The 25th annual edition of the International Festival of Geography was held at the beginning of October at its customary home in the French town of St Die des Voges.  IGU was represented by Past President Ron Abler and First Vice-President Dieter Soyez.  During the event Professor Anne Buttimer – also a Past IGU President was awarded the prestigious Vautrin-Lud Prize, which is referred to as the ‘Nobel Prize of Geography’.  Previous winners have included academic luminaries such as David Harvey, Sir Peter Hall and Yi-Fu Tuan.