International Geographical Union

The International Geographical Union (IGU; French: Union Géographique Internationale, UGI) is an international geographical society. The first International Geographical Congress was held in Antwerp in 1871. Subsequent meetings led to the establishment of the permanent organization in Brussels, Belgium, in 1922.

The International Geographical Union adheres to the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC), which it recognizes as coordinating bodies for the international organization of science.

Objectives

The IGU has seven objectives or aims:

  1. to promote the study of geographical problems;
  2. to initiate and co-ordinate geographical research requiring international co-operation and to promote its scientific discussion and publication;
  3. to provide for the participation of geographers in the work of relevant international organizations;
  4. to facilitate the collection and diffusion of geographical data and documentation in and between all member countries;
  5. to promote International Geographical Congresses, regional conferences and specialized symposia related to the objectives of the Union;
  6. to participate in any other appropriate form of international co-operation with the object of advancing the study and application of geography;
  7. to promote international standardization or compatibility of methods, nomenclature, and symbols employed in geography.

Senior Officers

The following lists contain the Senior Officers of the IGU from 1922 to present:

Presidents

Secretaries-General and Treasurers

Commissions and Task Forces

The IGU is organized into a number of commissions and task forces that deal with specific topics[1].

The commission topics include e.g. specific approaches (e.g. Applied Geography), topics (e.g. Climatology, Health and Environment), methods (e.g. Geographical Information Science), and spatial examples (e.g. Mediterranean Basin). There are also commissions for the International Olympiad and Geographical Education.

The two task forces are "Young and Early-Career Geographers" and "Centennial and Sesquicentennial".

IGU-CGE

The IGU-CGE (Commission on Geographical Education) focuses on geography education. It is currently headed by co-chairs Clare Brooks (UK) and Chew-Hung Chang (Singapore)[2].

It publishes the IRGEE journal and organizes yearly conferences[3]. The "International Charter on Geographical Education" constitutes an international agreement on different aspects with global impacts. The 2016 charter features e.g. important geography education research questions and policy recommendations[4]. In the 1992 charter there is also information on geographic questions, key concepts, approaches and the selection of spatial examples[5].

References

  1. ↑ "Commissions". IGU Online. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  2. ↑ "People - IGU CGE". IGU CGE. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  3. ↑ "Home - IGU CGE". IGU CGE. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  4. ↑ "2016 Charter - IGU CGE". IGU CGE. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  5. ↑ "1992 Charter - IGU CGE". IGU CGE. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  • Kish, George (1992) "International Geographical Union: A Brief History" GeoJournal 26, No. 2:224-228 ISSN 0343-2521
  • Marie-Claire Robic, Anne-Marie Briend, Mechtild Rössler (eds.) (1996) Geographers to the world. The International Geographical Union and the International Geographical Congress Paris: L'Harmattan ISBN 9782738445735
  • Dunbar, Gary S. (2001) Geography: Discipline, Profession and Subject since 1870: An International Survey Kluwer Academic Publishers ISBN 1-4020-0019-7 pg 36
  • Lidstone, John; Williams, Michael (2006) Geographical Education in a Changing World: Past Experience, Current Trends and Future Challenges Springer ISBN 978-1-4020-4806-7 pg 39
  • International Geographical Union (IGU)
  • Royal Irish Academy (RIA)
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