Minutes

26th General Assembly
13 and 17 April 2003 in Paris, France

MINUTES

Introduction

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1. OPENING PROCEEDINGS

President Holger Magel opened the 26^th General Assembly and welcomed the participants to this Working Week and the 125th Anniversary of FIG in Paris. Noted that several greetings and apologies were received from member associations, other members, honorary presidents and honorary members who were not able to attend the meeting.

2. ROLL CALL

Vice President Andreas Drees to take the roll call.

Appendix to items 2 & 22: Roll Call.

52 member associations out of 89 were present at this session which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid.

Motion: That present members are recorded in the minutes.

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 22nd General Assembly so that the tellers will represent member associations hosting the preceding (American Congress on Surveying and Mapping ACSM) and the current General Assembly (Ordre des Géomètres-Experts OGE and Association Francaise de Topographie AFT).

Decision: The General Assembly resolved to appoint Mr. Julian (Jud) Rouch (the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, ACSM), USA and Mr. Bernard Bour (Ordre des Géomètres-Expert, OGE), France as tellers for the duration of the meeting.

4. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

Motion: That the agenda be adopted.

Decision: Recorded that agenda item 8 Honorary Member will be postponed to the second session of the General Assembly on April 17, 2003. The motion was adopted.

5. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 24th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Minutes have been circulated previously.
Please bring your copy of the minutes of the 25th General Assembly, Washington, DC in 2002 with you to the meeting.

Appendix to item 5: Minutes of the 25^th General Assembly
Adobe Acrobat version

Motion: That the minutes be adopted as circulated.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6. MEMBERSHIP

6.1 Acceptance of new members

6.1.1 Chamber of Surveyors and Cartographers (Slovak Republic)

The Chamber of Surveyors and Cartographers from Slovakia has submitted an application to become the second member of FIG from Slovak Republic. The association has 162 members. It has been actively involved in FIG and its conferences under the flag of the Slovak Union of Surveyors and Cartographers (SUSC). The current member association SUSC is supporting the application. All members of CSC have a university level education and 5 years experience in practice. 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 Chamber of Surveyors and Cartographers (Slovak Republic).

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Chamber of Surveyors and Cartographers from Slovak Republic as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted. In his greetings to the General Assembly Mr. Jan Hardos from CSC told about the association and its involvement in FIG in the past when CSC was represented in FIG through SUSC. President Vladimir Stromcek and Mr. Hardos were given the FIG membership certificate.

6.1.2 Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia, Geodesia, Fotogrametria e Sensoriamento Remoto (SBC)

The Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia, Geodesia, Fotogrametria e Sensoriamento Remoto (SBC) (Brazilian Society of Cartography, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) has submitted its membership application to rejoin FIG as a member association. The association was expelled from the membership in 1998 because of unpaid membership fees. The association has 116 members and 37 qualifying members. 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 Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia, Geodesia, Fotogrametria e Sensoriamento Remoto (SBC).

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia, Geodesia, Fotogrametria e Sensoriamento Remoto (SBC) as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.2 Resignations and Expungements

6.2.1 Resignations

The Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia, ISM

The Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia (ISM) has informed with a letter August 7, 2002 that it will withdraw its membership in FIG with effect from 2003. Malaysia will then be represented in FIG by the Persatuan Juruukur Tanah Bertauliah Malaysia (Association of Authorised Land Surveyors Malaysia).

The Israel Land Valuers Association (This issue was decided in the second session of the General Assembly on April 17, 2003)

The Israel Land Valuers Association has sent a letter to the FIG office August 20, 2002 in which it terminates its membership in FIG. The reason for the withdrawal is that the number of members acting as surveyors and appraisers has diminished considerably in the past years. The association will consider renewing the membership if conditions will change.

Motion: That the General Assembly confirms the resignations of the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia and the Israel Valuers Association.

Decision: The motion was adopted and resignations confirmed.

