following candidates:

• Mr. David Doyle, ACSM, USA
• Mr. Iain Greenway, RICS, United Kingdom
• Mr. Daniel Roberge, CIG, Canada
• Mr. Teo CheeHai, PEJUTA, Malaysia

Appendices to item 19 and 26: Nomination templates of the nominated candidates:

The elections will take place by using following procedure:

Election of the first Vice President

In the election of the first Vice President every member association has one vote to give to one of the 4 candidates. If one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the given votes, he will be elected. If there is no majority in the first vote, a second vote will be carried between those two candidates that have got most votes in the first vote. The candidate with most votes will then be elected.

Election of the second Vice President

In the election of the second Vice President every member association has one vote to give to one of the remaining 3 candidates. If one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the given votes, he will be elected. If there is no majority in the first vote, a second vote will be carried between those two candidates that have got most votes in the first vote. The candidate with most votes will then be elected.

Motion: That the General Assembly elects Vice Presidents for the two open positions following the election procedure described above.

Decision: In the election of the first Vice President 49 votes were given: Iain Greenway 18 votes, Daniel Roberge 12 votes, Teo CheeHai 11 votes and David Doyle 7 votes, 1 vote spoiled. The second vote took place between Iain Greenway and Daniel Roberge. In this vote 48 votes were given: Iain Greenway got 27 votes and Daniel Roberge 11 votes. The General Assembly elected Iain Greenway (RICS, United Kingdom) as the first Vice President.

In the election of the second Vice President 47 votes were given: Daniel Roberge 19 votes, Teo CheeHai 18 votes, David Doyle 8 votes and 2 spoiled votes. The second vote took place between Daniel Roberge and Teo CheeHai. In this vote 45 votes were given: Teo CheeHai got 25 votes and Daniel Roberge 20 votes. The General Assembly elected Teo CheeHai (Malaysia) as the second Vice President.

27. ELECTION OF COMMISSION CHAIRS ELECT 2009-2010

The General Assembly has listened to the presentations of the candidates for the position of the Commission Chairs Elect at its first meeting. At this meeting the General Assembly will elect the Chairs Elect for the term of office 1.1.2009-31.12.2010. The Chairs Elect will under normal circumstances be automatically elected as Chair of their Commission for the term of office 1.1.2011-31.12.2014.

The election will take place on the following candidates:

The Chairs Elect will be elected all at the same time. As there is only one candidate for Commission 2, 4, 5 and 6, these candidates will be elected without a vote. For Commissions 1, 3, 7 and 9 there are two candidates for each Commission, so the election will take place between these two candidates. For Commission 8 and 10 there is no candidate and the Council has proposed to postpone these elections to the General Assembly in 2009.

Appendices to item 20 and 27: Nomination templates of candidates to Commission Chairs Elect for 1.1.2009-31.12.2010:

Motion: That the General Assembly elects the Chair Elect to Commissions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 at the same time. That the General Assembly decides to postpone the election of Chair Elect to Commission 8 and 10 to next General Assembly in 2009.

Decision: In the election for Chairs Elect the General Assembly gave their votes as follows: Commission 1: Ms. Leonie Newnham 25 votes and Mr. Doug Culham 17 votes; Commission 3: Prof. Yerach Doytsher 32 votes and Dr. Szabolcs Mihály 12 votes; Commission 7: Daniel Roberge 24 votes and Mr. Daniel Steudler 22 votes; and Commission 9: Dr. Frances Plimmer 28 votes and Mr. Steven L. Nystrom 16 votes. The General Assembly elected Ms. Leonie Newnham as Chair Elect in Commission 1, Prof. Yerach Doytsher in Commission 3, Mr. Daniel Roberge in Commission 7 and Dr. Frances Plimmer in Commission 9. The General Assembly appointed Prof. Steven Frank as Chair elect to Commission 2, Dr. Michael Sutherland to Commission 4, Mr. Mikael Lilje to Commission 5, and Dr. Gethin Wyn Roberts to Commission 6. The General Assembly decided further to elect Chair Elect to commissions 8 and 10 at its meeting in 2009.

28. TASK FORCE ON INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Mr. Iain Greenway, Chair of the Task Force on Institutional and Organisational Development gave a presentation on the outcome of the questionnaire and of the meetings arranged during the Working Week in Stockholm.

Appendix to item 22 and 28: Report of the Task Force on Institutional and Organisational Development (140 kB)

Appendix to item 28: Handouts of the presentation given by Iain Greenway (182 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

29. ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF COMMISSION OFFICERS

Vice President Matt Higgins reported on the Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO) meetings and Commission activities that have taken place during the week.

The Council wanted to inform the General Assembly that ACCO has appointed Dr. Chryssy Potsiou as its representative in the Council for term of office 1.1.2009-31.12.2010.

