International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Working Week 2011
Simon Kwok and Conrad Tang, together with the HKIS delegation, attended the FIG Working Week 2011 at Marrakech, Morocco on 18 to 22 May 2011. They presented papers on “Professional Surveyors in Hong Kong” and “Benchmarking Spatial Data Infrastructure Development in Hong Kong”. At the FIG General Assembly, the 2010-2014 Work Plan of the FIG Commissions was approved. Simon Kwok is a working group member of the working group 5.2 of Commission 5 (Positioning and Measurement). The work plan of Commission 5 covers development, use and integration of technologies for positioning and measurement. It involves standardization, best practices and fundamental reference frame issues. The work of working group 5.2 include, inter alia, (1) development and implementation of 4-dimensional datums that incorporate the regional effects of plate tectonic due to earthquakes or local effect such as landslides; (2) examination of how surveying practitioners can access the reference frame easily; and (3) provision of information on maintenance of Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) networks so as to ensure long term stability of the system. In the area of spatial data infrastructure (SDI), the work plan of Commission 3 (Spatial Information Management) is very relevant to our work for developing the SDI of Hong Kong. Commission 3 will be working on the guidelines for establishing an efficient spatial information management infrastructure in urban areas addressing the legal, institutional and technical issues.
Surveyors in Heritage Conservation
In the 2011 Mainland and Hong Kong Construction Industry Forum “Sustainable Urban Form: Preservation and Development of Historical & Cultural Cities” held from 27 to 30 May 2011 in Luoyang, Henan Province, the mainland officials were surprised to learn from Mrs Laura Aron, Commissioner for Heritage, that graded historical buildings in Hong Kong prior to 1960 would be considered into the preservation scheme. I believe the Heritage Conservation Policy in Hong Kong is on the right track and deserve our input to strike a balance between sustainable development and heritage conservation. This is conducive to the sustainability principle of enhancing the vibrancy of Hong Kong’s cultural diversity and historical assets.
I am proud that we, land surveyors, have the vision and professional competence to help in the preservation of these historical buildings/features in Hong Kong. Since the public is getting more concerned about preservation of historical features, it is foreseeable that more preservation elements would be introduced to the future infrastructure projects. With comprehensive surveying technology, urban and rural planning can be more flexible and more diversified to meet the community needs. For each historical feature, be it preserved or demolished, the feature and the vicinity have to be recorded for consideration of what approach to take.
Regulations of Registration Surveyors System in Mainland
A forum with the Mainland delegates was held on 16 June 2011 in Guang Zhou to exchange views on the registration system of professional surveyors in Mainland and Hong Kong. We acquired the latest updates on the regulation and implementation details of the registered surveyor for mainland candidates. The discussion is very useful and paved way for our Beijing visit in Oct 2011 for registration of surveyor for Hong Kong candidates under the scheme.
South East Asian Survey Congress 2011
The 11th South East Asian Survey Congress (11th SEASC 2011), was held from 22 to 24 June 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the theme “INNOVATION TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY”. The Congress highlighted its initiatives aimed at encouraging the convergence, sharing and use of innovative technologies and knowledge as well as other initiatives to forge new collaborations and identify potential avenues for research, development and innovation across all related disciplines for the benefit of the profession and the community towards sustainable development.
The 3-day Conference commenced after the Official Opening Ceremony on 22 June 2011. Keynote Session and Parallel Technical Sessions were undertaken in the following days.
Keynote Session:
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(1)
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Dr. Keith Clifford Bell, The World Bank
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Focusing on Innovation and Sustainability in Rural and
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Urban Land Development: Experiences from World Bank
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Development Support for Land Reform
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Professor Ian Williamson, The University of Melbourne
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Lessons for Federal Countries that have State Land
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Registries - The Australian Experience
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Mr. Brent Jones, ESRI’s Industry Manager for Survey,
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Cadastre & Engineering GIS, Sustainability, and the
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Surveyor
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(4)
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Mr. Goh Cheok Weng, Managing Director of ICI Paints
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(M) Sdn Bhd
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Plenary Session:
(1) Dr .Abbas Rajabifard, President of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association Spatially Enabled Societies - the Global Perspective and the Role of Surveyors Property and Valuation Management Practices Ensuring Sustainability
(2) Professor Chris Rizos, Vice President International Association of Geodesy “Out with the Old, in with the New”: Geodesy as an Earth Observation Discipline Supporting Environmental Monitoring and Sustainability Agendas
(3) Mr. Christiaan Lemmen, Director, International Office for Cadastre and Land Records – FIG Society Driven Innovations in Land Administration
(4) Professor William Cartwright, President International Cartographic Association Collaborative, Crowd-Sourced and Self-Generated Maps: Opportunities, Issues and Challenges for the Cartography / Giscience Community
(5) Professor Roger Flanagan, Professor of Construction Management, University of Reading Technology Innovation for a Sustainable Business Designing and Implementing Systems
(6) Ing. Robert Šinkner, Chair Commission 10 (Construction), FIG Sustainable Development in using of Maps and Geospatial Data for GIS/MIS Systems in comparison with availability of Graphical Data in the last centuries in the Czech Republic and in Europe
(7) Dr. Ann Heywood, Principal, The College of Estate Management, United Kingdom Encouraging the Green Occupier
(8) Sr. Elvin Fernandez, President of Institution of Surveyors Malaysia Innovation Towards Sustainability in the Surveying Discipline of Valuation
(9) Sr. Ong See Lian, President-Elect Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Imagineering the Built Environment Industry and Profession
(10) Mr .Heera Singh, HEERA Training and Management Consultancy Managing Innovation and Change
(11) Dr .Michael Sutherland, Chair Commission 4 (Hydrography), FIG Implementing a Marine Cadastre
(12) Professor Michael L. Riley, Director School of Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, UK Sustainable Property Management Good Practice: lessons to Learn
(13) Mr Chris Gibson , Vice President & Executive Committee Member TRIMBLE Enabling Productivity and Sustainability through Innovation
As a forum for exchange of information and experience, the event provides participants a window of opportunity to meet fellow professionals from other parts of the world, to hear issues first hand and to reflect on solutions proposed or implemented by others.