6.2.2 Expungements 2002

The General Assembly decided in Washington that following member associations would be automatically expelled if their membership fees were still in arrears 31 December 2002:

• Association des Géomètres Algériens, Algeria
• Ikatan Surveyor Indonesia, Indonesia
• Union of Surveying Engineers (Serbia and Montenegro), Yugoslavia

The Council has received information from Algeria and Indonesia that the associations are prepared to pay their arrears and that this will happen latest in Paris. The Yugoslavian (Serbia and Montenegro) association informed in Washington that it will pay the arrears and after that the new associations from Serbia and Montenegro will join FIG.

The Council has decided to bring these expungements back to the General Assembly for its re-decision.

Motion: That the General Assembly expels the

• Association des Géomètres Algériens, Algeria
• Ikatan Surveyor Indonesia, Indonesia
• Union of Surveying Engineers (Serbia and Montenegro), Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)

if their membership fees still are in arrears at the time of the motion being put to the vote.

Ikatan Surveyor Indonesia has paid its arrears before the General Assembly in Paris.

Decision: The decision on expungement of the Association des Géomètres Algériens and the Union of Surveying Engineers (Serbia and Montenegro) was postponed to the second session. The motion to expel these two associations was adopted in the second session because their membership fees were still in arrears at the meeting.

6.2.3 Expungements 2003

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

• Union of Geodesy Societies of FYROM
• Licensed Surveyors Association in Palestine

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).

Motion: That the General Assembly expels the

• Union of Geodesy Societies of FYROM
• Licensed Surveyors Association in Palestine

if their membership fees still are in arrears 31 December 2003.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

6.3 Other membership matters

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

Member associations

The Institute of Surveyors, Australia has merged with four other Australian associations and has changed its name to Spatial Sciences Institute.

Corporate members

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

• Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions, membership category A
• Geoexpert, membership category E
• The Institut Cartogàfic de Catalunya, membership category F

Further to be noted that ESRI has upgraded its membership category to level A.

Academic members

The Council wants to inform the General Assembly that 13 new Academic Members have joined FIG after the General Assembly in Washington and that the number of academic members 13 April 2003 is 61 from 38 nations. The new academic members are:

• Universidad del Valle, Departamento del Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• The University of Zagreb, Faculty of Geodesy, Croatia
• Annamalai University, Department of Geology, India
• Mongolian Agricultural University, School of Agrobiology, Land Management, Mongolia
• Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Department of Land Surveying and Mapping, Puerto Rico, USA
• University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Civil Engineering Department, Puerto Rico, USA
• National University of Singapore, School of Design and Environment, Singapore
• University of Cape Town, Department of Geomatics, South Africa
• University College of Lands and Architectural Studies – UCLAS, Department of Land Surveying, Tanzania
• Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Brazil
• University of Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Faculty of Engineering, Surveying Institute, Uruguay
• IAV Hassan II, Filière de Formation en Topographie, Département de Cartographie et Photogrammétrie, Morocco
• Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas, Facultad del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Programa Ingenieria Topográfica, Colombia

Correspondents

The Council has admitted M. Rabesihanaka Harilantosoa Zafimbahoaka, Directeur Général des Affaires Foncières et des Infrastructures Géographiques from Madagascar and Dr. Constantin Bah from BETIE (Bureau d'Etudes, de Topographie, d'Ingeniere et d'Expertise) Cabinet et Domicile from Republic of Benin to become a new correspondents.

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

Decision: The motion was adopted.

7. HONORARY PRESIDENT

The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) has proposed to the Council that FIG appoints Mr. Robert W. Foster (USA), immediate Past President of FIG as an Honorary President of FIG. According to the Statutes paragraph 3.1.6 a past president who has rendered outstanding service to the Federation during his period of office can be appointed as an honorary president. Nomination for this appointment shall be made by a member association or the Council which will consider it and submit it to a vote of the General Assembly.

