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Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic AssociationGet to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027
Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic Association
Get to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027

Invitation to Pre-ICC2023 Workshop: The Future of Atlases

Kindly note that this workshop has been CANCELLED.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.


The ICA Commission on Atlases is happy to invite you to another interesting Atlas Workshop: „The Future of Atlases“. We want to discuss with you the possibilities and challenges of atlases, perhaps resulting in an innovative, new atlas concept.

Background

In an era dominated by digital technologies and real-time information, the future of traditional atlases has become increasingly uncertain. These once-revered compilations of maps, charts, and geographic knowledge are now facing a myriad of challenges that question their relevance and longevity in the modern world.

One of the primary issues confronting atlases is their rather static nature. Geographic features such as coastlines, borders, and urban development are in a constant state of flux, while political shifts and territorial disputes further complicate the accuracy of conventional maps. As a result, atlases often fail to capture the most up-to-date and accurate information, undermining their utility in today’s dynamic global environment.

Moreover, the climate crisis has introduced an unprecedented level of environmental instability. Rising sea levels, shifting climate zones, and extreme weather events are redefining the very geography we once took for granted. The impact of these changes is significant and demands agile cartographic solutions that can quickly adapt to the new realities.

In addition, the rise of digital mapping platforms and GPS technology has further compounded the predicament of atlases. Online maps like Google Maps and interactive navigation tools on smartphones have revolutionized the way we access and interact with geographic information. With these tools offering real-time updates and personalized directions, the traditional atlas appears cumbersome and outdated in comparison. The ease and convenience of these digital services are gradually overshadowing the once-prestigious allure of physical and digital atlases.

The future of atlases lies in their ability to adapt and evolve. Hybrid approaches, combining physical maps with digital interfaces, might offer a compromise that respects tradition while harnessing the advantages of modern technology. Collaborative efforts between cartographers, geographers, and local communities can help ensure greater accuracy and inclusivity in geographic representation.

The workshop will address these and additional issues publisher of atlases are facing today. Keywords, such as narration and storytelling, openness, participation and transparency that seem to challenge atlas productions will discussed and evaluated.

Details

  • Workshop date: SAT 12. August
  • Workshop time: 09h00-13h00
  • Venue: Stellenbosch University, Chamber of Mines Building
  • Directions from CTICC: https://goo.gl/maps/ikHB9aw6oWdmaNfV8
  • Registration and Contact: Eric Losang (E_Losang [a] leibniz-ifl.de)

In the afternoon, we will participate in a trip to a winery and taste fine wine. The costs for the wine trip and the return trip to Capetown will be 750 Rand (40 Euro), with 15 participants at least.

Please register as soon as possible!

– Eric Losang & René Sieber

The Atlas Cookbook – finally published!

The ICA Commission on Atlases (CoA) proudly announces the publication of The Atlas Cookbook – 10 ingredients how to edit an atlas.

The intention of The Atlas Cookbook is to advise atlas authors in a general way:

  • to give an overview over the realization phases,
  • to show how to start a new atlas project (which is always the hardest part),
  • and how to deal with conceptual, organizational, graphical or publishing issues.

What’s in it?

We divided The Atlas Cookbook in 10 chapters, which reflect a viable and practicable way to carry out an atlas project. The chapters start with Organization & Marketing, followed by Editorial Aspects. After the administrative issues are addressed, the book focuses on Atlas Use and Data Management. Other components to be considered in the atlas process include the use of Multimedia Elements and the Atlas GUI Design, followed by detailed chapters on Map Design and on Interactive Atlas Functionality. And finally, Prototyping and Evaluation describes the last steps before publishing the atlas.

A peak inside chapter 8 by Ernst Spiess.

A peak into chapter 8 by Ernst Spiess.

For whom?

The Atlas Cookbook is intended for atlas makers, map producers, and all kind of cartographers; it can be read as a whole, but even just a single chapter can help!

The Atlas Cookbook is written at a management level, not in a technical way. Most comments and recommendations apply to current and emerging digital technologies, but many sections are also valid and useful for editing printed atlases.

And where to get?

To get a digital copy, we offer the The Atlas Cookbook as a PDF on the CoA Website. You can download it for free and use it according to the CC license.

Additionally, we produced a printed book in a limited edition of 200 copies, supported by ICA and ETH Zurich. If you’d like to receive a printed edition (also free of charge), please send your postal address together with some kind words and good reasons to René Sieber, the current chairman of the CoA: sieberr [at] ethz.ch

Invitation to the Symposium ICA Spring Olomouc 2023

Objectives of the symposium

  • to explore current issues and themes in the theory and practice of three ICA commissions – atlases, map design, and user studies,
  • to exchange professional experiences and discuss problems arising from merging approaches of the commissions‘ domains,
  • to expose cartographers to current developments in atlases, their design and use.

