International Map Year: Results and Implications

Abstract. IMY was a worldwide celebration of maps and their unique role in our world. Supported by the United Nations, IMY provides opportunities to demonstrate, follow, and get involved in the art, science, and technology of making and using maps and geographic information. International Map Year (IMY) started in Paris 2011 when the General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) asked the ICA Executive Committee (EC) to follow up on the proposal given in a motion from the Swedish Cartographic Society. An IMY Working Group (WG) was constituted – it defined the IMY goals and the activities required to reach them, and it proposed a suitable time period for the IMY to the ICA EC. IMY commenced in August 2015 and ended in December 2016. The success of IMY was dependent on all member nations of the ICA participating in an effort to broaden the knowledge of cartography and geographic information in society in general, especially among citizens and school children. Member nations of the ICA were responsible for organizing IMY activities, such as a national Map Day, through national IMY committees tasked to engage national organizations and spearheading collaboration. The IMY WG set up an IMY web site with general information on IMY, guidelines for how to organize Map Days, suggestions relating to activities aimed at general map awareness, and more. The web site also provides access to the electronic book The World of Maps, which has been translated from English into five other languages.