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Publication date: 2023
Volume: 22
Issue: 40
Book review
31st Conference and 19th General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association
Dušan Petrovič
Abstract
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
313540
URI
Publication date:
27.12.2023.
Visits: 390 *
Article information
31st Conference and 19th General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association
Cape Town, South Africa, 13th – 18th August 2023
The 31st Conference of the International Cartographic Association (ICA/ACI, International Cartographic Association / Association Cartographique Internationale) was held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 13th to 18th August. 845 cartographers and other experts in the field of cartography and related geoinformation sciences participated in the conference. We arrived from 87 countries, including 33 African countries. The Slovene delegation included Primož Kete from the Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Dušan Petrovič from the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering – University of Ljubljana and our colleague Bojan Šavrič, who is employed with the American company ESRI. Unfortunately, there were no delegates from Croatia this time due to problems with visa issuance.
After twenty years the international cartographic conference found its way back to the African continent, where, as a rule, the smallest number of participants in the international expert meeting come from. More than a half of all African countries sent their delegates this time, which marks a great success for the organizers but also an important step forward in terms of the development and expansion of cartographic knowledge and geoinformation in Africa. Just like in 2003, South Africa hosted the event, but back then it had to be held in a different city. The general atmosphere was much better than two decades ago when we witnessed one of the most unfortunate conferences due to great safety concerns in terms of freely getting around the city of Durban.
Truth be told, there are a lot of homeless people and beggars on the streets of Cape Town, which is a consequence of the country's high unemployment rate – over 40% among general population and over 70% among younger generations – however, the city of 6 million people, or at least its innermost part, seems to be surprisingly clean and safe to get around. Table Mountain and Lion's Head, two most recognizable mountains overlooking the bay and the city, are particularly impressive. It only takes two hours to reach the top of the Lion's Head along a picturesque trail from the city centre, and even less to reach the top of the Table Head by cable car. The opening ceremony was also an interesting surprise. Unlike the usual array of elaborate presentations of cultural heritage and formal speeches, this one resembled a relaxed get-together thanks to the charismatic president Morena Letsosa.
Through more than 600 presentations, which included 150 different sections and part of the content being presented through posters, the participants gave an overview of the current state and trends in the field of cartography and related geoinformation sciences. Out of the five plenary sessions I wish to single out the introductory one by Prof. Barend Erasmus from the University of Pretoria, who imaginatively taught us about the role of cartography in relation to warning about the unavoidable consequences of the global climate change. All the Commissions and ICA Working Groups convened at the assembly, some of them holding workshops prior to the conference.
The map exhibition included more than 350 atlases, maps and digital cartographic products from 31 countries, including nine from Croatia. Unlike the previous exhibitions where the maps could be seen in-person, this exhibition showcased solely the cartographic products which cannot effectively be presented in digital format (atlases, 3D maps and models etc.). Consequently, the exhibition was less attractive but still available to the general public at https://icc2023.org/index.php/international-map-exhibition/. The traditional competition for the best map in different categories was held, Croatia winning first place in the educational cartographic products category for the map on the floor installed in the elementary school Brestje and designed by Igor Vilus from the State Geodetic Administration.
176 drawings on the topic of cartography were showcased live at the children's drawings exhibition. Croatia participated with six drawings. They are still available at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ccf8056030154dad96479390b3e5b62d/page/Under-6-Years/
The organizers prepared various technical visits and social events, including a dinner in the authentic surrounding of African food, dance and music, as well as an orienteering event at the campus of one of the universities. Exhibition stands of different companies and institutions at the technical exhibition were also well visited.
The national delegates gathered for the 19th ICA/ACI General Assembly on the first and the last day of the conference. We adopted a number of amendments and annexes to the Statute, and along with adopting of the reports and considering of the programme for the upcoming period, we elected the new executive committee. Having acted as the president in the period 2011-2015, Prof. Georg Gartner, from Austria, will again be acting as the president for the next four years. Thomas Schulz, from Switzerland, will be the general secretary, and the seven vice presidents are all newly elected. Additionally, committees and working groups were also formed.
