About EUGEO
Background The EUGEO initiative was first conceived in January 1994, at a meeting in Rome organised by the Italian Geographical Society. The idea was to encourage and enhance greater collaboration between the independent scholarly European Geographical Societies, associations and institutes, each of whom had a community of geographical members from a region or nation in the EU. The initial objectives discussed in 1994 were for EUGEO to improve communication and exchange of ideas between member institutions and to act as a lobbying body for geography in Europe, to act to improve synchronisation of geographical research at a Pan-European level, and to identify new scientific and educational responsibilities for geography within Europe so as to position geography more fully within the centre of the European debate. Between 1994 and 1996 the statutes were drafted and agreed and in Paris in December 1996 the first meeting of the Board of Directors and the first General Assembly took place, with representatives from each of the founding Societies. The history of EUGEO is summarised in an article by A. Montanari and H. Nicolai as part of the Special Issue of Belgeo produced for the 30th IGC (Geography in Europe) EUGEO Activities Activities in the years since its formation have focused on one or two Board and Assembly meetings per year to exchange information about member society activities and to plan forthcoming EUGEO activities. Current members of EUGEO and their independent publications and other activities, such as national and international conferences, are summarised on this website, with direct weblinks to members' sites. In addition to acting as a forum for member societies, EUGEO activities have concentrated mainly on dissemination and sharing of knowledge by means of publishing and conferences. With regard to publishing, the key activities include the production of a text on the geography of Europe, and a volume of papers (Special Edition of Belgeo for the 30th IGC) on the position of geography in the various nations of Europe that are reproduced on this website under Geography in Europe. With regard to conferences, EUGEO members have participated in, for example, 'The Role of Geographical Societies in the 21st Century' in Paris 2000, organised by the Société Géographie together with Unesco and the IGU; in the celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Société Royale Belge de Géographie; in the 2003 RGS-IBG Annual International Conference in London; and at the IGU Congress in Glasgow, 2004. Forthcoming conferences include, amongst others, the Royal Dutch Geographical Society (KNAG) joint conference with EUGEO planned for 2007, which aims to be the start of two-yearly EUGEO European Geography Conferences held jointly with EUGEO member societies on Europe-centred themes. The current officers of EUGEO are: President: Professor Christian Vandermotten |