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

Obituary: Igor Drecki – A passionate Cartographer

It is with heavy hearts and profound sadness that we remember our friend and colleague Igor Drecki who, with his wife Iwona, met an untimely end in a car accident on July 26.

Igor was the official New Zealand representative at the general assemblies of the ICA since 1999. He was organizer of numerous ICA events in New Zealand, including the ICA Commission on Visualisation and Virtual Environments Meeting “Geovisualisation on the Web” (Taupo 2001), ICA Internet Cartography Seminar (Auckland 2005), ICA Internet Cartography Workshop (Auckland 2006), and ICA Regional Symposia on Cartography for Australasia and Oceania (Auckland 2010, 2012, 2014 and Wellington, 2016). He was also co-organizer of the 8th ICA Mountain Cartography Workshop (Taurewa 2012). In addition to being an ex-officio member of the ICA Executive Committee (since 2007), he was probably best known to many within and outside the ICA as editor of the ICA News, the official newsletter of the ICA. For his many notable contributions to the ICA, he received the Diploma for Outstanding Services to the ICA in 2017.

In 2017, Igor received the ICA Diploma for Outstanding Services from then-president Menno-Jan Kraak.

His passion for cartography started with his master studies in geography and cartography at the University of Warsaw, and it continued after he settled with his wife Iwona in New Zealand while pursuing a master’s of science degree at the University of Auckland on “Visualization of Uncertainty in Spatial Data”. His research and work experience included professional positions in academia, industry, public administration and most recently libraries and learning services. He was the responsible curator of cartographic and geographic resources of the University of Auckland Library, then latterly curator, Cartographic and Geospatial Collections at the Alexander Turnbull Library, housed within the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington.

Igor was instrumental in the success of the New Zealand Cartographic Society (NZCS). He was a member since 1989 and a life member since 2011; president from 2013 to 2018; NZCS’s (as national member) liaison to the International Cartographic Association (ICA); and director of the biennial New Zealand national cartographic conference, GeoCart, since 2001.

Igor Drecki at GeoCart 2022

Despite his impressive professional record and accomplishments, Igor was “authentic”. He had strong opinions and was ready to stand up for them; he was passionate about cartography and maps; and was a staunch advocate for cartography. But more than this, he was a person who could relate to others. He was interested to learn, discuss, exchange as well as interrelate, give, serve, help, and contribute. This was certainly true for his colleagues and his family, but also for those of us who considered Igor a friend. He was a noble man at heart.

We will miss you, Igor.

Aileen Buckley, Anthony Moore, Dusan Petrovic, Georg Gartner

Registration is open for GeoCart’2022

GeoCart'2022

Kia ora!

The New Zealand Cartographic Society is proud to announce that registration is now open for GeoCart’2022, Aotearoa New Zealand’s 10th National Cartographic Conference. The event will convene in Wellington from 24-26 August at the fantastic facilities of the Tiakiwai Conference Centre in the National Library of New Zealand. The theme this year is Uncharted Frontiers: Cartographic Innovation and Discovery.

GeoCart’2022 aims to bring together a wide cross-section of professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts engaged in cartography, map curatorship and research, geovisualisation, and GIScience. Participants will hear about the latest developments and research, learn about current and upcoming projects and products, network with their counterparts in the greater community, and develop a deeper understanding of cartography and mapping.

To celebrate its landmark 10th anniversary, GeoCart’2022 will feature commemorative presentations and a special book, collating the best papers as reviewed by an international scientific programme committee, to be published in Springer’s Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography series. Research and professional presentation abstracts will be published in the GeoCart’2022 Proceedings as part of the CartoPRESS Occasional Publication series.

We warmly invite you to join us in Wellington for this exciting and inspiring event!

All information about abstract submissions and registration can be found on the conference website: cartography.org.nz/geocart2022

We also invite you to stay in Wellington and attend the New Zealand Geospatial Research Conference (NZGRC 2022), to be held at Massey University from 29-30 August.

Category: Member News
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