Showing posts with label EuroGeographics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EuroGeographics. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

New Chairman for EuroGeographics’ network of cadastre and land registry specialists

EuroGeographics has announced that Julius Ernst from Austria’s Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying is the new Chair of its Cadastre & Land Registry Knowledge Exchange Network (C&LR KEN). Mr Ernst succeeds Professor Bengt Kjelsson who has become Director General of The Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authority.

The C&LR KEN is one of five knowledge exchange networks within the Association for National Cadastral, Land Registry and Mapping Authorities. Its members are working to provide state-of-the-art services for the diverse range of users in property and land information markets. These include policy makers and those from the environmental, housing, transportation, agriculture and tourism sectors. The group, which also comprises members from the National Survey and Cadastre, Denmark; National Land Survey of Finland; Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland; and Cadastre and Land Registry Agency, The Netherlands, works closely with a wide range of related organisations such as the EU Permanent Committee on Cadastre (PCC), the European Land Registry Association (ELRA) and the European Land Information Service (EULIS).

“More than half of EuroGeographics’ members are responsible for developing and maintaining national cadastres and land registers ,” says Mr Ernst. “These are an integral part of both national and international spatial data infrastructures and a vital component of the European Location Framework, forming the backbone of land administration and the property market by providing the link between financial, legal, environmental, land use, valuation, agricultural and zoning information.”

“Accurate and authoritative information about the cadastral parcel and the legal rights and restrictions on land and property are vital to the vitality of the European economy. Providing secure access to all relevant information and transactions in electronic form, in one place, online is increasingly important to financial institutions, the legal profession and investors. Our members recognise the crucial role they play in providing reliable land and property information, facilitating a vibrant property market for individuals and investors and upholding the rights of citizens across Europe to have their assets securely registered.”

EuroGeographics’ knowledge exchange networks, which also focus on business interoperability; European policy; quality; and implementation of the INSPIRE Directive, bring together experts from its member organisations to share best practice, exchange experiences and discuss the day-to-day issues facing all national cadastral, land registry and mapping authorities. GI professionals can contribute to these debates by registering at www.eurogeoforum.eu, an online resource for facilitating the exchange of views and information.

For further information please contact:

Dave Lovell
EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director
+32 2 888 71 93, +32 848 663 345 (mobile)
email: dave.lovell@eurogeographics.org;

Patricia Sokacova
EuroGeographics‘ Membership and Communication Manager
+421 903 056 418/+421 948 388 908
email: patricia.sokacova@eurogeographics.org; or

Rhian French
+44 1264 338375, +447892 698 350 (mobile)
email: press@eurogeographics.org.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

EuroGeographics' members give seal of approval to INPO status at annual General Assembly

EuroGeographics’ members have given their approval to its new status as an international not-for-profit organisation (INPO) under Belgian Law at the 2011 General Assembly.

The vote to officially wind up the French Association and adopt the new status ensures a solid foundation for future activities that will benefit policy and decision makers, data users and members alike.

“We are delighted that our members have endorsed this change,” says EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell. “We now represent 56 national mapping, land registry and cadastral agencies from 45 countries right across Europe, consolidating our position as the European voice for geographic information.

“Our structure and aim remain to achieve interoperability of members’ national land and geographic data to provide an information asset supporting Europe’s goal of becoming the most competitive and sustainable economy in the world. The extensive reach and expertise of our membership is crucial in delivering the European Location Framework to achieve this.”

The 2011 General Assembly, which was held in Belfast from 17 to 19 October and focused on quality information for the digital agenda, was hosted by Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. It was attended by 130 delegates drawn from members of EuroGeographics, its strategic partners and key players in the GI industry. In addition the Association was delighted to welcome delegates from the Republic of Azerbaijan State Committee on Property Issues who expressed a wish to become a member. Keynote speakers included representatives from the European Commission, Eurostat, GMES Bureau and EuroSDR.

The 2011 General Assembly appointed six new Management Board members and elected Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Director General, National Geographic Institute, Belgium as President.

Ingrid Vanden Berghe told delegates that users require a trustworthy source of quality assured information, with national mapping, land registry, cadastral and other government agencies having a key part to play in providing this reference data.

Mrs Vanden Berghe said: “Linking data to a common, maintained European Location Framework, built upon definitive, reliable public sector reference data, will bring a host of benefits for a wide range of users.”

Commenting on her appointment as President of EuroGeographics, Ingrid added: “It is a great privilege to represent so many highly-skilled and knowledgeable GI professionals who are committed to ensuring that reliable, high quality geospatial information for Europe is readily available and accessible to users.

“I look forward to meeting as many of them as possible in the coming year as we work together to deliver the definitive location framework for Europe.”

For further information please contact EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell, on +32 2 888 71 93, +32 848 663 345 (mobile), email: dave.lovell@eurogeographics.org; Patricia Sokacova, EuroGeographics‘ Membership and Communication Manager on +421 903 056 418/+421 948 388 908, email: patricia.sokacova@eurogeographics.org; or Rhian French on +44 1264 338375, +447892 698 350 (mobile), email: press@eurogeographics.org.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

EuroGeographics Announces Major Market Study Into Pan-European Geospatial Information

EuroGeographics has appointed ConsultingWhere to conduct an in-depth market study into the pan-European geospatial information market.