The Council has considered the proposal and decided to propose to the General Assembly that it appoints Robert W. Foster as an Honorary President of the Federation. Mr. Foster has served FIG as a Vice President (1994-1999) and as a President (1999-2002).

Appendix to item 7: The nomination letter from ACSM.

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints Mr. Robert W. Foster an Honorary President of FIG for the great services he has provided for the Federation.

Decision: The General Assembly appointed Mr. Robert W. Foster as an Honorary President of FIG. Mr. Foster was presented with his badge with golden oak leaves and certificate of Honorary President.

8. HONORARY MEMBER (This item was decided in the second session of the General Assembly on April 17, 2003)

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), United Kingdom has sent the Federation a nomination letter in which it proposes that FIG appoints Dr. Tom Kennie, Vice President of FIG 1994-1999 and 1999-2002 as an Honorary Member of the Federation. According to the Statutes paragraph 3.1.7 an individual who has materially assisted the development and promotion of the surveying profession at the international level can be appointed as an honorary member. Nomination for this appointment shall be made by a member association or the Council which will consider it and submit it to a vote of the General Assembly.

The Council has considered the proposal and decided to propose to the General Assembly that it appoints Dr. Tom Kennie as an Honorary Member of the Federation for the outstanding services he has provided to the Federation as a Vice President and as a Chair of several task forces including the task force on the new governance structure of FIG.

Appendix to item 8: The nomination letter from RICS.

Motion: That the General Assembly appoints Dr. Tom Kennie an Honorary Member of FIG for the great services he has provided for the Federation.

Decision: The General Assembly appointed Dr. Tom Kennie as an Honorary Member of FIG. Dr. Kennie was presented with his badge with silver oak leaves and certificate of Honorary Membership.

9. REPORT OF THE US COUNCIL

The US Council has submitted an end of term report on the activities during its term of office 1999–2002. A summary report of the results of the Council 1999-2002 was given by Robert W. Foster.

Appendix to item 9: The An End of Term Report of the US Council of FIG

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the report and records its thanks to the US Council and its members for their excellent work and great contribution to FIG.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

10. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

The report of the President of the Federation includes a review on the activities of the Federation, the new German Council and the FIG office from the handover ceremony in October 2002 to April 2003. President Magel made an oral report followed by a presentation by Vice President Andreas Dress focussing on the FIG World Report on Good Practices.

Appendix to item 10: President's report.

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

Decision: The motion was adopted.

11. NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS

The German member association of FIG DVW (Deutscher Verein für Vermessungswesen – Gesellschaft für Geodäsie, Geoinformation und Landmanagement) has informed that it has appointed Ms. Bettina Petzold as Vice President of FIG and that Mr. Thomas Gollwitzer has been appointed as new Congress Director of FIG 2006. Ms. Petzold’s CV is available on FIG home page: http://www.fig.net/figtree/council/vicepresident-petzold.htm and Mr. Gollwitzer’s CV at http://www.fig.net/figtree/council/congress_dir_gollwitzer.htm.

The Council has decided according to the Internal Rules that Vice President Andreas Drees will act as the Deputy to the President. The Council has also decided on the responsibilities of the Council members hereby defining the list included in the Internal Rules. The General Assembly is informed about the following:

• The President is coordinating the UN and related activities and no Director FIG/UN Liaison will be appointed 1.1.2003–. In this work the President will be assisted by an expert group;
• Each Vice President has personal responsibility to support named Commissions in their work;
• The Vice Presidents do not have personal regional responsibility, except Vice President Wong who is in charge for Asia and the Pacific;
• Vice President Drees will chair the ACCO but all Council members will attend ACCO meetings in 2003-2004.

Appendix to item 11: Responsibilities of the Council Member from 1 January 2003.

Motion: That the General Assembly

• confirms the appointment of Dr.-Ing. Andreas Drees as the Deputy to the President
• confirms the appointment of Ms. Bettina Petzold as a Vice President and Mr. Thomas Gollwitzer as the Congress Director FIG 2006; and
• receives the list of responsibilities of the Council members for 2003–2006.

