From 24–29 May 2026, the 28th FIG World Congress convenes in Cape Town, bringing together the global surveying, geospatial and land administration community under the theme “The Future We Want – The SDGs and Beyond.”

As the leading international gathering for geomatics professionals, the Congress provides a platform for policymakers, scientists and practitioners to explore how geospatial intelligence and land governance can drive sustainable development, resilience and innovation in the years ahead.

ISO/TC 211 and FIG: a long-standing standards partnership
A key feature of the Congress is the strong presence of international standards bodies, notably ISO/TC 211 Geographic information, whose work underpins global geospatial interoperability.

ISO/TC 211 maintains a liaison relationship with FIG, reflecting an active and formal collaboration in the development and application of standards relevant to the surveying profession.
 
This relationship is further reinforced through the FIG Standards Network, where dedicated representatives ensure alignment between surveying practice and international geospatial standards development.

Through its portfolio of over a hundred standards covering data models, services, metadata, and spatial-temporal schemas, ISO/TC 211 provides the framework for consistent management, integration and sharing of geographic information worldwide.

This work is critical to FIG’s mission: enabling professional practice that is fit for emerging global challenges, including climate resilience, land management, digital transformation and sustainable urban development.

Standards enabling global sustainability goals
At FIG 2026, the role of standards in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a major theme. ISO/TC 211’s standards directly support a wide range of SDGs by enabling:
•    Interoperable geospatial data infrastructures
•    Reliable land administration and cadastral systems
•    Integration of environmental, infrastructure and socio-economic data
•    Scalable solutions for monitoring climate and disaster impacts

Highlight session: Geospatial innovation for climate and resilience

A focal point of the Congress programme is the session:
“Geospatial Innovations towards managing Disasters, Land Degradation and Climate Change”

Wednesday 27 May, 14:00
A key highlight will be a joint presentation by ISO/TC 211 and OGC on:

“The contribution of Geospatial International Standards in support of the SDGs, Climate and the broader societal Environment.”
The presentation underscores how coordinated international standards ecosystems are increasingly essential to:
•    Climate monitoring and resilience planning
•    Disaster risk reduction and response
•    Environmental protection and land-use management
•    Integration of emerging technologies such as AI, digital twins and geospatial data cubes

The joint ISO–OGC work demonstrates how standards are evolving alongside innovation—ensuring that new capabilities such as APIs, AI-enabled data processing and digital twin infrastructures can be trusted, interoperable and globally scalable.

Looking ahead
As the geospatial community gathers in Cape Town, the message is clear:

Standards are no longer a background enabler—they are central to addressing the world’s most complex societal and environmental challenges.

Through its partnership with FIG and OGC, ISO/TC 211 continues to play a pivotal role in ensuring that geospatial information is trusted, interoperable, and ready to support decision-making at global scale.

Natural Resources Canada
The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) 

The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) is Canada’s national mapping agency and the heart of Canada’s mapping expertise within Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The CCMEO leads the development of essential geographic information and location-based data through innovative research, cutting-edge satellite observation, and strong partnerships with federal departments and other jurisdictions. 

The CCMEO operates Canada’s civilian satellite receiving stations in Gatineau (Quebec), Inuvik (Northwest Territories), and Prince Albert (Saskatchewan), provides access to authoritative Canadian Earth observation and geospatial data, and maintains accurate, authoritative key geospatial data, products and indicators about our land, water and infrastructure. All this publicly available data is standardized, harmonized, and made easily accessible for decision-making, supporting projects that deliver significant benefits to communities across the country. The CCMEO’s work is critical for Canadian emergency management and provides unique capabilities to monitor and alert for earthquakes, floods, space weather and other hazards.

The CCMEO also plays a key role in the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure, supporting collaboration with federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous and international partners to advance global geospatial standards, interoperability, and data sharing. Learn more about the CCMEO and NRCan: Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation.

