ICA was founded June 9, 1959, in Bern, Switzerland. Preparatory conferences, during which its foundation was discussed, were held from 1956–1959: the Esselte conference, Stockholm 1956, the Rand McNally conference, Chicago 1957 and the DGfK conference, Mainz (Germany) 1958. The first General Assembly was held in Paris in 1961: that is also when the statutes were accepted. Later conferences have been held around the world from India (Delhi, 1968) to South Africa (Durban 2003), from Italy (Stresa, 1970) to Mexico (Morelia, 1987), from Australia (Perth, 1984) to China (Beijing 2001) and in many other locations.

The international nature of ICA activity has also been reflected by the work of its Commissions and Working Groups over many decades, under the leadership of many different people and in many different places. These organisations have addressed the full range of scientific, technical and social research which is the mark of ICA activity.

Throughout its 50-year history, ICA has brought together researchers, government mapping agencies, commercial cartographic publishers, software developers, educators, earth and environmental scientists, and those with a passion for maps. The cartographic world has changed significantly since 1959 – the role and impact of ICA has been steadfast. Proud of its traditions, ICA looks forward to the next 50 years: we hope they will be as vibrant and valuable as the first 50 years.

50th Birthay of the ICA

On 9 and 10 June 2009, the International Cartographic Association celebrated its 50th birthday at the site of its birth on 9 June 1959. The offices of swisstopo in Wabern, Switzerland, were the location for a special 50th birthday symposium, with guests from the founding nations of ICA, members nations who have hosted ICA conferences, current member nations, long-standing affiliate members, some Commission chairs, representatives of sister societies and of the Imhof family (Eduard Imhof was ICA's first president), and office holders of the Swiss Cartographic Society which enabled the event. A full programme reflecting both the history and the future of ICA was presented over two days. It is planned that a DVD of the celebration will be produced and distributed widely in due course, along with a special issue of ICA News.

• Programme of the celebration 851kB)

Eduard Imhof Exhibition

As part of the 50th birthday celebrations of ICA, a small exhibition on the work of Eduard Imhof, first president of ICA, was held. This exhibition was presented by ETH Zurich, where Imhof was Professor of Cartography for many years. The exhibition showed examples of his work in developing vibrant and effective approaches to landscape interpretation, geospatial data manipulation, cartographic design and map production.