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Minutes of the Council Meeting, Reno, 30 April-2 May 2006
Attendees President: Ian Dowman (ID) Secretary General: Orhan Altan (OA) Congress Director: Chen Jun (CJ) First Vice President: John Trinder (JT) Second Vice President: Emmanuel Baltsavias (EB) Treasurer: Stanley Morain (SM)
In attendance for items 9. Financial Affairs and 10. Foundation Foundation Operation Officer Lawrence Fritz (LF)), Amelia Budge (AB)
1. Opening 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Review of Previous Council Meeting in Enschede 3.1. Approval of Minutes 3.2. Matters arising from the Minutes not covered in the Agenda 4. Policy Matters 4.1. Headquarters 4.2. Statutes and Bylaws 4.3. Changes in subscriptions 4.4. Future Structure of the Council 5. Review of Technical Commission Activities 5.1. Symposia 5.2. Working Groups 6. Congress 6.1. Congress Plans 6.2. Resolutions 6.3. Awards, Awards Brochure 7. ISPRS Membership 7.1. Report on status of Ordinary, Associate, sustaining and Regional Members 7.2. Status of defaulting Members 7.3. Recruitment 8. ISPRS Publications 8.1. Journal 8.2. ISPRS Bulletin HIGHLIGHTS, GIM Page 8.3. Archives 8.4. Book series 8.5. Home Page 8.6. Orange Book 8.7. Silver Book 8.8. Blue Book, Database 8.9. Brochures, Video, Booklet and Banner 8.10. Green Book 9. Financial Affairs 9.1. Report of Treasurer 9.2. Science initiatives 10. Foundation 11. ISPRS Committees 11.1. ISAC 11.2. IPAC 11.3. CIPA 11.4. ICORSE 11.5. Ad hoc Committee on Standards 12. Relations with International and other Organizations 12.1. Africa - Reports from Meetings attended - Capacity Building in Africa - Summer School in Addis - AARSE Conference, Cairo 12.2. Middle East and India - Map Middle East - Map World Forum 12.3. Americas - Report from PAIGH - Meetings in Chile 12.4. Asia Pacific - Report from SOPAC 12.5. Joint Board 12.6. United Nations 12.7. ICSU 12.8. CEOS 12.9. GEO 12.10. COSPAR 12.11. IEEE-GRSS 12.12. Others 13. Forthcoming Meetings 14. Reports from Council 15. Review of Decisions and Actions on Council 16. Other Business 17. Next Council Meeting 18. Close
MINUTES
1. Opening ID opened the meeting, noting that this would be one of the important meetings of the four-year period, and expressed hope for a fruitful exchange of ideas. He thanked SM and ASPRS for hosting the meeting. 2. Approval of Agenda The agenda was revised to add minor items. The revised agenda is that given above. 3. Review of Previous Council Meeting in Enschede 3.1 Approval of Minutes OA reviewed the minutes and they were accepted without change. 3.2 Matters arising from the Minutes not covered in the Agenda OA drew the attention of Council to Action Items which were decided in previous meetings and listed in item 15 of the CM Enschede Minutes. 4. Policy Matters 4.1 Headquarters Council discussed the paper prepared by OA and JT about the future management of Headquarters. After discussions the following decisions were taken;
4.2 Statutes and Bylaws Council discussed the proposed changes prepared by LF on behalf of the Ad-hoc Committee on the number of ISPRS Honorary Members, and it was agreed to increase the number of Honorary Members and accept the recommendations in the document, 4.3 Changes in subscriptions Considering that the management of the Society requires more financial support than previously, and that the subscriptions have not been raised since 1996, Council decided to propose to increase the subscription rates in 2008. 4.4 Future Structure of the Council Council discussed the issue of lower participation rates of countries from Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia in ISPRS Committees and especially in the Council, and whether Council should introduce Regional Representatives on Council from these 3 regions. This would lead to an increase in the size of Council. Council also discussed the increased interest of professional congress organizers from different countries in running future ISPRS congresses. It agreed to discuss the following possibilities at a Council meeting at Symposia when the majority of Council is in attendance, and also with representatives of Ordinary Members;