Decision: The motion was adopted. Ms. Bettina Petzold and Mr. Thomas Gollwitzer were presented their FIG bronze badges.

12. REPORTS FROM CHAIRS OF COMMISSIONS

The Commission chairs have submitted their written reports on the Commission activities since the FIG Congress in Washington, DC. Their reports include progress reports of the working groups in each Commission. Commission chairs gave oral report on the main activities in each Commission after the FIG Congress in Washington, DC.

Appendices to item 12:

• 12.1 Commission 1
• 12.2 Commission 2
• 12.3 Commission 3
• 12.4 Commission 4
• 12.5 Commission 5
• 12.6 Commission 6
• 12.7 Commission 7
• 12.8 Commission 8
• 12.9 Commission 9
• 12.10 Commission 10.

Motion: That the General Assembly

• adopts the reports of the Commission chairs and records its thanks to the chairs and officers of the Commissions for their past year’s work;
• confirms the change in Commission 2 work plan as proposed in Commission 2 report and thus to close WG 2.2 “Curricula Models and CPD” and to establish a new WG 2.2 “The Studies of Surveying in Latin America”, chaired by Prof. Graciela Loyácono from Argentina (he will also chair the Liaison Group for Latin America).

Decision: The motion was adopted.

13. REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTORS OF PERMANENT INSTITUTIONS

Appendices to item 13:

• 13.1 Report from the International Office of Cadastre and Land Records (Office International du Cadastre et du Régime Foncier) OICRF
• 13.2 Report from the FIG Multi-Lingual Dictionary Board
• 13.3 Report from the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG

The General Assembly received oral reports from Karl-Friedrich Thöne, the FIG Multi-Lingual Dictionary Board and Jan de Graeve, Director of the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Permanent Institution of FIG.

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 UN ACTIVITIES

Appendix to item 14: Co-operation with the United Nations and Its Agencies April 2002–April 2003 (including the signed agreement of co-operation with the UN FAO).

President Magel made a report on the UN activities and informed the General Assembly on the arrangements of the FIG/UN co-operation in 2003-2006. The President will be personally in charge for coordinating the UN co-operation assisted by following expert network: Stig Enemark (Denmark), Gerhard Muggenhuber (Austria), Matt Higgins (Australia) and Willi Zimmermann (Germany/Cambodia).

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the report on the co-operation with the United Nations and its agencies records its warmest thanks to Prof. Ian Williamson, Director, FIG/UN Liaison for his great contributions during his term of office as the Director, FIG/UN Liaison in 1999-2002.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

15. LIAISON WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

After the International Union for Surveys and Mapping (IUSM) was disbanded in 1999 the co-operation with the so-called sister organisations have been based on bilateral agreements. Memoranda of understanding have now been signed with all former members of IUSM except IHO, which is still under preparation. The latest “Joint Board of Space Information Societies” took place at the FIG 2002 Congress.

FIG has further bilateral agreements of co-operation with other international associations like ICEC, IFHP, CIB and FIABCI. Some of the partners are also working together in the Habitat Professionals Forum.

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 together with ACCO has appointed liaison persons to take care of communication between FIG and the sister associations.

In conjunction to the Working Week in Paris the President and Director, FIG Office met with the President and CEO of FIABCI. Further to be noted that the MoU with IHO is expected to be signed by the end of 2003.

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the report on the liaison with the sister associations during the past year.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

16. NOMINATION REVIEW GROUP AND CHANGE TO THE INTERNAL RULES

The Canadian Institute of Geomatics has sent a letter to the Council considering the role and responsibilities of the Nomination Review Group in the election procedure of the Council members and further proposing, if required, amendments to Internal Rules under 9.0 Council. The US and German Councils have considered this proposal and noted that there is a need for further guidance to the next NRG but that this additional guidance does not need to be included in the internal rules. The Council proposes, however, the following small change to internal rule 9.4:

Current paragraph 9.4 The General Assembly shall establish a Nominations Review Group (NRG) on the recommendation of the Council. The NRG shall normally consist of three to five persons with considerable experience of the Federation and shall be chaired by the immediate past president. Its members shall hold office for four years, from Congress to Congress. A member of the current Council cannot be a member of the NRG. If any member of the NRG is unable to complete his or her period of office, a replacement shall be appointed by the Council and ratification of that appointment sought from next meeting of the General Assembly.

