24th FIG General Assembly, Seoul 2001
Appendices



Appendix to item 9.4

Report for the 24th General Assembly
FIG Working Week in Seoul, 6-11 May 2001

COMMISSION 4 - HYDROGRAPHY

FIG Working Week in Prague, Czech Republic

There was no Commission 4 session in the Technical Program for the Prague Working week, and only a few Commission 4 delegates were in attendance. Nevertheless, the Commission Chairman met with some national delegates to Commission 4 on an informal basis to discuss the activities of the Commission and to get guidance on the future direction of the Commission. Jerry Mills, national delegate from the United States, suggested that the Commission should build stronger links with the various national Hydrographic Societies throughout the world. This suggestion will be pursued over the coming months.

In addition, Commission 4 did sponsor a paper on Quality Management in the Technical Session devoted to Standards and Quality.

The chairman also met with Wilfried Schleider, national delegate from Germany, to discuss the work of the Technical Assistance Co-ordinating Committee (TACC); and the Chairman on the Task Force on Sustainable Development to discuss the input from Commission 4 to the draft paper.

The Mediterranean Surveyor in the new Millennium Conference

The Commission sponsored a session at "The Mediterranean Surveyor in the New Millennium" Conference that was held in Malta from September 18-21, 2000. The session included presentations covering topics from determining national tidal datums to the operations of the local hydrographic authority in Malta. The session was followed by an informal forum during which delegates discussed topics of general interest to the hydrographic surveying community.

Following the workshop, the Conference delegates were provided an excellent tour of the hydrographic facilities in Malta which included a very interesting presentation on a new harbour development project for ferries.

FIG/IHO International Advisory Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors

The 23rd Meeting of the Advisory Board was held at the Hydrographic Office of Chile in Valparaíso, from 12 to 18 April 2000. It was hosted by the Chilean Hydrographer. This Board has two primary responsibilities: the development and updating of the Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and the recognition of courses given by educational institutions that meet these Standards. The Board also produces a publication of the standards, which is currently in its 8th edition.

At the meeting in Valparaiso, the The Board decided to award recognition to the course provided by the University of Southern Mississippi-Navoceano (USA) at Category A and Options 1 and 5. The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Course for Naval Officers of the Chilian Hydrographic Office was also awarded Class A, Oprtions 1 and 2. The Harbour and Coastal Management Course addressed to Harbour and Coastal Surveyors of the IMA (Trieste, Italy) attained Category B, Option 2 recognition.

The Board considered the re-structuring of the Standards, as decided in the preceding meeting. It was confirmed that the three definitions of the Level of Knowledge will be amended to be in accordance with Bloom's taxonomy and that the definitions of the syllabus matters should be re-drafted using active verbs. The change of the Level of Knowledge (present item 2.4 of the Standards) will be promulgated through letters to be addressed to the courses to be submitted in 2001. The second step will consist of re-structuring the text of each item of the syllabus, adapting it to clearly define the task that a student must be able to achieve in each matter.

The Advisory Board accepted the task of developing standards of competence for nautical cartographers. For this purpose, the Board felt necessary to increase its membership with 2 other members, who must have the adequate nautical cartographic background. The task of drafting the "Standards for Nautical Cartographers" will begin after the new group is formed.

The next meeting of the Board will be held in Trieste, Italy from May 3-9, 2001.

FIG/IHO Technical Assistance Co-ordinating Committee

The Committee was unable to meet during the year. Preliminary discussions are underway for the time and place of the next meeting.


Dennis St. Jacques
Chair of FIG Commission 4 (Hydrography)
Email: stjacquesd@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

5 March 2001



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