5 Reviews of Technical Commission Activities 5.1 Symposia OA presented a detailed report about the symposium preparations compiled from details from the TCs and the possible dates of the Board Meetings. 5.2 Working Groups OA presented a detailed report about the Working Groups' activities and drew Council's attention to inactive WGs, which were not planning to organize a meeting or had not established the appropriate information on their WebPages. 6 Congress 6.1 Congress Plans CJ gave a detailed report and presentation on the Congress preparations since the last CM and the JM in Enschede in September 2005. CJ also presented a timetable for the abstract evaluation and handling system and expressed the concerns of the Scientific Committee Members over the double blind review requirements of some TCPs. Council members gave their comments on this issue. CJ also gave a presentation about the Congress Book with 32 chapters showing all major application areas and Council questioned whether it would not be wiser to concentrate on major developments. Council advised CJ that the project 'Determination of the Length of Great Wall by Photogrammetric Methods' can be used for pre conference publicity. Council also advised CJ to prepare some suggestions on Congress Products for sale at the Congress. 6.2 Resolutions Council discussed the proposal prepared by JT on the Resolutions Procedure before and during the Congress. The proposal is based on the observation that the current practice is too time consuming and unnecessary. The recommended procedure is based on Commissions submitting a limited number of resolutions at the congress that describe new developments in Commission activities that are not covered by the ToRs of the Commissions given in Bylaw XIII.2. It was also recommended that a Press Release be prepared for distribution after the Congress, derived from the Congress Resolutions and the very significant technical developments in the Commercial Exhibit. 6.3 Awards, Awards Brochure The newly printed Awards Brochure was distributed at the meeting and the timetable for actions.
7 ISPRS Membership 7.1Report on status of Ordinary, Associate, Sustaining and Regional Members OA reported on the status of ISPRS Members as shown on the table Current Status of Active Members;
7.2 Status of Defaulting Members Council discussed the status of defaulting members and also the situation of Members in arrears.
7.3 Recruitment OA gave the following list of new members Associate Members: 1. Chinese-Taipei Geoinformatics Society, Chinese-Taipei (Cat 1-20015) Sustaining Member: 1. Fac. of Geodesy, Univ. of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, Bulgaria (Cat E-40085) 2. ITU Centre for Satellite Communications and Remote Sensing, Turkey (Cat E-40086) 3. METU, Department of Geodetic and Geographic Information Technologies, Turkey (Cat E-40087) 4. INTA SPACETURK INC, Turkey (Cat C-40088) 5. GEOMETRAL, Tecnicas de Medição e Informática, AS, Portugal (Cat C-40089) 6. Infoterra GmbH, Germany (Cat C-40090) 7. GIS Center of Dubai Municipality, United Arab Emirates (Cat C-40091)
Ordinary Members: 1. Geoinformation Society of Nigeria (GEOSON) (Cat 3-10068), (the previous Ordinary Member from Nigeria was expelled at the General Assembly in 2004), has applied to become the Ordinary Member (Cat 1) from Nigeria. Vote Ballots were sent to the Members for their decisions final date 17 of June 2006.. All Council members welcomed these new Members and thanked OA for his efforts in recruiting them. OA also pointed out that the meetings of ASPRS, FIG, Japanese Society, the Photogrammetric Week and ICA could be potential places for recruiting new members. SM said the greatest potential lies in the groups of the StMs and AssMs. Council discussed a paper prepared by ID, including the possibility of granting membership of ISPRS in some regions by virtue of their membership of Regional Members, thus providing these members with further advantages. The benefits of Associate Membership were also discussed as well as individual membership.
