Eliezer Batista, patron of the International Year of Global Understanding, passed away on June 18 at the Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. From the very beginning of the IYGU process, Eliezer Batista was a very supportive patron of the International Year, especially in the Latin American context, but also beyond. Besides serving several Brazilian [...]
IGU COMMISSION ON AFRICAN STUDIES INAUGURAL CONFERENCE, 17-18 MAY 2018, UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA, NAMBIA The IGU Commission on African Studies held its inaugural conference on 17-18 May 2018 at the University of Namibia, Namibia. The conference, whose theme was: What is Africa’s response on global challenges: Understanding drivers of poverty and reducing inequality?, was a [...]
In 2017, both the IGU and the International Association of Geomorphologists agreed to establish a joint Commission/Working Group to give effect to the Memorandum of Understanding that both organisations signed at the 33rd IGC in Beijing in August 2016. The first meeting of the new body was held at the University of Vienna (ahead of [...]
UNESCO honours the discipline of Geography with a Chair in Global Understanding for Sustainability. It will form part of worldwide network of over 700 UNESCO chairs to support the teaching and research goals of the world cultural organization. The social geographer Prof. Benno Werlen, will hold the chair at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). [...]
Professor Iain Hay (left) pictured with Professor Mike Meadows, from the University of Cape Town, at La Forêt Montmorency, the research forest of Université Laval, Canada, during a field trip associated with the Executive Committee meetings of the International Geographical Union last year. IGU Vice-President and Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Geography, Iain Hay, has [...]
A version of a comprehensive study of the German population on the perception of geography as a school subject, as a science, and on the job market, has now been published in English in the journal Erdkunde. According to the findings of the study, the perception of geography - both that of the school subject [...]
Closing ceremony of the International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) presents record of success and looks towards lasting future. Jena (Germany, 21.11.17) All individuals have the potential to change the world through their actions. To achieve this, however, they need to understand their own lives in a global context. This is the thought underlying the [...]
The IGU and the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a collaborative relationship between the global community of Geography professionals and the Open Source Geospatial community. The goal of this agreement is to promote the distribution and use of open geo-data in research, teaching and applications, promote [...]
On Thursday 26th October, the joint meeting of the International Social Science Council and the International Council for Science at a joint meeting in Taipei, took the momentous decision to merge into a single dynamic organisation to take science forward in an evolving global context. A merger of the International Council for Science (ICSU) [...]
IGU President Yukio Himiyama and Secretary-General Mike Meadows represent the IGU at the General Assemblies of the International Science Council and the International Social Science Council held in Taipei from 21st to 26th October 2018. The main item of discussion is the proposed merger between ICSU and ISSC which, since IGU is a member of [...]
