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International Geographical Union

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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 1922 in Brussels, Belgium.

International Geographical Union (IGU)
Union géographique internationale (UGI)
AbbreviationIGU/UGI
Formation1922; 102 years ago (1922)
Founded atBrussels, Belgium
TypeINGO
Location
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English, French, Spanish
South Africa Michael Meadows
Turkey Barbaros Gönençgil
AffiliationsInternational Science Council
WebsiteIGU-Online.org

The International Geographical Union adheres to the International Science Council (ISC), which it recognizes as the coordinating body for the international organisations of science.

Objectives

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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

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The following lists contain the senior officers of the IGU from 1922 to present.

Presidents

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Secretaries-General and Treasurers

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Commissions and Task Forces

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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

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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 of geography education with global impacts. The 2016 charter features important geography education research questions and policy recommendations. As such the charter is: Convinced that geographical education is indispensable to the development of responsible and active citizens in the present and future world; Conscious that geography can be an informing, enabling and stimulating subject at all levels in education, and contributes to a lifelong enjoyment and understanding of our world; Aware that students require increasing international competence in order to ensure effective cooperation on a broad range of economic, political, cultural and environmental issues in a shrinking world; Concerned that geographical education is neglected in some parts of the world, and lacks structure and coherence in others; Ready to assist colleagues in counteracting geographical illiteracy in all countries of the world. [4] In the 1992 charter there is also information on geographic questions, key concepts, approaches and the selection of spatial examples.[5]

List of congresses

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International Geographical Congresses have been held as follows:[6]

Congress
number 		Year City
1st 1922   Paris
2nd 1928   Cambridge
3rd 1931   Paris
4th 1934   Warsaw
5th 1938   Amsterdam
6th 1949   Lisbon
7th 1952   Washington, D.C.
8th 1956   Rio de Janeiro
9th 1960   Stockholm
10th 1964   London
11th 1968   New Delhi
12th 1972   Montreal
13th 1976   Moscow
14th 1980   Tokyo
15th 1984   Paris
16th 1988   Sydney
17th 1992   Washington, D.C.
18th 1996   The Hague
19th 2000   Seoul
20th 2004   Glasgow
21st 2008   Tunis
22nd 2012   Cologne
23rd 2016   Beijing
24th 2021   Istanbul[A]
* 2022   Paris[B]
25th 2024   Dublin
26th 2028   Melbourne
27th 2032  
* Extraordinary Congress

Notes

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  1. ^ Originally scheduled for 2020, the Congress was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. ^ Extraordinary Congress for IGU Centenary.

References

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  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.
  6. ^ "List of congresses". International Geographical Union. 3 August 2021.
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