# International Cartographic Association

The International Cartographic Association (ICA) (French: Association Cartographique Internationale, ACI) is an organization formed of national member organizations, to provide a forum for issues and techniques in cartography and geographic information science (GIScience). ICA was founded on June 9, 1959, in Bern, Switzerland. The first General Assembly was held in Paris in 1961. The mission of the International Cartographic Association is to promote the disciplines and professions of cartography and GIScience in an international context. To achieve these aims, the ICA works with national and international governmental and commercial bodies, and with other international scientific societies.

## Leadership
### Presidents

The first president, Eduard Imhof of Switzerland was heavily involved in founding the association.
| Term | President | From country |
| 2023- | Georg Gartner (de) | Austria |
| 2019-2023 | Tim Trainor | United States |
| 2015-2019 | Menno-Jan Kraak | Netherlands |
| 2011-2015 | Georg Gartner (de) | Austria |
| 2007-2011 | William Cartwright | Australia |
| 2003-2007 | Milan Konečný (cs) | Czech Republic |
| 1999-2003 | Bengt Rystedt (sv) | Sweden |
| 1995-1999 | Michael Wood | United Kingdom |
| 1987-1995 | D. R. Fraser Taylor | Canada |
| 1984-1987 | Joel Morrison | United States |
| 1976-1984 | Ferdinand Jan Ormeling Sr. | Netherlands |
| 1972-1976 | Arthur H. Robinson | United States |
| 1968-1972 | Konstantin Salichtchev (ru) | Soviet Union |
| 1964-1968 | Denys Thackwell | United Kingdom |
| 1961-1964 | Eduard Imhof | Switzerland |

### Secretaries-General and Treasurers

The Secretary-General and Treasurer is responsible for the administration and the general running of the Association.
| Term | Name | Nationality |
| 2019-... | Thomas Schulz | Switzerland |
| 2011-2019 | László Zentai | Hungary |
| 2007-2011 | David Fairbairn | United Kingdom |
| 1999-2007 | Ferjan Ormeling Jr. | Netherlands |
| 1991-1999 | Jean-Philippe Grélot | France |
| 1984-1991 | Donald T. Pearce | Australia |
| 1976-1984 | Olof W. Hedbom | Sweden |
| 1968-1976 | Ferdinand Jan Ormeling Sr. | Netherlands |
| 1961-1964 | Erwin Gigas | West Germany |

### Executive committee

On 20 July 2019 member nations elected the new Executive Committee (EC) of the ICA for the 2019–2023 term. New ICA president is Tim Trainor.

## Commissions

To coordinate international cartographic work Commissions and Working Groups have been established. These are chaired by experts in a specific field of cartography and comprise members from the international Cartography and GIScience community.
* Commission on Art and Cartography
* Commission on Atlases
* Commission on Cartographic Heritage into the Digital
* Commission on Cartography and Children
* Commission on Cartography and Sustainable Development
* Commission on Cartography in Early Warning and Crisis Management
* Commission on Cognitive Issues in Geographic Information Visualization
* Commission on Digital Transformation of National Mapping Agencies
* Commission on Education and Training
* Commission on Ethics in Cartography
* Commission on GeoAI
* Commission on Geospatial Analysis and Modeling
* Commission on Geospatial Data Analytics
* Commission on Geospatial Semantics and Ontology
* Commission on Geovisualization
* Commission on High-Definition Maps
* Commission on Integrated Geospatial Information for Cartography
* Commission on Location Based Services
* Commission on Map Design
* Commission on Map Projections
* Commission on Maps and the Internet
* Commission on Marine Cartography
* Commission on Mountain Cartography
* Commission on Multi-scale Cartography
* Commission on Topographic Mapping
* Commission on Toponymy
* Commission on Ubiquitous Mapping
* Commission on User Experience