Proposed new paragraph 9.4 The General Assembly shall establish a Nominations Review Group (NRG) on the recommendation of the Council. The NRG shall normally consist of three to five persons with considerable experience of the Federation and take into account the geographical representation. It shall be chaired by the immediate past president. Its members shall hold office for four calendar years, starting in the year following the Congress. A member of the current Council cannot be a member of the NRG. If any member of the NRG is unable to complete his or her period of office, a replacement shall be appointed by the Council and ratification of that appointment sought from next meeting of the General Assembly.

The NRG was not appointed at the General Assembly in 2002 for 2003-2006. The new Council is at the moment considering the responsibilities of the NRG and the persons to be appointed. The Council will make its proposal for the members of the NRG in Paris.

Motion: That the General Assembly

• adopts the proposed amendment to internal rule 9.4; and
• appoints the members to the Nomination Review Group for calendar years 2003–2006 as follows: Chair: Robert W. Foster, USA (North America) and members: John Parker, Australia (Australia and the Pacific), Sam Zhou, Zimbabwe (Africa), Teo CheeHai, Malaysia (Asia) and Tom Kennie, United Kingdom (Europe).

Decision: After discussion the motion was adopted unanimously.

17 FIG ACCOUNTS FOR 2002 AND AUDITOR’S REPORT AND BUDGET FOR 2003 AND 2004 (This item was decided at the second session April 17,2003)

Vice President Ralf Schroth has prepared as financial report on the economic situation of the Federation. This report includes summary of the accounts for 2002, an updated budget for 2003 and proposal for budget 2004 with notes.

The Auditors Report includes the auditors report from 2002, official accounts (income statement 2002) and balance sheet 31 December 2002.

Appendices to item 17:

• 17.1 Financial Report – Accounts 2002 and Budgets 2003 and 2004
• 17.2 Auditor's Report, Income Statement for 2002 and Balance Sheet at 31 December 2001
• 17.3 Report of Vice President Schroth at the General Assembly (PowerPoint presentation)

Motion: That the General Assembly adopts the audited accounts for 2002.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

18 BUDGET 2003 AND 2004 (This item was decided in the second session of the General Assembly on April 17, 2003)

Updated budget for 2003 and budget for 2004 are included in the Financial Report, appendix to item 17.1.

The Council has decided to propose to the General Assembly that from 1 January 2004 the official currency of FIG will be changed from Swiss franc to Euro. This proposal is based on practical reasons to save bookkeeping work, banking and auditing costs (estimate up to even Swiss francs 10,000) and to avoid risk in exchange rates, because most expenditure is in Euro or Danish crone which is bind Euro with +/- 2 per cent tolerance.

Motion: That the General Assembly

• adopts the up-dated budget for 2003;
• adopts the budget for 2004; and
• confirms the decision of the Council to change the official currency of the Federation to Euro 1 January 2004

Decision: The motion was adopted.

19 SUBSCRIPTION RATES FOR 2005 (This item was decided at the second session April 17,2003)

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. Fees for 2003 and 2004 are:

21. PRESIDENT'S MEETING

50 Presidents and leaders of the delegations attended the President’s Meeting in which the co-operation between FIG and its member associations were discussed. A separate memorandum of this meeting is circulated to the participants of the meeting and to the Presidents of member associations.