8 ISPRS Publications 8.1Journal Based on the report of ISPRS Journal Editor-in Chief, OA gave a presentation on the status of the Journal and pointed out that the Journal is now recovering slowly but steadily from the situation which it was facing one year ago, caused by the health problems of the previous Editor-in Chief. OA gave a report on the status of the offer of free subscriptions to the Journal and questioned whether the free subscriptions will continue in 2007. 8.2 ISPRS Bulletin Highlights, GIM Page OA gave a detailed report on the preparations of the electronic version of ISPRS eBulletin, ISPRS Highlights, and pointed out that the last month's collaboration with GITC had not progressed with the same level of satisfaction as in the past. He hoped this was caused by the personnel changes at the publisher, but problems are continuing. Since the promised mock-up for e-Highlights by the beginning of January has still not been sent. The responsibility table for the ISPRS Page in GIM International was discussed and the table for this year's contributions was decided. 8.3 Archives OA reported on the situation of publishing Archives and also the collaboration of ISPRS event organizers with the Headquarters (HQ), the Webmaster, GITC and ITC. It was noted that many volumes of the proceedings (Digital or Hardcopy) are missing at the HQ and on the online proceedings page of ISPRS Website. 8.4 Book series Council discussed the report of Book Series Editor Paul Aplin, and noted that and questioned whether T&F are willing to produce so many books as noted in the report. 8.5 Home Page OA reported that the Webmaster Fabio Remondino wants to resign from the position. He pointed out that ETH-Z lies on a good node of data highways with good access from the entire world so, it is advantageous for the Society to have the Webpage in ETH-Z, 8.6 Orange Book OA explained that the latest version of the Orange Book is on the Website and he will not produce a printed version of it in near future. 8.7 Silver Book OA explained that the newly printed Silver Book was distributed in May 2005 and he is not going to publish another one. 8.8 Blue Book, Database OA explained that the newly printed Blue Book was distributed in September 2005 and he is going to publish another one in early 2007. He mentioned that the database is an essential tool for the management of the Society and Rachel Peled is continuously updating the program according new needs. 8.9 Brochures, Video, Booklet and Banner OA showed the newly printed ISPRS Brochures, which will be distributed at this year's Symposia and other ISPRS events. He mentioned that 5000 copies had been printed with financial contribution from ISPRS funds. He mentioned that he will produce a lighter weight banner. OA gave a report on the ISPRS Booklet, which will be printed on a high quality paper with full color pages. Gerhard Kemper is working on it with JT. He hopes to finalize it by midsummer. The ISPRS Video was noted as a good advertisement tool for the Society and the Profession. ISPRS Council recognized that its successful completion at a very low cost compared with other similar publications, is largely due to the producer Gerhard Kemper. 8.10 Green Book Council was reminded of the requirement for them to revise and extend the Green Book.
