IGU Country Membership. Yu reported that the IGU lists 97 countries as members, including new regular members Armenia and Azerbaijan. The committee noted the 2008 Tunis general assembly's decision that country dues arrears incurred prior to 2004 are to be forgiven, but that the collection of arrears for 2004 and subsequent years is to be vigorously pursued. The secretary general and treasurer will adjust the arrears accounts accordingly.
Developing Countries Membership. Abler reviewed prior IGU efforts to assist countries that have difficulties paying their IGU country dues to maintain their memberships in IGU. Although individual country delegates often floated promises of financial assistance during the last decade, only Ireland actually transmitted funds to the IGU to pay the dues of a number of countries in Africa. From 2000-2008 a variety of assistance mechanisms were discussed within the executive committee, but none were brought into operation. Creating a pool of funds to be allocated to countries needing assistance avoids the patron-client overtones of direct assistance from well off to individual needy countries, but it requires the establishment of criteria for eligibility that may be complicated. Moreover, assistance with country dues should be supplemented by support for participation in IGU conferences and congresses where needed; there seems only marginal value in maintaining a country's membership in the IGU if nobody from that country can participatie in IGU meetings and especially in general assemblies. The committee agreed that whatever other priorities for IGU emerged from its ongoing discussion, broadening participation in IGU affairs beyond the recent and current dominance by well-off countries should rank high among the IGU's goals for the next four years.
IGU Finance. The committee reviewed the IGU's financial accounts for 1992 through 2007, focusing especially on the 2001-2007 period. The IGU realized a small surplus ($3,768) in 2007. As of 31 December 2007, the IGU's cash balance stood at $119,184, less than one year's average operating expense. Since 1999, the IGU's cash position has decreased by $84,000. Treasurer Yu and the committee agreed that in accord with instructions given the executive committee at the last two general assemblies and the committee's concern for the sustained financial health of the IGU, revenues must be increased, operating costs must be reduced, or, ideally, both.
Corporate Membership. As was noted by Netherlands representative Ton Dietz in the August 2008 general assembly in Tunis, the IGU has not yet enrolled any corporate members although the 2004 general assembly in Glasgow changed the IGU Statutes to authorize the admission of members in that category. The members of the executive committee agreed to identify prospective corporate members in their respective countries and to report on their efforts at the next executive committee meeting. A committee led by Dietz with Abler, Kellerman, and Yu will work on implementing corporate memberships.
Villa Celimontana-Home of Geography. Bellezza presented and overview of the proposal for future operations of the Villa Celimontana-Home of Geography in Rome submitted by the Italian Geographical Society. The committee noted that while the program was ambitious and potentially productive, sustainable funding for Home of Geography operations remains elusive. Abler summarized the history of establishment and subsequent operations of the Home of Geography, noting that IGU financial support for the Home of Geography from 2001 through 2007 totaled $115,000, a substantial share of the deterioration in the IGU's cash position since 1999. Kellerman spoke to the value of the venue for meetings, which met with unanimous agreement from the other members of the committee. Kolossove noted the usefulness of the Home of Geography web site and the IGU E-Newsletter. Yu and others noted, however, that the Home of Geography has derived no revenue from its laudable role in hosting meetings of commissions and other groups. Yu reiterated his considered opinion that the IGU could not afford to sustain Home of Geography operations given its limited resources. If the Italian Geographical Society finds sustainable funding from Italian or other sources for most of the Home's budget, the IGU could make a modest annual contribution to its continuatio, but more than that is not possible.
Upon a motion by Löytönen seconded by Fincher, the committee voted (eight in favor, three opposed) to cease funding for the Home of Geography after the current commitment of $15,000 is remitted. Abler will convey the decision to the Italian members of the Villa Celimontana Committee, the Home of Geography governing body.
A related matter arose with respect to the propriety of having a member of the IGU Executive Committee serve simultaneously as Director of the Home of Geography. Alhough the committee took no formal vote on the question, the consensus of the committee was that such simultaneous service raises conflict of interest questions and muddles lines of authority, inasmuch as the Director reports to the Villa Celimontana Committee, three of whose members are members of the IGU Executive Committee. The IGU Executive Committee thus stands indirectly as employer of the Home of Geography Director, making it inappropriate for the same individual to act simultaneously as employer and employee.
Cultures and Civilizations for Human Development/United Nations International Year. Kolossov summarized a recent memorandum from Benno Werlen of the University of Jena regarding progress in the program to establish a United Nations Year of International Global Understanding (UNIY), the continuation of the IGU Cultures and Civilizations for Human Development (CCHD) initiative launched in 2005 by then IGU President Adalberto Vallega. Werlen has obtained funding for UNIY Secretariat operations at Jena for one year and has been vigorously consulting relevant groups and organizations regarding the structure of the effort. The committee applauded Werlen's leadership and the progress achieved to date. Abler will convey the committee's appreciation to Werlen. The committee noted, however, the Anglo-European composition of the project's current steering committee and agreed that the steering committee must be broadened to include members from the rest of the world. Yu volunteered to help identify appropriate candidates from Asia and Alcántara-Ayala agreed to nominate suitable individuals from Latin America.