## Members

ICA allows two types of memberships:
* Affiliate members are organisations, institutions or companies wishing to support the mission and activities of ICA.
* National members are national organizations dealing with cartography or geoinformation, such as national mapping agencies.
* Algeria: Institut National de Cartographie et de Télédétection
* Argentina: Instituto Geográfico Nacional
* Australia: Mapping Sciences Institute
* Austria: Austrian Cartographic Commission
* Belgium: Belgian Sub-Committee of Cartography and GIS
* Benin: Association Béninoise de Cartographie et de l'Information Géographique
* Botswana: Department of Surveys and Mapping
* Brazil: Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia
* Bulgaria: Bulgarian Cartographic Association
* Canada: Canadian Institute of Geomatics
* Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar
* China: Chinese Society of Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
* China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Hong Kong Committee for ICA
* Colombia: Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi
* Croatia: Croatian Cartographic Society
* Cuba: Grupo Empresial GeoCuba
* Cyprus: Department of Lands and Surveys
* Czech Republic: Czech Cartographic Society
* Denmark: Geoforum Danmark
* Ecuador: Instituto Geografico Militar
* Estonia: Estonian Geoinformatics Society
* Finland: Cartographic Society of Finland
* France: Comité Français de Cartographie
* Georgia: Department of Geography, Tbilisi State University
* Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kartographie
* Greece: Hellenic Cartographic Society
* Hungary: Hungarian Society of Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing
* India: Survey of India
* Indonesia: Bakosurtanal
* Iran: National Cartographic Center
* Ireland: Ordnance Survey Ireland
* Israel: Israeli Society for Cartography and GIS
* Italy: Associazione Italiana di Cartografia
* Japan: National Committee for Cartography
* Jordan: Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre
* Kazakhstan: Uzbekov Umirzak
* Kenya: Survey of Kenya
* Korea: Korean Cartographic Association
* Latvia: Latvian Geospatial Information Agency
* Lithuania: Lithuanian Cartographic Society
* Macedonia: Agency of Real Estate Cadastre
* Madagascar: Foiben-Taosarintanin'i Madagasikara
* Malaysia: Department of Surveying and Mapping
* Mexico: National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)
* Mongolia: Administration of Land affairs, Geodesy and Cartography
* Montenegro: Association of Geodesists of Montenegro, Branch of Cartography
* Morocco: Agence Nationale de la Conservation Foncière, du Cadastre et de la Cartographie
* Mozambique: Centro Nacional de Cartografia e Teledetecção (CENACARTA)
* Netherlands: Geo-Informatie Nederland
* New Zealand: New Zealand Cartographic Society Inc
* Nigeria: Nigerian Cartographic Association
* Norway: GeoForum
* Pakistan: Survey of Pakistan
* Poland: Instytut Geodezji i Kartografii
* Portugal: Directorate-General for Territorial Development
* Romania: Asociația Română de Cartografie / geo-spatial.org
* Russia: Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr)
* Serbia: Serbian Association of Cartographers
* Slovakia: Cartographic Society of the Slovak Republic
* Slovenia: Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering
* South Africa: South African National Committee for the ICA
* Spain: Sociedad Española de Cartografía, Fotogrametría y Teledetección
* Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Survey Department
* Sweden: Kartografiska Sällskapet
* Switzerland: Swiss Society of Cartography
* Tanzania: Cartographic Association of Tanzania
* Thailand: Royal Thai Survey Department
* Trinidad and Tobago: Ministry of Land and Marine Resources
* Turkey: Harita Genel Komutanligi
* Ukraine: State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre
* United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: British Cartographic Society
* U.S.: U.S. National Committee for ICA
* Uruguay: Servicio Geográfico Militar

## Conferences

International Cartographic Conferences (ICC) take place every second year in one of the member countries. At every second conference (every fourth year) it hosts the General Assembly of the ICA.

### ICC Conferences

* 2023: Cape Town, South Africa
* 2021: Florence, Italy
* 2019: Tokyo, Japan
* 2017: Washington D.C., United States
* 2015: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* 2013: Dresden, Germany
* 2011: Paris, France
* 2009: Santiago de Chile, Chile
* 2007: Moscow, Russia
* 2005: A Coruña, Spain
* 2003: Durban, South Africa
* 2001: Beijing, China
* 1999: Ottawa, Canada
* 1997: Stockholm, Sweden
* 1995: Barcelona, Spain
* 1993: Cologne, Germany
* 1991: Bournemouth, United Kingdom
* 1989: Budapest, Hungary
* 1987: Morelia, Mexico
* 1984: Perth, Australia
* 1982: Warsaw, Poland
* 1980: Tokyo, Japan
* 1978: College Park (Maryland), United States
* 1976: Moscow, Soviet Union
* 1974: Madrid, Spain
* 1972: Ottawa, Canada
* 1970: Stresa, Italy
* 1968: Delhi, India
* 1967: Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1964: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
* 1962: Frankfurt am Main, West Germany
* 1961: Paris, France

## Awards
### Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal

The Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal honours cartographers of outstanding merit who have made significant contributions of an original nature to the field of cartography. It is awarded only on rare occasions. The award is named after the Swedish cartographer, Carl Mannerfelt, who in 1981 won the prize named after him.

#### Recipients

| Name | Nationality | Year |
| Cynthia Brewer | United States | 2023 |
| D. R. Fraser Taylor | Canada | 2013 |
| Ferjan Ormeling Jr. | The Netherlands | 2009 |
| Jack Dangermond | United States of America | 2007 |
| David Rhind | United Kingdom | 2005 |
| Ernst Spiess | Switzerland | 2005 |
| Chen Shupeng | China | 2001 |
| Joel L. Morrison | United States of America | 2001 |
| Jacques Bertin | France | 1999 |
| Ferdinand Jan Ormeling Sr. | The Netherlands | 1987 |
| Carl Mannerfelt | Sweden | 1981 |
| Arthur H. Robinson | United States of America | 1980 |
| Konstantin A. Salichtchev | Soviet Union | 1980 |
| Eduard Imhof | Switzerland | 1979–1980 |

### ICA Honorary Fellowship

The ICA Honorary Fellowship is for cartographers of international reputation who have made special contribution to the ICA. It includes a bronze medal.

### ICA Map Awards at the International Map Exhibition

At the biennial International Map Exhibitions at the ICC an international jury selects the best entries.

### Barbara Petchenik International Children Map Design Competition

This competition is organized every two years at the ICC. In a national round in all participating ICA member countries, the national winners are selected, which are exhibited during the International Cartographic Conference, where the international winners are selected.

## Publications

ICA offers a number of publications. Its official journal is the International Journal of Cartography (print ISSN 2372-9333; online ISSN 2372-9341), published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of ICA. It also has three affiliated journals:
* The Cartographic Journal
* Cartographica
* Cartography and Geographic Information Science