The International Cartographic Association (ICA), French Association Cartographique Internationale (ACI), is an organization formed of national member organizations, to provide a forum for issues and techniques in cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

. The International Cartographic Association is the world authoritative body for cartography, the discipline dealing with the conception, production, dissemination and study of maps. The ICA was founded on June 9, 1959, in Bern, Switzerland. The first General Assembly was held in Paris in 1961. The mission of the International Cartographic Association is to promote the discipline and profession of Cartography and GIScience in an international context.

The International Cartographic Association exists:
• to contribute to the understanding and solution of world-wide problems through the use of cartography in decision-making processes.
• to foster the international dissemination of environmental, economic, social and spatial information through mapping.
• to provide a global forum for discussion of the role and status of cartography.
• to facilitate the transfer of new cartographic technology and knowledge between nations, especially to the developing nations.
• to carry out or to promote multi-national cartographic research in order to solve scientific and applied problems.
• to enhance cartographic education in the broadest sense through publications, seminars and conferences.
• to promote the use of professional and technical standards in cartography.
The Association works with national and international governmental and commercial bodies and with other international scientific societies to achieve these aims.
(Adopted by the 10th General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association, Barcelona, Spain, 3 September 1995.)

Since its foundation in Bern in 1959 it has met biennially. English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 are the official languages.

President

ICA's first president was Professor Eduard Imhof, Switzerland, 1961-1964.
Previous Presidents have been:
1964-1968 Brig. Dennis Thackwell, United Kingdom.
1968-1972 Professor Konstantin Salichtchev, USSR.
1972-1976 Professor Arthur H. Robinson, USA.
1976-1984 Professor Ferdinand Ormeling, The Netherlands.
1984-1987 Professor Joel Morrison, USA.
1987-1995 Professor Fraser Taylor, Canada
.1995-1999 Dr Michael Wood OBE, United Kingdom.
1999-2003 Professor Bengt Rystedt, Sweden.
2003-2007 Professor Milan Konecny, Czech Republic.
2007-2011 Professor William Cartwright, Australia

The current President is Professor Georg Gartner of Austria.

Commissions

To coordinate international cartographic work Commissions and Working Groups have been established. These are chaired by experts in a specific field of cartography and comprise members from the international Cartography and GIScience community.

Commissions

• Commission on Cartography and Children
• Commission on Digital Technologies in Cartographic Heritage
• Commission on Education and Training
• Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation
• Commission on Geospatial Analysis and Modeling
• Commission on Geospatial Data Standards
• Commission on Geovisualization
• Commission on the History of Cartography
• Commission on Management and Economics of Map Production
• Commission on Mapping from Satellite Imagery
• Commission on Map Projections
• Commission on Maps and Graphics for the Blind and the Partially Sighted
• Commission on Maps and the Internet
  Commission on Maps and the Internet
  The Maps and the Internet Commission of the International Cartographic Association was created in 1999 as one of the standing commissions of the International Cartographic Association. The ICA is the world authoritative body for cartography, the discipline dealing with the conception, production,...
  
  
• Commission on Maps and Society
• Commission on Marine Cartography
• Commission on Mountain Cartography
• Commission on National and Regional Atlases
• Commission on Planetary Cartography
• Commission on Theoretical Cartography
• Commission on Ubiquitous Mapping
• Commission on Underrepresented Groups and Cartography
• Commission on Use and User Issues

Working groups

• Working Group on Art and Cartography
• Working Group on Cartography on Early Warning and Crisis Management
• Working Group on GIS and Sustainable Development
• Working Group on Mapping Africa for Africa
• Working Group on Open Data Access and Intellectual Property Rights
• Working Group on Tourist Cartography