Publications. Abler reported slow progress on reducing the backlog in the publication of the arrears issues of the IGU Bulletin; two volumes are ready for printing but three remain in various stages of preparation. He will engage at his own expense an editor to accelerate the work as it is clear that his own pace has been glacial to date.
Executive Assistant Sarah Kim reported that the IGU Secretariat is preparing an updated brochure for the 2008-2012 period, which should be printed in a month or two. A committee member suggested that the pdf file for the brochure be posted on the IGU web site, along with the pdf of prior brochures.
Geographical Journal Evaluation Project. Netherlands delegate Ton Dietz proposed at the Tunis IGU General Assembly that the IGU undertake a project to publicize and assess the geographical journals similar to the scheme he initiated when he was Director of CERES, the Research School for Resource Studies for Development in the Netherlands. The committee agreed that such a program could be beneficial for the IGU and for geographers throughout the world. The project could also be used to engage IGU national committees if it asked national committees to identify the journals that should be included in the compendium. First steps toward formulating the project would be to link the IGU web site to the CERES site (http://ceres.fss.uu.nl/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,7/) and to individual geographical journals. Dietz volunteered to assist in formulating a journals valuing project, and Alcántara-Ayala, Kellerman, Meadows, Qin, and Soyez volunteered to form, with Dietz, an implementation committee to outline the project for further consideration by the executive committee at its next meeting in May 2009.
Geographical Olympiads. Abler reviewed for the committee the recommendation of the Tunis general assembly that the organizing committees of future IGU conferences and congresses budget $5,000 for partial support of Geographical Olympiads to be held at their meetings. The item will be included in the Congress and Conference Memorandum of Agreement template that is in preparation to clarify the responsibilities of local organizing committees.
Geography Festivals. Bellezza reported that there has been no action for more than one year on the agreement between IGU and the Festival International de Géographie (FIG) to promote annual geography festivals in other countries for more than one year. Bellezza will continue his efforts to arouse interest in geography festivals in countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean.
Geoparks Taskforce. The committee reviewed the decision made by the IGU Executive Committee at its August 2008 meeting in Tunis, Tunisia that the 2004-2008 IGU Geoparks Task Force continue as a task force rather than a commission, as had been requested by the task force chairperson. IGU Task Forces are primarily action or programmatic bodies whereas IGU Commissions are primarily research groups. The committee agreed that the Geoparks group should continue as a task force through the 2008-2012 period, especially given its approval as such by the IGU General Assembly in Tunis. Abler will inform the task force chairperson of the committee's reaffirmation of the decision.
Regional Networks. Committee members presented brief oral reports on individual regional networks. Kolossov has continued Glazovsky's efforts to reanimate participation in the IGU by former Soviet Republics, resulting in greater interest among those countries and in Azerbaijan becoming again an active IGU member. Alcántara-Ayala will undertake liaison with the Latin America network in place of Palacio-Prieto. The Pacific group established at the Brisbane Regional Conference in 2006 has held two meetings of East Asian young scholars. Yu will seek more information on the group's programs. Bellezza will maintain contact with the nascent European network as part of his liaison responsibilities with HERODOT. Each will prepare an update for the next meeting of the executive committee.
Mediterranean Renaissance Program (MRP). The MRP will focus in the future on four topics: Environmental Change, Tourism, Migration, and the Information Society. The network held its first meeting in Cairo in 2006. Chairperson Ashour has scheduled a second meeting at the Home of Geography in Rome for January 2009 and asked for a special allocation of $2,000 to help defray the cost of lodging for the meeting. The committee approved the request, with the recommendation that some portion of the meeting be devoted to identifying non-IGU sources of funding for the network's meetings and programs. As much as the executive committee wishes otherwise, IGU cannot regularly fund commission and regional network meetings and programs at any significant level. The token funding IGU can provide for such events is appropriately viewed as a hunting license that enables organizers to report that the IGU is providing some support in their requests to other sources for the major funding they need.
Commissions and Task Foirces. The commissions and task forces renewed or established by the Tunis General Assembly are now launching their programs for the 2008-2012 period. Accordingly, it is too soon for the executive committee to undertake any evaluation of their activities. Commission and task force review procedures will be discussed at the next executive committee meeting in May 2009 in order to acquaint the members new to the committee with past practices. In the meantime, the secretariat will place the 2004 and 2008 four-year reports submitted by commissions and task forces on the Vula web site so they may be consulted by new executive committee members.
Commission on the Geopolitics of Sub-Alternate Knowledge. The president and the secretariat received recently a proposal from a member of the national committee of Peru to establish an IGU Commission on the Geopolitics of Sub-Alternate Knowledge. The committee reviewed the proposal and noted several variances from the provisions in the IGU Statutes governing commissions. Abler will contact the author of the proposal and request a resubmission for consideration by the executive committee at its next meeting.
Statutes Corrections. Soyez called the committee's attention to an inconsistency in the terminology used for IGU Congresses in the French version of the IGU Statutes. Section IX of the French version will be revised to read Congrès International de Géographie consistently.