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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: [email protected]
5 March 2001
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