9 Financial Affairs 9.1 Report of Treasurer SM presented his report which is attached. SM noted the change of people responsible for the ISPRS accounts at UBS in Zurich and reported that the change had resulted is a less responsive attitude at UBS, he hoped to overcome this by visiting UBS on a suitable occasion. CHF100, 000 had been transferred to the Foundation. The funds had come from transfer of investments The budget was discussed and it was noted that Council members need to keep SM up to date on their budgeted travel expenses. A close watch needs to be kept on expenditure if the desired outcome of a deficit on no more that CHF50,000 in 2008 was to be met. Council also discussed whether travel support from other sources should be entered into the accounts. It was decided that this was not desirable, but that the Treasurer would be informed of support, and that he should keep a record of such income. SM reported that he had appointed a new firm of accountants: Atkinson and Co, in Albuquerque. It was noted that no income had been received from GITC for sale of Archives. ID and OA would raise this with GITC at the meeting in Enschede. SM was asked to produce a single balance sheet which showed all ISPRS assets. SM and AB are to find out whether ISPRS could receive funds from credit card payments. 9.2 Science initiatives It was noted that some funds budgeted for Science Initiatives had been allocated by Council for Activities in Africa. Council agreed however that a call for proposals would send a message to Members that ISPRS was supporting such initiatives. It was decided that this could be done most effectively through the WGs, rather than through an open call for proposals. 10 Foundation LF was invited to attend the meeting to discuss the developments in the Foundation. LF and JT reported on recent developments on the ISPRS Foundation. These included: § The establishment of the CHF bank account, making possible the transfer of the donation from ISPRS § A trustees meeting to held on Wednesday 5 July 2006, during the Commission I Symposium. § The allocation of Foundation grants to attend the Symposia in the May-June period The meeting agreed on membership of the Grants from Foundation Committee, Marketing and Publicity Committee and the Audit Committee. Council also discussed the following items:
11 ISPRS Committees 11.2 ISAC The current situation of the Committee was discussed. It was decided that Mustafa Önder from Turkey should be invited as the new member of the Committee. 11.3 IPAC There were no major items discussed on this item. 11.4 CIPA OA reported on the next CIPA events and the intention of Petros Patias to resign from the CIPA Presidency. 11.5 ICORSE Council noted the good contribution of the TCs VII&TCVIII to the preparation of ICORSE meetings. However there is a lack of interest from the ICORSE side in the events of the TCs. These TCPs are represented on the Technical Committee for the next ISRSE in Costa Rica in 2007. Ad hoc Committee on Standards No further action of this Committee was reported
12 Relations with International and other Organizations 12.2 Africa ID reported that he had attended the Africa GIS Conference with EB and also attended the FIG Regional Meeting in Accra. Both had been very useful and good contacts made. A main topic of discussion had been capacity building and Council discussed a paper from ID on this topic. It was agreed that this initiative should continue and that Council would: 1. Support the current activity and funding arrangements related to GEO. 2. Encourage WGs to continue their activities with GEO. 3. Discuss development and support for activities initiated by WG VI/3 4. Increase communication between ISPRS and African members through: a. An African Newsletter sent to members and others identified through contacts in Africa. b. Articles and information on ISPRS activities in relevant publications such as EIS Africa and GSDI Africa Newsletter. c. Attendance and organisation of sessions and workshops at conferences. d. Council also agreed to make proposals for further capacity building through JBGIS which: 1. take the initiative in developing university links, starting with discussions with ITC on the GI net. 2. look for opportunities to set up regional meetings in Africa with members of the Societies represented on the Board. 3. discuss initiative on Capacity Building with NMOs. 4. explore greater involvement with ICSU to develop inter disciplinary activities. Council discussed the proposed Summer School in Addis Ababa, which EB was organising and noted problems in acquiring financial support. It was decided that EB, with the support of Council would continue to look for collaborators and funding sources. Council agreed that CHF5000 could be made available and a further CHF5000 should be requested from the Foundation. Council should also look for alternatives possibilities for training in Africa, maybe through the Special Interest Group, Technology Transfer Caravan. This should be discussed at the TC VI Symposium. ID reported that ISPRS was sponsoring the AARSE Conference in Cairo and would organize sessions on Capacity Building and Small Satellites, and a workshop on data fusion. 