News in 2023
|
Global Surveyors Day: FIG President Diane Dumashie invited by FGF
to attend the 2023 Global Surveyors’ celebrations in Paris
21 March, 2023, Order of Expert Surveyors Regional office, Paris, France
2023 nominated Global Surveyors Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre
Méchain
FGF President Marc Vanderschueren (The Federation of French Speaking
Surveyors) invited FIG President Diane Dumashie to attend the 2023
celebration of Global Surveyors Day held in Paris. To mark 2023
Global Surveyors Day, FGF nominated two French mathematicians and
astronomers, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre (1749- 1822)astronomer,
historian, and geodesist and Pierre François André Méchain (1744- 1804).
|
FGF President Marc Vanderschueren, FIG President Diane
Dumashie, CLGE President Vladimir Krupa
|
Paris engineering icon Eifel Tower
|
The celebration event was kindly coordinated by FGF who also
collaborated with the Liaison Committee
of European Surveyors (CLGE) and FIG.
It was organized and held at the Regional
Council of the Order of Expert Surveyors of Paris (OGE- Paris) in
partnership with the two French professional organizations: the Order
of Expert Surveyors (OGE) and the
Francophone
Association of Topography (AFT).
Global Surveyors Day is an annual celebration to bring global
recognition to the pioneers, individuals and industry who shaped the
history of Earth measurement and who continue to be the foundation of
the surveying community.
It is important that we reflect together in recognition of those whose
shoulders we stand upon; because measurement is the foundation upon
which our broad family of surveyor practices in land administration,
land management and land governance has emerged. The global surveyors
day compliments the work of the FIG Permanent International Institution
for the History of Surveying and Measurement. Where the members
continue to work tirelessly to document the history of our profession.
We are all well aware that the issues of land administration and
management are in the heart of the global 2030 agenda in terms of the
sustainable development goals. And we as the professionals in the land,
built environment and natural environment have a responsibility to
respond to this global agenda and to contribute to improving the living
conditions in our societies. So in the context of our reflections
on the 21st march 2023, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Delambre and Pierre
François André Méchain are amongst the worthy pioneers with noteworthy
contributions perhaps popularly remembered for their work as the
inventors of the metric system.
Impressively, the day was formatted to include a small gathering in
Paris involving the presenters, local surveyors and overseas guests as
well as outreaching in different time zones, importantly organized in 2
sessions to ensure global participation. The first one at 8:00 am CET
(essentially for the audience of the Asia-Pacific regions and Europe,)
and the second one at 8:00 pm CET (for the audience of the Middle and
Near East, Africa, Europe, South America and North America and Caribbean
regions).
Presenters left to right: Jean-François Dalbin , Diane Dumashie,
Françoise Duquenne (at front), Bertrand Juompan (at rear), Bernard
Flacelière (at rear) , Marc Vanderschueren
The 1.5 hour program opened with welcome remarks from
President Marc Vanderschueren and FIG President Diane Dumashie
followed by well-articulated and impactful presentations. These
highlighted the historical context of Delambre & Méchain and their
expedition stories complimenting the technical detail of measurements
and, calculations. Above all to bring a current day perspective of
the impact on our work and global topics, we also heard about past and
present resistance to the metric system. And, nicely leveraging on the
parallel celebration of Women’s History month, (March) we heard and
celebrate; Therese, Elizabeth and the Invisible Wise Women in the lives
of our nominated Surveyors. Definitely a call to us to
identifying, from the past and celebrating other pioneering and path
maker women in our profession.
Rounding off nicely the event, closing statements were made by Vladimir
Krupa, President of the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE)
Joseph Pascual, President of the Higher Council of the Order of
Surveyors and Françoise Duquenne, President of the Association
francophone de topographie (AFT).
Supper to celebrate Global surveyors day with colleagues who contribute
so much to the survey profession
It was a great day meeting to celebrate surveyors day from our past
history but also a celebration to meet with current members of our own
surveyor network who contribute so much.
The day is increasingly becoming a recognition of surveyors in the past
from around the world. FIG is pleased to support and
acknowledges CLGE for initiating this annual event starting over a
decade ago, originally as a European surveyor celebration it is now
reaching out and identifying impactful surveyors from across the world.
In 2022, the second Global Surveyor of the Year, after Johann Carl
Friedrich Gauss in 2021.
The call to action is for all FIG member associations is to identify the
legacies of their own national surveyors and to bring their names to the
fore for both global surveyors day and documenting in the FIG permanent
institution.
The detailed programme is available here:
Global Surveyor's Day 2023 -
Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (clge.eu)
Video communications are now available on the FGF website.
Read more about Global Surveyors
Day celebrations
Diane Dumashie
4 April 2023