Appendix to item 29: Report of ACCO activities during the Working Week in Stockholm (89 kB)

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report and endorses the appointment of Dr. Chryssy Potsiou as the ACCO representative in the Council for term of office 1.1.2009-31.12.2010.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

30. CO-OPERATION WITH THE FIG CORPORATE MEMBERS

A traditional meeting for FIG Corporate Members was organised on Tuesday 17 June 2008. At this meeting co-operation between FIG and the corporate members was discussed including new benefits for corporate members. The proposals from this meeting will be considered carefully by the FIG Council

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report and records its thanks to all corporate members and to Mr. Peter Normann Hansen, FIG Ambassador for Corporate Members.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

31. INTRODUCTION OF FIG PUBLICATIONS

The Council has decided to restructure the FIG publications to four categories: FIG Policy Statements; FIG Guides; FIG Reports; and FIG Regulations. Policy statements will include policy statements and political declarations e.g. ”The Marrakech Declaration on Urban-Rural Interrelationship for Sustainable Development” (pub # 33) and are endorsed by the General Assembly. Guides are technical or other guidelines e.g. “FIG Guide on Standardisation” (pub #28) or “Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications” (pub #27) and are endorsed by the Council and recorded by the General Assembly for information. Reports are technical reports, outcomes from events or products of Commission working groups etc. and are not formally adopted or endorsed by the Federation but have value for the profession, e.g. “Administering Marine Spaces: International Issues” (pub # 36). Decision on publishing the reports will be made by the Council. Regulations include statutes, internal rules and work plans. These categories are created to help members and other users of the publications to identify the purpose for what the publication is made for.

The Council has prepared following four publications that were available as hard copies at the meeting and will be distributed to the members together with the minutes of the General Assembly:

• FIG Work Plan 2007-2010. Publication #39 that includes the FIG Council and Commission work plans 2007-2010. Published in the FIG Regulations series.
• FIG Statutes, Internal Rules and Guidelines. Publication #40 that includes the revised statutes, internal rules and other regulations. Published in the FIG Regulations series.
• Capacity Assessment in Land Administration. Publication #41 is prepared by Stig Enemark and Paul van der Molen in co-operation between FIG and FAO. Published in the FIG Guide series.
• Informal Settlements: The Road towards More Sustainable Places. Publication #42 is Commission 8 Working Group 8.3 (2002-2006) report prepared by Dr. Diane Dumashie. Published in the FIG Report series.

Motion: That the General Assembly notifies the new listing of FIG publications and records the four new publications.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

32. THE COSTA RICA DECLARATION ON PRO-POOR COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

One of the results of the 6th FIG Regional Conference in San José, Costa Rica 12-15 November 2007 is preparation of the FIG Costa Rica Declaration on Integrated Coastal Zone Management that was launched at the Working Week in Stockholm. The goals for the Declaration are to develop the concept of integrated and pro-poor coastal zone management; to identify the problems and issues related to Costa Rica and the Central American Region; to analyse these problems in the context of pro-poor CZM; and to look at recommendations and ways forward. The declaration is available on the web and printed copies were distributed at the General Assembly. The declaration is written by a drafting group chaired by Rob Mahoney.

The FIG Costa Rica Declaration is published in the FIG Policy Statement series (pub #43) and it was brought to the General Assembly for endorsement.

Appendix to item 32: FIG Costa Rica Declaration on Pro-Poor Coastal Zone Management.

Appendix to item 32 in the minutes: Handouts of the presentation given by Rob Mahoney at the meeting.

Motion: That the General Assembly endorses the FIG Costa Rica Declaration on Integrated Coastal Zone Management and records its thanks to the drafting group for their work.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

33. REPORT OF THE FIG WORKING WEEK 2009 IN EILAT ISRAEL, 3-8 MAY 2009

The General Assembly will be given a presentation on the arrangements of the FIG Working Week 2009 that will be held in Eilat, Israel, 3-8 May 2009.

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report for information.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

34. 7th FIG REGIONAL CONFERENCE IN HANOI, VIETNAM, 19-22 OCTOBER 2009

The FIG Council has decided to organise the 7th FIG Regional Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam together with the Viet Nam Association of Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Representatives of VGCR will give the General Assembly a report on the arrangements of the Regional Conference.

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report for information.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

35. REPORT THE CONGRESS 2010 IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 11-16 APRIL 2010

The hosts of the FIG Congress 2010 (ISA, Australia) will give the General Assembly a report on the preparations of the next FIG Congress to be held in Sydney, Australia, 11-16 April 2010.

Motion: That the General Assembly records the report for information.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

36. OTHER MATTERS

Mr. Jan de Graeve from the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement informed the General Assembly on the implementation of the Struve Arc getting it included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage. The IIHSM is now working to get the African 30th Meridian Arc to be also listed in the UNESCO list.

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts a resolution to support the proposal of the IIHSM to get the African 30th Meridian Arc to the UNESCO list of World Heritage.

Decision: Motion was adopted.

37. PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION

President Stig Enemark presented at the closing ceremony certificates of appreciation to members of the local organising committee of the XXXI FIG General Assembly and FIG Working Week 2008 and to other persons that had actively participated in the arrangements of the successful Working Week. Special thanks were recorded to the Swedish Association of Chartered Surveyors, SLF and its President Mr. Svante Astermo, who was also the Conference Director.

CLOSING CEREMONY

The President formally closed the 31st General Assembly of FIG.

At the closing ceremony the FIG banner was handed over by Mr. Svante Astermo, President of SLF and Dr. Maria Ulfvarson Östlund, SLF to Mr. Haim Srebro, Conference Director of FIG Working Week 2009. The FIG Working Week 2009 will be held in Eilat, Israel 3-8 May 2009.

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.

This page is maintained by the FIG Office. Last revised on 20-04-15.