Second session, Thursday 17 April, 11:00– 14:00, Amphi Cauchy

22 ROLL CALL

Vice President Andreas Drees to take the roll call.
Please note that the roll call will be done for member associations only. Delegates representing affiliates, academic members, corporate members and correspondents as well as honorary presidents and honorary members will be entered in the records but they shall register before the meeting starts in the meeting hall to the FIG representative.

Appendix to items 2 & 22: Roll Call.

Motion: That present members are recorded in the minutes.

Decision: 52 member associations out of 89 were present at this session which is more than one third of the membership needed for the General Assembly to be constitutionally valid.

23 MEMBERSHIP

23.1 Member associations

23.1.1 Colegio de Ingenieros Topografos de Costa Rica

The Collegio de Ingenieros Topografos de Costa Rica has applied the membership of FIG as a member association. Association has 470 qualified members who have at least Bachelor level education. The Council has considered the application and believes that the association meets criteria for membership of FIG as a member association.

Appendix to item 23.1.1: Membership application from the Collegio de Ingenieros Topografos de Costa Rica as a member association of FIG.

Motion: That the General Assembly admits the Collegio de Ingenieros Topografos de Costa Rica from Costa Rica as a member association of FIG.

Decision: The decision was adopted.

23.2 Other membership issues

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

Corporate members

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

• SICAD Geomatics GmbH & Co oHG, membership category B.

The Council has further expelled Surveyplanet from the membership of FIG.

Academic members

The Council wants to inform the General Assembly that following university has joined FIG as academic member (total number of academic members is 62 from 39 countries):

• Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Topografía, Catastro y Geodesia, Costa Rica

Motion: That the General Assembly makes its decision on the membership issues.

Decision: The motion was adopted.

24 REPORT FROM ACCO

The Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO) met on 12 and 16 April, 2003.

Appendix to item 24: Report from the ACCO meetings.
Appendix to item 24.1: FIG World Report on Good Practices (PowerPoint presentation)

Vice President Andreas Drees as Chair of ACCO reported on the meetings of ACCO.

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the report and its recommendations and confirms the appointment of ACCO representatives to the Commission Review Group as follows: Peter Laarakker (the Netherlands), Robin McLaren (United Kingdom) and Vaclav Slaboch (Czech Republic). The General Assembly further recorded its thanks to ACCO for its past year’s work.

Decision: The General Assembly received the report and confirmed the appointment of ACCO representatives to the Commission Review Group.

25 REPORTS FROM THE COMMISSION CHAIRS

The Commission chairs made brief oral reports on the Commissions activities and meetings during the working week.

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the reports.

Decision: The General Assembly received the reports.

26 REGIONAL REPORTS

The Council has decided to activate the role of member associations at the General Assembly by encouraging the change of experiences between member associations and regions. Therefore, the Council has decided to have in Paris a discussion on regional experiences, co-operation and activities in FIG. At the moment there already exist two regional groups within FIG: the Francophone Group and the Arab Federation of Surveyors, which was established in fall 2002 in close co-operation with FIG.

The Council has invited short reports from different regions as follows:

• The Francophone Group, Michel Kasser, France (PowerPoint presentation)
• The Arab Federation of Surveyors, President Sarkis Fadous, Lebanon
• Africa, Emmanuel Tembo, Botswana
• South America, Gustavo Iglesias, Uruguay
• Asia and the Pacific, TN Wong, FIG Vice President, Hong Kong, China

Appendix to item 26: Summary of the regional reports.

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the reports.

Decision: The General Assembly received the reports.

27 REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FIG FOUNDATION

The FIG Foundation fundraising dinner in Paris is combined to the FIG 125th Anniversary Dinner in Versailles on Tuesday 15 April 2003.

The Board of Directors of the Foundation has further decided that those founding members of the Foundation that have donated the Foundation at least USD 100 will be recognised in the FIG Annual Review.

