2017 FIG commission 7 and 9 annual meetings and Congress in Cartagena Colombia

From the 4th to the 8th of December 2017, the International Federation of Surveyors (or FIG in French), held the annual meetings of Commission 7 and Commission 9 in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The president of the organising committee was Dr Daniel Paez, a LEI Land Specialist based at our headquarters in Wollongong. LEI was a main sponsor of the event.

Commission 7 of FIG focussed on Cadastre and Land Administration issues while the Commission 9 main topic was property valuation and management of real estate. In addition to both chairs of these commissions – Ms Gerda Schennach and Mr Steve Nystrom – keynote speakers of the event included Dr Jorge Muñoz, Practice Manager of the Global Land and Geospatial Unit at the World Bank, and the head of the Colombian mapping agency (IGAC) Mr Juan Nieto.

The main conclusions from the event were the need for surveyors to adapt faster to changes in the profession as new technologies emerge. There is also the need for land administration practitioners to learn more about project financing opportunities as a trend across the world is appearing where the private sector is likely to play a vital role in the future of land tenure security with the expansion of public-private partnerships.

All presentations and more conclusions from the event can be found at www.fig717.net.

At LEI, we consider it fundamental to support the involvement of all surveying professionals in the overarching factors that affect land administration across the world. As we did in this event, we have been participating and supporting FIG events and initiative for many, so there is connectivity between academia, private and public actors in those critical issues that affect land tenure security, particularly in developing countries.