The Standards Council of Canada

Since 1970, SCC has helped make life safer, healthier, more prosperous and sustainable for people, communities and businesses in Canada through the power of standardization. SCC works with a vast network of partners nationally and around the world, acting as Canada’s voice on standards and accreditation on the international stage. As the country’s leading accreditation organization, SCC creates market confidence at home and abroad by ensuring conformity assessment bodies meet the highest expectations. In all these ways, SCC opens a world of possibilities.

ESRI Canada: Empowering Geospatial Innovation and Data Excellence

Esri Canada is a Canadian-owned provider of geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government and education to make informed, timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions drive digital transformation, enabling organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Founded in 1984, the company serves 14,000+ organizations through 14 offices across Canada.

Esri Canada is ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 certified and is compliant with globally recognized standards for system security, cloud security and data privacy. The company supports international geospatial standards and is an active member of the Open Geospatial Consortium and Canada’s ISO/TC 211 Mirror Committee. Esri Canada strengthens Canada’s geospatial ecosystem by leading and supporting collaborative data initiatives that improve quality, reduce duplication and increase reuse across partners, such as the Community Map of Canada—a  free comprehensive national basemap constantly updated with data from authoritative sources. This detailed map enables innovative applications that benefit society. 

Based in Toronto, Esri Canada has been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 13 years and is a prequalified AI solutions provider to the Government of Canada. Visit esri.ca

Carleton University

Carleton University is proud to support the 62nd ISO/TC 211 Plenary in Ottawa, welcoming global leaders advancing standards for geographic information and geomatics. Located in Canada’s capital, Carleton is recognized for interdisciplinary research, public-sector collaboration, and innovation that connects academia with real-world impact. 

Hosting the plenary on campus highlights the university’s role as a convenor for international dialogue on geospatial interoperability, metadata, and digital transformation. A key organizing contributor is Carleton’s Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre (GCRC) from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. Internationally recognized for leadership in cartography, cybercartography, spatial data infrastructure, and Indigenous mapping partnerships, GCRC is helping coordinate the conference and will host the Friday Arctic Session, bringing added focus to northern geospatial knowledge, Arctic data collaboration, and data sharing in in a rapidly changing environment.

Through programs in geomatics, geography, environmental studies, data analytics, and policy, Carleton prepares graduates to address challenges in urban planning, climate resilience, transportation, emergency management, and sustainability. As delegates gather in Ottawa, Carleton University is proud to help shape the future of global geospatial standards and partnerships.

Geographic Information is now undergoing a profound shift from traditional physics-based modelling to advanced data-driven AI methods for better processing of complex geospatial data. 

While AI can transform traditional maps and remote sensing imagery into spatial insights for decision-making and unmanned systems, significant challenges exist, such as geospatial training data diversity, reproducibility of Geospatial AI (GeoAI) models, and inconsistencies in model prediction results. To overcome these hurdles, the community urgently needs a comprehensive standardization framework covering GeoAI data/model/services. 

Recognizing this critical need, ISO/TC211 has emerged as a pioneering force in addressing these standardization challenges through systematic and comprehensive efforts. The standard ISO 19178-1 Geographic information — Training data markup language for artificial intelligence specifically targets the standardization of GeoAI training data, significantly facilitating the sharing and interoperability of AI training samples. 

Building upon this foundation, the ISO/PWI 19182 project represents an undertaking to systematically incorporate GeoAI technologies within broader geographic information standards, which can help establish the groundwork for a unified standardization framework. 

Existing geospatial standards such as ISO 19115 metadata and 19157 data quality parts will be leveraged for consistent descriptions of metadata, provenance, quality of GeoAI data and models, which will improve the understanding and responsible use of GeoAI.

Through the standardization initiatives, ISO/TC211 is strategically positioning GeoAI to evolve from traditional spatial data infrastructures (SDI) into AI-ready SDI enriched with GeoAI data, models, and services. 

By establishing foundational standards around GeoAI infrastructures in the future, ISO/TC211 is ensuring that GeoAI can transition into a reliable, trustworthy technology that truly serves the global community.