In his oral report the President of the FIG Foundation, Mr. John Hohol informed the General Assembly about donations in conjunction to the Working Week exceeding over 15,000 euros. As thanks to member associations and individuals who have donated more than USD 1,000 a bronze plaque of the FIG Foundation was presented to Den danske Landinspektørforening DdL (Denmark), DVW – Deutscher Verein für Vermessungswesen – Gesellschaft für Geodäsie, Geoinformation und Landmanagement (Germany) and Schweizerischer Verein für Vermessung und Kulturtechnik SVVK (Switzerland) and further to Robert W. Foster.

The President further informed the General Assembly about first grants given in December 2003 and grants decided in Paris in April 2003. Further progress has been made with grant programmes with corporate members ESRI and Intergraph.

Appendix to item 27: Report of the FIG Foundation 2002–2003.

Motion: That the General Assembly receives the report of the President of the FIG Foundation.

Decision: The General Assembly received the report and recorded its thanks to the Directors of the Foundation for the work they have done during the past year.

28 REPORTS OF THE WORKING WEEKS 2004–2005 AND 2007 AND CONGRESS 2006

The hosts of the FIG Working Weeks 2004 (Greece), 2005 (Egypt), Congress 2006 (Germany) and Working Week 2007 (Hong Kong, China) made brief reports on the preparations for their respective events.

Appendix to item 28:
28.1 Report on the FIG Working Week 2004 in Athens (Handouts of PowerPoint presentation in Paris)
28.2 Report on the FIG Working Week 2005 in Cairo
       - PowerPoint Presentation in Paris
28.3 Report on the FIG Congress in 2006 in Munich, (PowerPoint presentation in Paris)
28.4 Report on the FIG Working Week 2007 in Hong Kong, China, (PowerPoint presentation in Paris)

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the reports.

Decision: The General Assembly received the reports and adopted the dates for the Working Weeks 2004, 2005 (to be moved to April 16-21, 2005) and 2007 and adopted the dates and length of the FIG Congress 2006 to be held in Munich October 15-20, 2006 even though the interval between the General Assemblies will be longer and the length of the congress shorter than required in the Internal Rules.

29 REGIONAL CONFERENCES IN MOROCCO IN 2003 AND IN INDONESIA 2004

The hosts of the FIG Regional Conferences in Marrakech, Morocco, December 2-5, 2003 and in Jakarta, Indonesia in September/October 2004 made brief reports on the preparations of these events.

Appendix to item 29:
29.1 Report on the FIG Regional Conference in Marrakech December 2-5, 2003
       - PowerPoint presentation in Paris - President Aziz Hilali, ONIGT
       - PowerPoint presentation in Paris - Mr. Gerhard Muggenhuber, Chair of Commission 3)

Motion: That the General Assembly notes the reports.

Decision: The General Assembly received the reports.

30 PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION

President Holger Magel presented certificates of appreciation to the members of the local organizing committee of Working Week 2003 to following persons: Chair Bernard Bour, Deputy Chair Michel Mayoud, Deputy Chair Michel Kasser and Members: Jean-Louis Dargère, André Bailly, Jean Godfroid, Déborah Smadja-Levy, Jean Yves Bourguignon, Jean-Cédric-Landry, Michel-Patrick Lagoutte and Gilles Ciboit and representatives of Regards International : Jean-Claude Mège, Pascal Abadie, Antoine Léfebure, Manuela Morange and Estelle Hoyau.

31 CLOSING PROCEEDINGS

The President formally closed the 26th General Assembly of FIG.

Joseph Forrai expressed on behalf of the Association of Licensed Surveyors in Israel special thanks to the Ordre des Géomètres-Experts OGE and the Association Francaise de Topographie AFT for organizing the Working Week and the 125th Anniversary with so short notice after Israel had to give up organising the Working Week 2003.

At the closing ceremony the FIG banner was handed over by Michel Kasser, Deputy Chair of the Organising Committee of FIG 2003 and President of AFT to Mr. George Papavassiliou, Chair of the Local Organising Committee of FIG 2004.

Data supplied by the FIG Office. 

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