News in 2020
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It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the
cancellation of this year’s FIG Working Week in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, due 10-14 May 2020. This cancellation will also
have the effect that the General Assembly that should have taken
place as part of the Working Week is also cancelled. |
This is not a decision we have taken lightly and there are two overriding concerns that have caused us to make this decision at this time.
First, the Dutch Government announced new measurements to control the COVID-19 outbreak. In the Netherlands all gatherings are prohibited until 1 June.
Second, our primary concern is always the wellbeing of you, and we would not take on the responsibility, during these times, to bring so many surveyors from all over the world together.
Options to postpone the Working Week and General Assembly to August 2020 have been considered by the Steering Committee but were finally discarded due to several uncertainties; amongst others the current travel restrictions to the European Union (Schengen-area) due to COVID-19. And for the moment, the Dutch embassies do not issue visas and we do not know how long this situation will last.
FIG Council has decided to cancel the General Assembly 2020. There will be no General Assembly at all in 2020.
Nevertheless, the agenda for the General Assembly 2020 has been published and is shared with all members.
Please have a look at the agenda.
With the agenda, we are sharing our thoughts on what should have taken
place during the General Assembly and also the reports on activities
throughout the past year. We hope that you will take time to go through
the agenda and the reports.
The cancellation means that there will be no elections this year. Council has decided to postpone the election of two new Vice presidents and the venue 2024 to the next General Assembly in Accra, Ghana, 24 and 28 May 2021.
As two new Vice Presidents should have been elected and their term was supposed to start 1.1.2021, council has decided that the current council will continue until the General Assembly in May in Ghana. When the two new Vice Presidents have been elected their term of office will start immediately hereafter and the current Vice Presidents will step down.
All other agenda items that should have been adopted by the General Assembly will also be moved to 2021.
Should you have comments to the agenda you are welcome to write to us.
FIG Council, FIG Office and the Dutch Local Organisers of the Working Week 2020 are working on the details and consequences of the cancellation, and we will get back to you with more information.
Finally, our thoughts and thanks go especially towards our local organisers from the Netherlands. The large and efficient local organising committee with Paula Dijkstra competently in the lead as co-conference director have put uncountable hours, creative thoughts, many actions in the preparations for this Working Week and which until a few weeks ago were summing excitedly with the final preparations. The COVID-19 virus stopped this.
On behalf of FIG Council,
Rudolf Staiger, President and Louise Friis-Hansen, Director
Louise Friis-Hansen
27 March 2020