The highest honour bestowed by the ICA, the Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal, for exceptional work and contribution to the development of cartography, was awarded to Prof. Cynthia Brewer, from the USA, renowned for her work on cartographic design, especially the use of colours. Among the ICA Honorary Fellowships recipients one needs to mention late Prof. Lynn Usery, who, acting as the chairman of the ICA Commission on Map Projections, actively participated in international cartographic and geoinformation conferences in Croatia, as well as relentless Prof. Peter Jordan, from Austria, who participated in the aforementioned conference this year in Zadar. The host of the next conference, scheduled in four years, has been elected as well. We hope to meet again in Tel Aviv, Israel, in four years from now, as well as in Vancouver, Canada, at the 2025 conference.
31. konferencija i 19. generalna skupština Međunarodnoga kartografskog društva
Cape Town, Južnoafrička Republika, 13−18. kolovoza 2023.
Photos: Executive Committee ICA/ACI An image of the map exhibition Opening ceremony The view of the Cape Town centre with the recognizable Lion's Head (right) and Table Mountain (left)Od 13. do 18. kolovoza u Cape Townu u Južnoafričkoj Republici održana je 31. konferencija Međunarodnoga kartografskog društva (ICA/ACI, International Cartographic Association / Association Cartographique Internationale). Na konferenciji je sudjelovalo 845 kartografa i drugih stručnjaka koji se bave kartografijom i srodnim geoinformacijskim znanostima. Došli smo iz 87 zemalja, uključujući 33 zemlje iz Afrike. Iz Slovenije smo događaju nazočili Primož Kete s Geodetskog instituta Slovenije i Dušan Petrovič s Fakulteta za graditeljstvo i geodeziju Sveučilišta u Ljubljani, a slovensku delegaciju upotpunio je kolega Bojan Šavrič, koji je inače zaposlen u američkoj tvrtki ESRI. Nažalost, ovaj put nije bilo predstavnika Hrvatske zbog poteškoća s dobivanjem vize.
Nakon dvadesetak godina međunarodna kartografska konferencija vratila se na afrički kontinent, odakle u pravilu dolazi najmanje sudionika na međunarodne stručne skupove. Ovoga puta nazočili su predstavnici više od polovice afričkih zemalja, što je veliki uspjeh organizatora, ali i veliki korak u razvoju i širenju znanja o kartografiji i geoinformatici u Africi. Kao i 2003. godine, zemlja domaćin bila je Južnoafrička Republika, ali je događaj održan u drugom gradu. Ako smo prije dva desetljeća doživjeli jednu od najnesretnijih međunarodnih konferencija zbog velikog sigurnosnog rizika za slobodno kretanje u gradu Durbanu, ove je godine atmosfera bila puno bolja.
Istina, i na ulicama Cape Towna ima mnogo beskućnika i prosjaka, što je posljedica iznimno visoke nezaposlenosti u zemlji - premašuje 40%, a među mladima čak 70% − ali grad od šest milijuna ljudi, barem njegov unutarnji centar, inače je iznenađujuće uredan, čist i također dovoljno siguran za slobodno kretanje. Stolna planina (Table mountain) i Lavlja glava (Lion head) posebno su dojmljive, prepoznatljive uzvisine koje se uzdižu neposredno iznad zaljeva i grada uz njega. Do vrha Lavlje glave samo je dva sata uspona slikovitom stazom od samog centra grada, a na Stolnu planinu korištenjem žičare još manje. Zanimljivo iznenađenje bilo je i otvaranje konferencije; za razliku od uobičajenih razrađenih kulturnih i formalnih nastupa, ovoga puta bilo je opušteno, prirodno, zahvaljujući karizmatičnom direktoru konferencije Morenu Letsosi koji je i sam povezivao događanje.
