International Cartographic Association
Commission on Cartography and Children

Newsletter

October, 2003

(Download the doc version here)

1. Report on South Africa, August, 2003.

The Commission met at the Chief Directorate of Surveys and Mapping (the National Mapping Organisation for South Africa) in Cape Town on 7 and 8 August, 2003. Informal papers were presented by Jackie Anderson, Lorraine Innes, Brian Engel, David Owen, Ana Maria Garra, Elza Passini, Evi Michaelidou, Reinhard Herzig and Patrick Wiegand. We reviewed, in collaboration with a number of South African colleagues, a selection of maps and atlases for children. We also gained a great deal from a presentation by Lorraine Innes and Brian Engel on the excellent MapAware project. Our thanks are due to the Chief Director, Derek Clarke, for making the facilities available, including a most interesting guided tour of the national mapping organisation. We are especially grateful to Lorraine Innes for organising the conference and arranging transport and accommodation.

Each of the above colleagues also presented papers at the main ICA General Assembly in Durban. These paper sessions were very well attended by delegates.

At the General Assembly, Dr Patrick Wiegand was elected as Chair of the Commission succeeding Dr Jackie Anderson.

Patrick's email is:
P.A.Wiegand@education.leeds.ac.uk

Dr Jesús Reyes is vice Chair. Jesús' email is:
jesus@ludens.elte.hu

Ramon Lorenzo is the Commission's liaison with the ICA executive.

2. Jackie Anderson.

On the Commission's behalf I would like to acknowledge the important role Jackie Anderson has played in the Commission over the last eight years. Jackie was founder member of the Commission and has chaired it since its inception as a working group from 1995. She has made a very significant contribution towards raising the profile of the Commission in the ICA and has made phenomenal efforts to guarantee a flow of quality conferences and publications. No-one has worked harder in keeping the Commission active and we have very much appreciated her leadership. Thanks are also due to Henry Castner who has served as vice-chair. We have greatly valued his wisdom and experience in our discussions. We hope, of course, that both Jackie and Henry will continue to participate fully in the Commission's activities.

3. Terms of Reference 2003-2007.

The commission aims, internationally, to:

* promote the use and enjoyment of maps by children and young people;
* increase understanding of children and young people's engagement with maps.
* raise the standard of maps and atlases produced for children and young people;

In 2003-2007 it will further these aims by:

1. disseminating the outcomes of research into map use by children and young people (deliverable: an enhanced set of online bibliographic research tools)
2. developing stronger links between the ICA and relevant international educational organisations (deliverable: a joint international conference with the Commission for Geography Education of the International Geographical Union)
3. stimulating a debate on design and realisation of maps and atlases for children (deliverable: a collection of papers on case studies in educational cartography)
4. promoting the use of digital cartography and GIS in schools (deliverable: an international conference and associated publication)
5. providing consultative support to the ICA executive in relation to the rules and judging of the Barbara Petchenik Children's World Map Competition (deliverable: appropriate support as required)

4. Cartography and Children Commission meeting, Glasgow 2004

The 30th World Conference of the International Geographical Union (IGU) will be held in Glasgow, August 15-20, 2004. The Commission on Geographical Education (CGE) will have a Pre-Conference August 11-15. Part of the pre-conference programme will be arranged in association with the Cartography and Children Commission (CCC) of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). This provides an excellent opportunity for dialogue between geography educators and cartographers with interests in mapping for children.

The theme of the Pre-Conference is Expanding Horizons in a Shrinking World.

An exciting programme of lectures, paper & poster sessions will be organised, as well as two one-day excursions on August 11th and 12th. One of these is to the West Highlands, including visits to magnificent landscapes, a power station inside a mountain, a fish farm and a whisky distillery. The second is to Central and East Central Scotland, including visits to a unique boat lift between two canals, the famous Forth bridges, attractive coastal fishing villages and a major Scottish castle.

Venue: University of Strathclyde in Scotland's largest city, Glasgow.

Call for papers and posters for the Pre-Conference on the following themes:

§ International issues in geographical education
§ Global development and political boundaries post 11/09/2001
§ Citizenship education
§ Children's perception of place and space
§ Children and maps (this part of the programme in association with the Cartography and Children Commission of the International Cartographic Association).

Papers are invited on any aspect of cartography in relation to children and young people but papers on the following themes are especially welcomed:

* Children and young people's use of digital cartography and GIS
* Children, maps and the internet
* Research and development in educational cartography (the design and realisation of maps and atlases for schools)

Deadline for abstracts is 31 December 2003.
Full papers by April 30, 2004.
For further details of accommodation, costs and programme, etc. contact Alastair Robinson, 23 Cawdor Crescent, BISHOPTON, PA7 5DX, UK or by e-mail: h.a.robinson@strath.ac.uk
See web site for details: http://www.IGU-CGEGLASGOW2004.ORG

Details of the full IGU World Congress are available from: http://www.meetingmakers.co.uk/IGC-UK2004

The theme of the main congress is "One Earth - Many Worlds". Within the main theme there will be the following sub-themes:

• Geography and Sustainability
• Environmental Innovation
• Global Trends - Local Challenges
• Resource and Hazard Management
• Environmental Sensitivity
• Communication and Diversity
• Implications of the Knowledge Economy

5. A Coruna, Spain, 2005.

The ICA International Cartographic Conference 2005 will be held in A Coruna, Spain. Ramon Lorenzo (the CCC executive liaison) is chairman of the Spanish Organizing Committee. The dates selected are July 9-16, 2005. The conference venue's website is: www.icc2005.org

There will be a Cartography and Children Commission conference just before or after the main conference.

Our Commission's local contact in A Coruna is Pilar Sánchez-Ortiz Rodriguez.

6. Moscow, 2007.

The next ICA General Assembly will be held in Moscow in 2007.

7. Commission website.

We are in the process of moving the Commission's website from Canada to Hungary. I will email again when the website is once more fully operational.

Dr Patrick Wiegand
School of Education
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT
UK