On 23–24 November the entire Executive Committee met for the first joint working meeting with the newly elected Commission chairs (List of Commissions). Altogether, 22 out of 28 Commissions were present during the meeting in Gent, either through their chair or vice-chair.

On two exciting, busy working days Commission representatives and ICA officials got to know each other (better), learned about administrative guidelines and procedures for a smooth cooperation and dedicated themselves to common strategic tasks for the next four years. The President pointed out once more the important role that Commissions play in our society – it is through commissions, where the actual thematic work of ICA will be done that finally brings forward our discipline, advances cartography as a science and sets the standards for the quality and usage of our work.

During the first day, the EC members and Commission representatives actively discussed «burning issues» for all commissions and how the society and members in general could even better help commissions to achieve their goals. The second day was followed by a presentation on the new ICA publication on the UN Sustainable Development Goals which was the successful result of a joint commission effort in the past. The final topic to conclude the meeting consisted of an intense discussion and group work on the best means and ways to join forces between commissions, which lead to already very concrete steps for the near future.

The next joint meeting of the Executive Committee and the ICA Commissions will take place on 19 September 2020 in Vienna on the occasion of the EuroCarto 2020 conference. ICA President Tim Trainor and Secretary General Thomas Schulz already look forward to this meeting and seeing the first results of our work commences in Gent.

We thank everyone present for making the long way to Belgium and actively participate in this fantastic meeting!

On 22 November the newly elected Executive Committee met for the first physical meeting during the 2019‒2023 term in Gent (Belgium).

A full day of intense discussions and a huge list of work items on the desk set out the agenda for ICA for the next four years. Following ICA’s Strategic Plan and the President’s motto, that «Maps make a difference» and that «Cartography is more relevant than ever today in an increasingly complex world», the EC discussed next steps and necessary actions in order to reach these goals and make our discipline and society visible and heard by decision makers and a larger audience.

The Executive Committee at the commission meeting in Ghent, Belgium

Achieving the goals of the next term is of course a collaborative project that the EC, national members, affiliate members and ICA commissions need to undertake together. Every member of the Executive Committee has an important role to play in this context as a coordinator, enabler and facilitator. Hence, each EC member were given specific tasks and roles for the next four years. And all Vice-Presidents were assigned a liaison with commissions and working groups. The list of Liaisons for all current ICA commissions can be found here: https://icaci.org/executive-committee/

4 new Working Groups for the term 2019‒2023

As some of the strategic tasks that the new Executive Committee wants to tackle during the next term are very specific or transversal in character and not fully covered by existing commission work, four new Working Groups were set up by the EC during the meeting:

• Cartography and Sustainable Development (Philippe De Maeyer)
• Cartographic Body of Knowledge (Terje Midtbø)
• History of ICA (László Zentai)
• New Research Agenda in Cartography (Liqiu Meng)

The respective EC members (in brackets) will help with startup and organization, find members and supporters, and lay out the work schedule for the next 4 years.

Nominations of Heads of Committees and ICA Officers

Furthermore, the EC nominated the new Heads of ICA Committees and Officers to the ICA Secretariat who will help to keep the society running and inform members and the public in the best possible way through the various channels. Congratulations to the following nominations for the next term 2019-2023! It is a pleasure to work (or continue to work) together with this excellent team!

• Publication Committee – Georg Gartner (AT)
• Statutes and By-laws Committee – Derek Clarke (SA) & Christine Zanine (FR)
• Selection of Award Recipients Committee – Ferjan Ormeling (NL)
• eCarto Newsletter Editor – David Fraser (AU)
• ICA News Editor – Igor Drecki (NZ)
• ICA Webmasters – Manuela Schmidt & Felix Ortag (AT)