International Cartographic Association ICA

an international association of cartographers that promotes the development of cartographic science and map-making, conducts and coordinates cartographic research requiring cooperation among scientists from many countries, and organizes international conferences, symposia, and exhibitions to discuss important cartographic problems and to publicize the latest advances in the field. The ICA holds international conferences every two years. It has organized commissions and work groups to study such problems as automation in cartography, thematic cartography, cartographic education, and terminology.

The ICA was founded in 1961, although proposals to create such an organization had been made at the geographic congresses of 1899 and 1904 by A. A. Tillo and lu. M. Shokal’skii, members of the Russian Geographic Society. The ICA is affiliated with the International Geographic Union. As of 1973, 37 countries belonged to the ICA. The Soviet Union, which joined the association in 1964, is represented by the National Council of Cartographers of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The highest body of the ICA is the General Assembly, which meets every four years. When the assembly is not in session the association is directed by an executive committee consisting of a president, seven vice-presidents, and a secretary-treasurer. The proceedings of ICA conferences are published in the International Yearbook of Cartography (London, since 1961), and current information is published in the International Geographic Union Bulletin (New York, since 1950).