ICA commissions

Venue

Palacký University Olomouc, Dept. of Geoinformatics (Vit Vozenilek)

Program

  • cartographic notions (3–5min calls for assistance in research,
    questions to be answered, info about the latest releases, etc.)
  • regular conference contributions (15min)
  • open discussion (after each session)
  • social program
    • Czech pub experience with cartoQuiz
    • short organ concert
  • atlases exhibition

Registration

  • includes access to sessions, material, coffee breaks, lunches, social program
  • open from November 1st, 2022
  • deadline for submission: January 31st, 2023
  • fee – 80 Euro

 

Please find more information at the symposium website: icaspring2023.upol.cz

Atlases in Time – Joint Commission Meeting in Madrid 2020 postponed to October

Please note: Due to the very uncertain situation caused by the emergence of the Corona virus, the local organizing committee together with the commission chairs decided to postpone the meeting in Madrid (original date: 22.–25. April).

The new date of the Joint Commission Meeting in Madrid will be 14.–17. October (Wed–Sat).

Further information is available through the Madrid2020 conference website: https://map-service.de/madrid2020/

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Atlases in Time – Invitation to Joint Commission Meeting in Madrid 2020

Please note: Due to the very uncertain situation caused by the emergence of the Corona virus, the local organizing committee together with the commission chairs decided to postpone the meeting in Madrid. The new date of the Joint Commission Meeting in Madrid will be 14.–17. October (Wed – Sat).

Further information is available through the Madrid2020 conference website: https://map-service.de/madrid2020/

On the occasion of 150 year anniversary celebration of the National Geographic Institute of Spain (IGN) – the publishing institution of the National Atlas of Spain – the ICA Commission on Atlases and the ICA/IGU Commission on Toponomy together with the IGN organize a symposium on Atlases and Toponomy from the 21 to the 25th April 2020 in Madrid. During three sessions questions concerning evolving dissemination concepts and techniques for atlases, recent development and examples of National Atlases as well as related important toponomastic issues will be discussed.

Date: 22.–25. April 2020
Venue: Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), Madrid, Spain
Good to know: The Symposium is FREE OF CHARGE!

Call for Abstracts

Presentations will be held in a classic 20 min format of 15 min talk and 5 min discussions, and also in a 5 min lightning format, where you can bring in specific challenges (not solved yet) or new ideas. A publication of the contributions as papers or abstracts will be realized.

Deadline for Abstract Submission: 15. February 2020
The abstract should not exceed 500 words and can be submitted as .docx or .pdf-file.

Abstract submission, a preliminary timetable and further information can be accessed via the symposium website: map-service.de/madrid2020

Online Registration will open in February 2020.

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Invitation to Workshop in Munich by the ICA Commission on Atlases

As decided in Tokyo, the ICA Commission on Atlases wants to discuss the idea of a UN Sustainability Atlas, and some other relevant issues of our Commission on Atlases.

WHEN: 12. / 13. December 2019
WHERE: TU Munich

We would like to organize the workshop as follows:

1st day (2–5 pm): UN Sustainability Atlas – Kickoff Workshop

  • 17 Sustainability Goals
  • Previous work (poster, book; World Bank Atlas 2018)
  • Data (World Bank)
  • Publication form (digital, print)

2nd day (9–12 am): Atlas Definition / Atlas Cookbook / Varia

  • Atlas Definition: Criteria
  • Atlas Cookbook: Cover, layout, text, figures, references; doi/ISBN; schedule
  • Varia: CoA Meeting 2020 in Madrid

As you can see, it should be possible to arrive in the morning of the first day, join the meeting, have a beer or two in the evening, and leave Munich in the early afternoon of the following day.

If you are interested to join the workshop, please send an email to sieberr@ethz.ch until 10. November 2019.

René Sieber
Chair of the Commission on Atlases

Announcement of the Pre-ICC Workshop on Atlases and Infographics

Sunday, 14 July 2019, Tokyo
The final event location at the ICC venue will be announced

Over centuries atlases have been defined as a “book of maps” or “bound collection of maps” with a strong emphasis on the depicting geographic space through the sole use of maps. In 1795, William Playfair published, what was the first statistical atlas. In this Commercial and Political Atlas but he not only used maps, but also area and bar charts, line graphs and histograms.

These statistical information graphics became prominent in the 19th century, spawning iconic examples such as Minard’s map of Napoleon’s march on Moscow or Florence Nightingale’s graphs on the Crimean war.

Their prominent appearance in atlases has put statistical information graphics on the forefront in developing visualization forms for geographical information. The Statistical Atlas of the United States (1870), Otto Neurath’s Modern Man In The Making (1939), Erwin Raisz’ Atlas of Global Geography (1944) and the Atlas of Switzerland (2000) mark keystones on the way infographic became an inevitable constituent of modern atlases.

The one-day workshop consists of two parts. Part one will focus on historical and novel advancements in the use of infographics for atlases in two sessions with short paper contributions (10 minutes presentation + 5 minutes for discussion). Part two focuses on a discussion of recent developments to contribute to new atlas frameworks considering the future use of infographics and the utilization of different graphical techniques.

Contributions

Authors are invited to submit short abstracts (up to 100 words) until 1st March 2019 directly (e-mail) to the organizers.

