Officers	YSN Social Media
Shirley Chapunza youngsurveyors@fig.net Zimbabwe Chair	FIG Young Surveyors         FIG Young Surveyors Network         Fig_young
Angela Anyakora youngsurveyors@fig.net Nigeria Vice-Chair

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The FIG Young Surveyors Network was established as the Working Group 1.2: Young Surveyors Working Group of FIG Commission 1 at the XXIII FIG Congress (2006) held in Munich, Germany. The Young Surveyors Working Group was later upgraded to the Young Surveyors Network during the 2009 FIG Working Week in Eilat, Israel. The network was established with the main aim to create an environment that encourages the active participation of young surveyors in the work of FIG, as well as its 10 commissions.

The network has created an environment for young surveyors from different cultures, with different academic backgrounds and professional experiences from all over the globe to come together and learn from each other towards the sustenance of the surveying profession. The network has held many meetings, workshops, and conferences all over the world. These have been done in conjunction and/or with the support of leading bodies such the UN-Habitat, the World Bank, CLGE, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Our cooperation with these bodies continues to amplify the voices of young surveyors, showing that the future of our planet, Our Common Future, lies in the hands of our generation as we Volunteer for the Future!

How to become active in FIG Young Surveyors Network?

There are two ways to be an active FIG YS:

1. Get in contact with your national surveying association and tell them that you want to be an active member of the network.

2. Just by being active! Join all or one of YSN social media channels, write an e-mail to fig.youngsurveyors@gmail.com with your ideas and let us know who you are.

FIG Young Surveyors

FIG Young Surveyors Network

Fig_young

Being active in such a worldwide network has multiple benefits: 

• the Network - as we are continuously growing and can ensure that we are meeting all the various professional interests
• the FIG commissions - as we are bringing them ‘fresh blood’
• the National Associations - as through supporting you and you gathering international experience, you are well prepared to become one of the future leaders
• You - there is nothing better than having a worldwide network in your professional career especially in the beginning. Through experiencing personal contact with world leading surveying professionals you will learn more than you could ever possibly by study alone.

If you are a Young Surveyor, you might also find the VCSP interestering. The Volunteer Community Surveyor Program (VCSP) is a collaborative global outreach program for FIG Young Surveyors to volunteer their time and skills to humanitarian and environmental causes. You can read more here.

Purpose of FIG Young Surveyors Network

• To improve the number of young professionals participating within the FIG.
• To help young professionals in the beginning of their careers with contacts.
• To increase co-operation between the commissions and the students and young professionals network.

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Vision

FIG YSN's goal is to INSPIRE the next generation of Surveyors. INSPIRE in the vision translate into how we will reach this goal:

Work Plan (2023 - 2026) Joint Initiatives and Programs:

• Volunteer Community Surveyor Program (VCSP)
• Mentoring
• Learning Styles in Surveying Education - Joint working Group with Commission 2 on Professional Education and FIG YSN
• GeospatialNext - Joint working Group with Commission 3 on Spatial Information Management and FIG YSN
• Mapping the Plastic - Joint Working Group with Commission 4 on Hydrography and FIG YSN

African Network

Since its establishment during the 2013 FIG Working Week in Abuja, Nigeria, the African Network has been very active within Africa and outside of it through training programmes, career path and growth opportunities. In this regard, there was the STDM Training of Trainers (2014) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Network Mentoring Workshop (2015) in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as informal meetings on the sidelines of the FIG African Regional Network meetings which culminated in the first meeting of the African Network (1YSAM) was held in conjunction with the 2018 FIG African Regional Meeting on the 16th of October, 2018. This was followed by the second meeting held together with the FGF Universities Conference in Dakar, Senegal in 2019. The Young Surveyors African Network also works closely with the FIG Regional Network in promoting the profession in the region.

