International Geographical Union

Summary

The International Geographical Union (IGU) is an organization dedicated to advancing geographic knowledge through systematic study and multinational research coordination. This article reviews the IGU's governance structure, historical evolution, and its relationship with cartography. Formally established in 1922, the IGU traces its origins to ten international geographical congresses held between 1871 and World War I. Governed by a General Assembly and an Executive Committee, its principal activities include quadrennial International Geographical Congresses and the appointment of commissions and study groups to address specific issues. Early congresses focused on cartographic topics such as a common prime meridian and a 1:1,000,000 world map, with repeated proposals for an International Cartographic Association (ICA), achieved in 1959. However, by the late twentieth century, geographers' interest in cartographic research had markedly declined, with fewer cartography-related commissions and growing institutional separation between geography and cartography. Nevertheless, the IGU remains the only avowedly global organization for geographical practitioners, scholars, and teachers.