In case of too many contributions, the organizers will select those who fit best the atlases and infographics’ scope.

Publications

After the workshop, PDFs of the presentations and further findings will be published on the CoA website. A paper publication of selected contributions will be envisaged.

Attendance

If you wish to attend without presenting or want to be updated personally, please register your interest by informing the organizers.

Organizers

 

Please find more information on the workshop website: atlas.icaci.org/icc-preconference-workshop-atlases-and-infographics

Atlases, Cognition, Usability: ICA Commissions Workshop in Olomouc, Czech Republic

The ICA Commission on Atlases in cooperation with the ICA Commission on Cognitive Issues in Geographic Information Visualization and the ICA Commission on Use, User and Usability Issues invite to a Joint Workshop in Olomouc, Czech Republic on April 27-30, 2018.

Although every atlas is intended for its users, cartographers should pay attention to the fundamental cognitive and usability issues of the product. The joint workshop addresses strengthening existing research on topics related to atlases, cognitive and usability issues and provides a platform for joint cooperation between cartographers dealing with atlases, cognitive, and user issues that will lead to new collaborations, new ideas and new friendships.

The workshop sessions will be managed as either oral presentation of research contribution or discussion motions where cartographer from each commission can present their ideas to the members of all three commissions and other workshop participants and invite further discussion from the audience.

Participants may also choose from some practical workshops. Optional guided tours to the romantic water cruise on the underground Punkva River and visit the Macocha Abyss, the largest gorge in the Central Europe, or a visit to the Moravian Cartographic Center.

Call for Papers

The Call for Papers is now open for submissions of abstracts on any topic of merit addressing at least one of the subjects of Atlases & Cognition & Usability. Deadline for submissions is February 10, 2018.

For more information, please consult the workshop website: spring2018.upol.cz

Honorary Fellowship for Timothy Trainor

Timothy Trainor receiving the ICA Honorary FellowshipTimothy Trainor receiving the ICA Honorary FellowshipDuring ICC 2017, Timothy Trainor received the ICA Honorary Fellowship. Below you can read Laszlo Zentai‘s laudation:

Mr. Trainor began his ICA experience in 1987 as an active member of the Commission on National and Regional Atlases and has participated in the meetings, seminars, and workshops of the Commission. In 1995, he was selected as the Chair of the Commission and completed his term in 2007 in Moscow.

In 2007, Mr. Trainor proposed and became Chair of the ICA Census Cartography Working Group.

He also completed two terms as Vice President of the ICA in 2015. Since his term as Vice President ended, Mr. Trainor has continued to serve the ICA as a member of the Statutes and By-Laws Committee. In preparation for the 2015 ICC and General Assembly, Mr. Trainor encouraged the U.S. National Committee for the ICA to prepare a bid to host the conference in the United States. He has been an active participant of the Local Organizing Committee.

Timothy Trainor is the Chief of the Geography Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. As the Census Bureau’s chief geographer, he is responsible for directing all aspects of the division’s work related to development and implementation of geographic and cartographic activities for the United States and its territories.

He actively represented the ICA with the United Nations. Currently, Mr. Trainor represents the ICA by participating on the United Nations Initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management. He was elected for the co-chair of the UN GGIM Bureau in 2016.

Mr. Trainor is a member of the Geography Commission of the United States National Section of the Pan American Institute for Geography and History. He has also cultivated a close collaboration with the International Geographical Union leadership which has helped to strengthen collaboration between the two associations.

ICA Awards Ceremony at ICC2017

In the ICA Awards Ceremony at ICC2017, the following awards were presented in recognition of contributions to the ICA:

ICA Awardees 2017

From left to right: Igor Drecki, Cynthia Brewer, Timothy Trainor, Menno-Jan Kraak, Anne Ruas, William Cartwright, Matthew Rice, Aileen Buckley

ICA Honorary Fellowship

The ICA Honorary Fellowship is for cartographers of international reputation who have made special contribution to the ICA. It includes a bronze medal.

  • William Cartwright, Australia
  • Anne Ruas, France
    • Co-chair of the Commission on Generalization and Multiple Representation (2003–2007)
    • Vice-President (2007–2015)
    • President of ICC 2011, Paris
    • Editor of the International Journal of Cartography (2015–)
  • Timothy Trainor, USA
    • Chair or Co-chair of the Commission on National and Regional Atlases (1995–2007)
    • Chair of Census Cartography Working Group (2007–2011)
    • Vice-President (2007–2015)

Diplomas for outstanding services to ICA

The Diplomas for outstanding services to ICA are for colleagues who have made special contribution to the ICA as commission officers or conference organizers.

  • Igor Drecki, New Zealand
  • Aileen R. Buckley, USA
    • ICC2017 Organizing Committee member
  • Cynthia A. Brewer, USA
    • ICC2017 Organizing Committee member
  • Matthew Rice, USA
    • ICC2017 Organizing Committee member

 
Overview of ICA Awards presented at ICC2015

Congratulations to all awardees!

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