Sudionici su u više od 600 izlaganja u čak 150 različitih sekcija dali pregled stanja i trendova u području kartografije i srodnih geoinformacijskih znanosti, a dio sadržaja prikazan je i na plakatima. Od pet plenarnih predavanja izdvajam uvodno u kojem nas je prof. Barend Erasmus s južnoafričkog Sveučilišta u Pretoriji slikovito podučavao o ulozi kartografije u upozoravanju na neizbježne posljedice globalnih klimatskih promjena. Na skupu su se sastale sve komisije i radne skupine ICA-e, a neke od njih održale su i radionice prije konferencije.
Na popratnoj kartografskoj izložbi bilo je izloženo više od 350 atlasa, karata i digitalnih kartografskih proizvoda iz 31 zemlje, među kojima i devet iz Hrvatske. U odnosu na prethodne izložbe, gdje je većina karata bila izložena uživo, ove su godine po prvi puta izloženi samo kartografski proizvodi koji se ne mogu učinkovito prezentirati u digitalnom okruženju (atlasi, 3D karte i modeli i sl.). Time je izložba izgubila dio svoje čari, ali je bila i još uvijek je dostupna široj javnosti na web stranici https://icc2023.org/index.php/international-map-exhibition/. Tradicionalno je održan i izbor najboljih karata u raznim kategorijama, pa je u kategoriji kartografski obrazovni proizvodi prvonagrađen hrvatski kartohod osnovne škole Brestje, autora Igora Vilusa iz Državne geodetske uprave.
Na izložbi dječjih likovnih radova bilo je izloženo uživo 176 dječjih crteža s kartografskom tematikom. Hrvatska je sudjelovala sa šest crteža. Te su slike još uvijek dostupne na https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ccf8056030154dad96479390b3e5b62d/page/Under-6-Years/.
Organizatori su pripremili i razne tehničke posjete i društvena događanja, uključujući večeru u autentičnom ozračju afričke hrane, plesa i glazbe te tradicionalno orijentacijsko natjecanje u kampusu jednog od sveučilišta. Izložbeni paviljoni tvrtki i institucija predstavljenih na tehničkoj izložbi također su bili vrlo posjećeni.
Prvog i posljednjeg dana konferencije nacionalni predstavnici okupili smo se na 19. ICA/ACI generalnoj skupštini. Usvojili smo dosta izmjena i dopuna statuta, a uz usvajanje izvješća i razmatranja programa rada za naredno razdoblje, izabrali smo i novo rukovodstvo. Predsjednik ICA-e u sljedećem četverogodišnjem razdoblju ponovno će biti prof. Georg Gartner iz Austrije, koji je tu dužnost već obnašao 2011.-2015., glavni tajnik ostaje Švicarac Thomas Schulz, a novih je svih sedam potpredsjednika. Također su odobrena povjerenstva i radne skupine.
Najviše priznanje udruženja, zlatnu medalju Carla Mannerfelta, za dugogodišnji rad i doprinos razvoju kartografije primila je, kao prva žena, prof. Cynthia Brewer iz SAD-a, poznata po svom istraživanju dizajna karata, posebice korištenja boja. Među trojicom dobitnika zvanja počasnog člana treba spomenuti prije godinu dana preminulog prof. Lynna Useryja, koji je kao voditelj komisije za kartografske projekcije, između ostalih, aktivno sudjelovao na međunarodnim skupovima geoinformatike i kartografije u Hrvatskoj, te neumornog prof. Petra Jordana iz Austrije, koji je nazočio spomenutoj konferenciji ove godine u Zadru. Odabrali smo i domaćina kongresa i konferencije za četiri godine, kada ćemo se nadamo u miru okupiti u Tel Avivu u Izraelu, a još ranije na kongresu 2025. u Vancouveru u Kanadi.
