| Dear members of the Participatory Mapping Working Group at the International Cartographic Association, I hope you are all doing well. As the holiday season is getting closer, I would like to send you the last newsletter of 2025 with some news/updates/info. I am sorry for ratřher longer email, but there has been quite a lot happening lately! Firstly, The International Cartographic Association is currently revising the “ICA Research Agenda”, which was published in 2009 (more than 16 years ago!). The aim is to identify key research questions and challenges that are essential for the discipline of Cartography and GIScience in the next 10-15 years, or beyond. We (working groups’ and commissions’ chairs) were asked to contribute to the new research agenda. I think it would be great, if we can all participate, therefore I have created a short survey (questions I got from the ICA) for all of you. In case you want to give me your suggestions/answers, please do so within a week, thanks! Secondly, The Working Group on Inclusive Cartography is organising their second seminar that will take place on December 11th. Please see the updated link below and I hope to see you in two weeks! Seminar 2 – Brandon Biggs, Software Engineer at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, CEO at XR Navigation, and PhD Candidate at the Georgia Institute of Technology Date: 11th December 2025 15:00 CET Link: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/91462112266?pwd=aDICLbDa2vQdG2fqYgbbUBuovWcxzy.1 Meeting ID: 914 6211 2266 Passcode: 757356 Abstract: This presentation will share methods for systematically assessing and designing complex digital spatial diagrams and maps that meet ADA accessibility standards. The strategies apply to a wide range of contexts, including municipal GIS data, campus layouts, building plans, and anatomical charts. Topics will include alternate text, full keyboard navigation, and adequate non-text contrast. In the past, accessibility could often be achieved by identifying a map’s “primary purpose” and providing it in text form. However, new research and technological developments have made this approach insufficient for compliance. The session will introduce techniques such as interactive alt text and comprehensive written descriptions, ensuring that information about distance, direction, shape, size, orientation, and overall layout of points, polygons, and lines is both accessible and easy to create. Participants will also learn how to enable full keyboard control of all features and meet a 3:1 contrast ratio. By the end, attendees will have a practical toolkit for assessing maps for ADA compliance and implementing accessible map design. Speaker bio: Brandon Biggs is an entrepreneur, researcher, inclusive designer, developer, and life-long learner. He is the CEO of XR Navigation, an Engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Co-Founder and board treasurer at Sonja Biggs Educational Services Inc., and a PhD student at the Georgia institute of Technology. In 2016, he received his bachelor’s in music from California State University East Bay, in 2019 he received his masters in Inclusive Design from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, and in 2021, began his PhD in Human Centered Computing from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is almost completely blind due to Lebers Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). His projects and ventures center around building tools to solve some of the most difficult problems in the blindness field. He leverages his lived experience coupled with human centered inclusive design principles to create solutions that create lasting and sustainable impact. To achieve this goal, Brandon is half entrepreneur and half academic. Thirdly, we are excited to share the info about latest publications of Giacomo Rambaldi in the area of Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) -updated handbook and new introductory guide to Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) for Protected and Conserved Areas, launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞: you can read this to learn how P3DM can help you to advance towards equitable and inclusive planning and management in protected and conserved areas, meaningfully involving all actors in the process. It is short and to the point: https://lnkd.in/dfcqsZhh 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤: this is a re-edition of the original manual. It is a detailed account on how to do it, for those who want to know more about P3DM or have decided to run a P3DM excersise: https://lnkd.in/dCT8UWiX . Furthermore, we would like to invite you to the International Conference on Urban e-Planning, the annual event of the Urban e-Planning Research Network (UEPNET), will have its 10th edition in 2026. It is organized in collaboration with the International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR). It will be held online from 8–10 April 2026, from Lisbon, Portugal. The conference brings together interdisciplinary research on innovative theory and practice in Urban e-Planning, including new methods and digital tools. The Conference also receives brief, practice-focused presentations. We invite papers on the digital revolution—particularly AI—and its effects on urban planning and development. We welcome theoretical and empirical submissions on, but not limited to, the following themes: Track 1 – Smart Urban Governance and e-Planning Track 2 – Artificial Intelligence in Urban Governance Track 3 – Citizens e-Participation in Urban Governance Track 4 – Urban e-Planning and Social Issues Track 5 – Urban e-Planning, Biodiversity and Climate Emergency Track 6 – Planning for a Nomad Workforce Track 7 – Platform Urbanism and the Virtual Urban Economy Track 8 – Decolonising Smart Cities: Towards Plural and Just Digital Futures Track 9 – The Education of Urban e-Planners and Planning Ethics Participation is free of charge. Deadline for abstract submission: 15 January 2026 More information here (Call for Papers): https://sites.google.com/view/uep2026conference/call-for-papers Conference email: ijepr.conference@gmail.com Conference website: https://sites.google.com/view/uep2026conference/home Call for Abstracts – Reinventing participatory Governance for more sustainable cities and regions – Istanbul, Turkey – 15–16 August 2026 The 2026 Annual Conference of CoGG is supported by the kind cooperation of Turkish Geographical Society and Istanbul University and will take place two days earlier the 2026 IRC Regional Conference, organised by the Turkish Geographical Society and Istanbul University under the auspices of the International Geographical Union (IGU), which will be held in Istanbul between 17-21 August 2026 at Istanbul University. Turkey. In the IRC Regional Conference our Commission is actively participating with no.3 Sessions under the track of C24.15-Geography of Governance and where we kindly ask you to participate by submitting an abstract (https://www.irc2026.org/en/Geography-of-Governance.html). The IGU COMMISSION ON GEOGRAPHY OF GOVERNANCE 2026 ANNUAL CONFERENCE on “ Reinventing participatory Governance for more sustainable cities and regions” seeks to advance knowledge of the geography of territorial governance at the urban, local and regional levels, pushing to address sustainable development mainly considering urban development in the 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal 11, “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. The Conference is organized into three main tracks each addressing several related themes, together with a fourth more broadly focused track addressing issues and developments in the geography of governance. We invite theoretical and empirical contributions addressing that concern various aspects of sustainable cities and communities We welcome abstracts, but not limited, to the following themes: Track 1 – Participatory Governance for the future of sustainable urban peripheries Track 2 – Local government and participatory governance Track 3 – Participatory governance and Spatial Planning It is expected that the publication of a selection of the papers in a book or an International Journal. Deadline for abstract submission: 31 March 2026 Participation: hybrid participation, and no admissions fee. More information here (Call for Papers): https://sites.google.com/view/igucogg Conference email: igugovernance@gmail.com Regarding the communication channels: For more “professional” visibility/networking we have newly established a LinkedIn profile – please join us, if you are on LinkedIn and tag us, while posting about participatory mapping. For more up-to-date/urgent/modern communication we established a Discord room/channel – join us, if you use Discord. In case you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Jirka Pánek chair of the PMWG |
ICA Working Group on Participatory Mapping