The results will not only provide EuroGeographics’ 56 members with invaluable marketing intelligence but will also help shape the Association’s future strategy.

“There have been few studies focusing directly on the geospatial product market across Europe,” says Sallie White, EuroGeographics’ Business Operations Manager. “We are delighted to be working with the experts from ConsultingWhere, who have extensive experience in maximising the value of location information. By gaining an insight into the market’s future direction and growth, EuroGeographics and its members can continue to serve data users by developing products, services and licensing terms that meet their on-going needs and aspirations.”

ConsultingWhere, an independent IT consultancy specialising in providing strategic information technology and business advice, was selected after a competitive tender and will deliver its final report by the end of February 2012.

Andy Coote, Chief Executive of ConsultingWhere adds: “There is tremendous potential growth in the market for location information but it is also highly competitive. We are looking forward to providing EuroGeographics with high quality analysis of the market opportunities and challenges.”

For further information please contact:
EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell, on +32 2 888 71 93, +32 848 663 345 (mobile), email: dave.lovell@eurogeographics.org; Patricia Sokacova, EuroGeographics‘ Membership and Communication Manager on +421 903 056 418/+421 948 388 908, email: patricia.sokacova@eurogeographics.org; or Rhian French on +44 1264 338375, +447892 698 350 (mobile), email: press@eurogeographics.org.

ConsultingWhere’s Chief Executive Andrew Coote, on +44 1923 291000, email: andrew.coote@consultingwhere.com, and twitter: @acoote

EuroGeographics
EuroGeographics is a not-for-profit organisation and the membership association for the European national mapping, land registry and cadastral agencies. It currently brings together 56 members from 44 countries. EuroGeographics’ members are developing an infrastructure to integrate their national data – including topographic and land information – to deliver the definitive pan-European location framework for a wide range of uses.

By sharing best practice and creating standard data specifications and policies, EuroGeographics aims to ensure that members’ individual geographical databases are compatible and can interact with one another. This will provide Europe with the high quality geographical information it needs to develop policies and legislation for the environment, business competitiveness, public services, legal systems, security and more.

Visit EuroGeographics’ website at: www.eurogeographics.org

ConsultingWhere
ConsultingWhere provides expert advice to organisations to help them maximise the value of information. The organisation has particular expertise in the area of location-based information. It undertakes assignments for Governments, blue chip commercial companies and public sector organisations. Its recent customers include the European Union (INSPIRE programme), Land Information New Zealand, SIBA (Australia), Ordnance Survey and ESRI inc.

For further information, visit: www.consultingwhere.com

Thursday, September 29, 2011

OGC and EuroGeographics cooperate to advance European Spatial Data Infrastructure

OGC and EuroGeographics cooperate to advance European Spatial Data Infrastructure

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and EuroGeographics recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote interoperability through open standards to benefit the European geospatial community. The two organisations both seek to promote compatible, standards-based Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) from the local to global level, and the OGC is positioned to help EuroGeographics support a broad range of European stakeholders responding to Europe's INSPIRE Directive.

Both organisations will work cooperatively on outreach and communications to raise the awareness, acceptance, and implementation of open standards and related educational programs and best practices. This will include activities such as participation in international webinars; publishing papers on implementations; documenting Return on Investment; and examination and discussion of legal and policy issues associated with the use of spatial information and associated technologies. The two organisations will also work to identify, plan and convene joint workshops, conference sessions and symposia.

In addition, EuroGeographics and the OGC will seek funding and in-kind resources to advance joint OGC testbeds, pilot projects, and interoperability experiments, with a focus on advancing the European Location Framework.

"As an international standards organisation, OGC recognises the importance of regional requirements for interoperability," said Mark Reichardt, President and CEO of the OGC.

"This partnership will help OGC better understand and address the interoperability challenges facing leading mapping, land registry and cadastre organisations across Europe as they work to provide timely, accurate and useful geospatial information in support of a range of local to international challenges."

"With technology driving geographical information into the mainstream, the development of SDIs to underpin services is crucial and this partnership will play an important role in maximising the use and benefits of the authoritative, definitive and high quality data provided by our members,” commented EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell.

“It builds upon a well established and productive relationship between the two organisations, most recently seen in an interoperability experiment built on the ESDIN project’s best practice which demonstrated that Shibboleth, which is open source software based on open standards, can be used to set up secure geospatial services that comply with the INSPIRE Directive and OGC standards."

EuroGeographics

EuroGeographics is a not-for-profit organization and the membership association for the European national mapping, land registry and cadastral agencies. It currently brings together 56 members from 44 countries. EuroGeographics‘ members are developing an infrastructure to integrate their national data – including topographic and land information – to deliver the definitive pan-European location framework for a wide range of uses.

By sharing best practice and creating standard data specifications and policies, EuroGeographics aims to ensure that members’ individual geographical databases are compatible and can interact with one another. This will provide Europe with the high quality geographical information it needs to develop policies and legislation for the environment, business competitiveness, public services, legal systems, security and more.

Visit EuroGeographics‘ website at: http://www.eurogeographics.org