IMCoS Annual Chairman’s Report for 2022
Thank you all for your continuing support for our Society. The more members I meet and the more I hear, the greater my appreciation for the wider mapping community. Recently we had a great time in Leith, Scotland, with members from four countries. A good number of delegates have already registered and paid for the International Symposium in Helsinki. However, through the wonders of modern technology I have had the opportunity to communicate with all of you, and to converse online with scores of members I had previously only known as names on a list.
I will now go through the key matters that I feel have been significant in the Society’s most recent year of activity.
1. Membership
We currently have a very good, but not perfect, renewal rate. During the period covered by this report we have only declined in total by seven members, like for like. However, incoming new members are still not replacing outgoing ones.
Put bluntly, membership has been on a very slow decline for a decade. At a macro level it’s the UK that has declined the most, although even that is only 21 people over seven years! The USA and the Philippines have seen overall growth.
Our Membership Secretary Peter Walker has drawn EXCOM’s attention to the wild fluctuations in membership if just looked at month by month, numbers varying enormously and changing rapidly. The simple root of this is that people join or renew when it suits them. However, it is partially because existing members are often very slow to make their renewals. Please help our Society by renewing promptly!
97.7 percent of members have an email address, which is a great help in communication. This has been reflected in good take-up on online events, both of the ‘Show & Tells’, and the 2022 lecture series.
Since age of member is the biggest factor in the decline, the only way to reverse the decline, other than briefly, is to add younger members. I thus add a second appeal to members, regarding consciously seeking to draw in the next generations.
2. The Executive Committee
We were delighted to welcome Mark Rogers onto EXCOM last year and that we were joined also by Christine Rafalko, serving as a co-opted member initially. Mark is now our General Secretary, following in the very large footsteps of David Dare, who held the post for twelve years. Our esteemed President, Peter Barber, has agreed to continue with another term in post. Both existing EXCOM members who were due for re-election have agreed to serve again. However, Peter Walker who covers Membership and related financial matters would appreciate the opportunity to stand back within two years.
3. National Representatives
Working with Wes Brown and Robert Clancy, the existing network of National Representatives has been comprehensively overhauled. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all the thought and labour that has gone into this.
Consequently, four new International Reps have joined us since I made my last Chairman’s Report. You will have seen their names and details in the current issue of the Journal. It is significant that two are in the USA. Representatives are still needed, partly to replace those wishing to stand down due to age or infirmity, and partly as we add members in new countries. So, we welcome enquiries from those open to serving the Society in countries that have no current National Representative. If you know of anyone willing to serve in this way do point them towards Wes. I leave the rest to him in his own report to the AGM.
4. The Journal.
The Journal had a good year, despite rising costs of production. We still need fresh contributors to the Journal. Submissions do not need to be lengthy. The Society has an extensive image resource if that is a barrier.
5. Summary
Your Society remains in good health with good financial reserves and a good team. International Symposia for both 2024 and 2025 are already in the planning stages. However, we live in a world with sharply rising costs so will need to be particularly prudent over the next two or three years. World events, for instance, affect our Journal advertisers as well as both the the Society and yourselves. Like so many other voluntary organisations we face the challenge of introducing sufficient change to attract new, younger participants, whilst continuing to well serve those who have been pillars of the organisation for a long time. We live in the ‘Interesting Days’ that Chinese philosophers spoke of!
Dr Mike Sweeting
June 2023
