The symposium will consist of three events, each hosted by one of the contributing partners and is open to all cartographers, geographers, historians, map collectors, academics and lay persons interested in the history of cartography and map production.

The Commission’s 5th International Symposium will primarily focus on Military Cartography in commemoration of the First World War (1914-1918), also known as the 'Great War'. With 2014 being the centenary of the outbreak of the War, and the conference venue situated so close to the actual war zone of 1914-1918, contributions on the effect of war on military cartography are encouraged. Contributions on the mapping which was done during other late 19th and 20th century wars such as the Boer War (1899-1902), the Second World War (1936-1945), the Vietnam War (1960-1973), the Falklands War (1982), and the Balkan War of the 1990s will also be welcome. Although the Symposium will primarily focus on Military Cartography, submissions on cartographic endeavours in other fields of cartography during the 19th and 20th centuries will also be considered, as well as cartographic activities during earlier centuries, as they often formed the background for later important developments.

Fixed programme of lectures

Registration will open in March 2014. At that time it will be possible to register for each event individually or for the entire joint symposium through the online registration system.

During the conference there will be several optional social events. Already planned are a conference dinner and visits to Ghent University’s Museum of Science, the Mercator Museum in Sint-Niklaas and the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres.