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.[1] 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.[2]
Leadership
Presidents
The first president, Eduard Imhof of Switzerland was heavily involved in founding the association.[3]
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.[4]
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 in Early Warning and Crisis Management
Commission on Cognitive Issues in Geographic Information Visualization
Commission on Education and Training
Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation
Commission on Geospatial Analysis and Modeling
Commission on Geospatial Semantics
Commission on GI and Sustainability
Commission on History of Cartography
Commission on Location Based Services
Commission on Map Design
Commission on Map Production and Geoinformation Management
Commission on Map Projections
Commission on Maps and Graphics for Blind and Partially Sighted People
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.[7]
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.[8]
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.[10]
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.[11]
Publications
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ICA offers a number of publications.[12]
Its official journal is the International Journal of Cartography (print ISSN2372-9333; online ISSN2372-9341),
published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of ICA.[13]
It also has three affiliated journals:[12]
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