2nd Young Surveyors Network African Meeting, Dakar, 2019

Asian and the Pacific Network

The FIG Young Surveyors Asia Pacific Network (YSAP) was established during the XXV FIG Congress in Kuala Lumpur in 2015 where over 18 countries were represented.  Since its establishment the YSAP has hosted the 3rd  FIG Young Surveyors Conference in Christchurch 2016, as well as the second YSAP Meeting in Tokyo in 2018, where the Japanese Young Surveyors and National Association supported the training of 20 Young Surveyors in STDM.  The network was also present at the UN-GGIM Young Professionals Summit in Dequing, China! The strong and growing Asia and the Pacific Network further hosted the 3YSAP Meeting prior to the FIG Working Week in Hanoi, Vietnam and the South East Asian Survey Congress in Darwin Australia hosted by the SSSI Young Professionals Network in 2019. As one of the largest and most diverse regions in the world, there are many common challenges and opportunities! The YSAP Network recognises this, and as a diverse and energetic Network have many initiatives in place. The future looks bright for the Asia and the Pacific Network!

3rd Young Surveyors Network Asia and the Pacific Meeting, Hanoi, 2019

European Network

The FIG Young Surveyors European Network (YSEN) has strong origins. The first YSEN Meeting was held in Lisbon, Portugal in 2013 and since then there has been a meeting close to every year! These meetings are organized alongside FIG Events and in close cooperation with National Associations and FIG Commissions - all focussing on European challenges and opportunities. The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE) is a strong supporter of the YSEN, with an elected Young Surveyor from the YSEN who is a representative on the CLGE board. This enables strong relationships with other surveying and spatial science organizations such as International Geodetic Student Organization (IGSO) and International Geodetic Student Meeting (IGSM).  The YSEN also has strong relationships with other like minded organisations such as SDSN Youth, working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

6th Young Surveyors Network European Meeting, Porto, 2019

North American Network

The FIG Young Surveyors North American Network is also called the NSPS Young Surveyors Network supported by the National Society of Professional Surveyors. There are many Young Surveyors who are active in this region sharing their enthusiasm for the future of the profession! This is highlighted by the NSPS sponsoring the ‘Get Kids into Survey” initiative organised by Elaine Ball. Their first meeting was in 2014,where they established the Network and a Toolkit to provide structure and information on how they will operate. They recently held their second in Maryland in October 2018! Alongside these events the YSNA coordinates events with ESRI at their ESRI User Conference and has Young Surveyors attend Trimble Dimensions and Leica Hexagon.

2nd Young Surveyors Network North American Meeting, Washington D.C.

South American Network

The South American Network was formed in the year 2012, the FIG Congress was in Montevideo, Uruguay. The network has grown, and more Young Surveyors across South America have been connected as a result of key ambassadors promoting the profession.  Since 2015, the network has been promoted in different countries in the region including professional activities in Uruguay, three student congresses in Argentina, two student congresses in Costa Rica, two student congresses in Colombia and one student congress in Mexico! They have also organized one larger congress in Cuba, as well as participating in the Annual APPAT meeting in Córdoba, Argentina. They also hope to hold an FIG YS meeting in Latin America, where the problems of the region are addressed, and the challenges that young people face, to know the successes and failures that have been experienced in different countries, in order to grow together and offer the society more certainty in the work related to surveying and land management.

Young Surveyors South America at the XIV International Congress of Topography, Cadastre, Geodesy and Geomatics, San José, 2016

Recent News

FIG Young Surveyours Network report.

Report 2024-2025

Congratulations - FIG Foundation grant winners

Congratulations to the 2025 FIG Foundation Grant awardees for the FIG Working Week 2025 Young Surveyors Conference in Brisbane, Australia They are:

• Angela Bleboo
• Ansela Fifita
• Devon Allen
• Shristi Paudel ( grant moved to FIG Congress 2026)

See their reports here

Also a big congratulation to Alina Khoptar for receiving the Ripro grant.

Read her report here

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