12.3 Middle East and India Council noted a report from ID on the Map Middle East Conference and the proposed Map World Forum (MWF). Council agreed to ISPRS sponsorship of and agreed to ID having further discussion with GIS Development and the JBGIS on the nature of our participation. 12.4 Americas - Report from PAIGH JT attended the meeting of the Cartography Committee of PAIGH during the PAIGH General Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela from 16-18 November 2005. A separate report has been provided. A summary of conclusions from the meeting are: - Improving our contacts in Latin America would be greatly assisted by developing contacts with the Cartographic Commission. The Commission is certainly anxious and willing to collaborate. Some possible suggestions that can be considered to improve our communication were included in the report, including participate in the proposed jointly sponsored meeting in 2007 in the region. The suggested location is Chile. - Meeting in Chile As referred to above, ISPRS has been invited by the SG of PAIGH to collaborate with them in holding a joint conference in 2007 in Chile. JT has been requested by ID to act as the contact person. It was noted that the fees from PAIGH had not been received for 2005. ID would write to PAIGH about this and also suggest PAIGH collaboration with ICORSE at ISRSE in Costa Rica. 12.5 Asia Pacific JT attended the annual meeting of SOPAC in Suva Fiji from 23-25 November 2005. Separate report has been provided. A number of actions were suggested and these have been followed up with the appropriate groups in ISPRS. 12.6 Joint Board ID reported that the next Joint Board Meeting will be during the TC II meeting in Vienna on Tuesday the 11 of July 2006. 12.7 United Nations Council noted that OA had attended the meeting of the Science and Technology Sub Committee of UN COPUOS in Vienna, and that JT would attend the Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia Pacific in Bangkok in September. 12.8 ICSU ID and OA reported about the ICSU General Assembly in November 2005 in Suzhou (China) the formation of Geo-Unions group, which ISPRS also belong. Among the scientific programs of ICSU, ISPRS is contributing to the project "IPY" with the project "Identification and Dissemination of Historical Data and Derived Products of the Polar Regions" led by Beate Csatho and Tony Schenk. 12.9 CEOS Following a report from ID Council decided that GEO had a higher priority than CEOS for ISPRS, and that ISPRS should not be represented at the Plenary in Buenos Aires in November. TC and WGs should continue activities in the CEOS Working Groups as appropriate. 12.10 GEO ID presented a paper on GEO and Council decided to the following: 1. We continue involvement in GEO and representation at the GEO plenary. 2. We continue current Committee representation on the basis of correspondence with travel to meetings only if the cost is low cost and the meeting is considered to be advantageous to ISPRS, with funding as agreed previously. We should also look at our representation and decide if this is optimum for ISPRS. 3. We continue to encourage involvement in the GEO tasks and ask representatives to report to the next JM so that their activity can be reviewed with TCPs. 4. Council should concentrate efforts on Capacity Building and work with the TCPs and other organisations, particularly IEEE and OOSA, to organise workshops, training and sessions at other conferences. This should be discussed at the TCVI Board Meeting. 5. Council should consider allocating funds for the activities in 4. 6. GEO activities should be included in the Congress. This should be discussed at the JM in Goa. 7. Council should reassess ISPRS involvement in CEOS, and this should be discussed at the relevant Commission Board Meetings. 12.11 COSPAR It was noted that the COSPAR plenary would be held in Beijing in August and that Chen Jun would represent ISPRS. 12.12 IEEE-GRSS ID reported the good cooperation with IEEE GRSS over GEOSS. 12.13 Others ID reported that he had compiled a list for OA of all ISPRS representatives to other organizations
13 Forthcoming Meetings A prepared list is discussed
14 Reports from Council Reports of the Council Members on their activities since the previous CM were presented. 15 Review of Decisions and Actions on Council A list of Actions from the previous period was discussed and reviewed. . 16 Other Business There were no other items to be discussed and ID thanked the Council Members for their contributions and reminded them of the very urgent business matters arising from this meeting. 18. Next Council Meeting Next Council Meeting will be 3-4 of October 2006 in Goa. OA noted that for the next time there will be no hardcopy files for the CM except Pres and SG and every item will be distributed digitally at the CM. 19. Close ID thanked Stan Morain on behalf of Council for his hospitality in Reno and mentioned that it was well worth being in Reno at the ASPRS meeting, and certainly the arrangements for the Council meeting were very satisfactory, and he had also provided excellent extra curricula activities. ID also thanked Marilyn Morain and Amelia Budge for their contributions. Council at the ISPRS booth during the ASPRS Conference in Reno.
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