Ghana Wins Rights To Host 2021 FIG Working Week

Ghana’s capital, Accra will host the 2021 edition of the Working Week of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) after beating the city of Krakow, Poland in a fiercely contested bid in Helsinki, Finland.

Ghana’s joint bid submitted by the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) and the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LISAG) accrued 47 votes against 39 votes for Poland from the FIG’s Electoral College at the FIG Working Week held in Helsinki.

The FIG Working Week is an annual premier and flagship event of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG). It provides the profession, its partners and all stakeholders the international forum for discussions, debates and exposition to promote better professional networking for surveyors, standards as well as provide the FIG the opportunity to showcase technological developments in the global industry alongside exploring touristic destinations of the host nation.

Since its establishment 139 years ago in Paris 1878, the FIG has blazed new trails in advancing the profession and practice in meeting the needs of both the places and the people the discipline seeks to serve.

Surv. Kwame Tenadu, the President of the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LISAG), who is also a Commissioner of the FIG, in an elated mood after the votes intimated that “hosting the FIG WW in 2021 will afford Ghana a global platform the next five years (2017-2021) to bring to the fore the myriad of local land issues hindering the accelerated growth and development of the nation, as well as providing greater working partnership with both central government and the chieftaincy institution to evolve new institutional and technological structures to address same.”

The Co-Chairman of the 2021 FIG WW Accra-Ghana Bid Committee, Surv. Stephen Teye Djaba on his part stressed that the unique Ghanaian culture on show throughout the Helsinki event, especially the colourful Kente Stoles by the 20-member Ghanaian delegation, the distribution of branded Golden Tree bars of chocolate at the Ghana Stand setup at the Holiday Inn Expo & Convention Centre, venue of the FIG Congress in Helsinki, and coupled with a 3-minute video presentation added the required spices.

Surv. Edwin Addo-Tawiah, President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) commended the Bid Consultants – RICS Consult Limited for their role in securing the rights for Accra to host the event, stating that “the event will not only consolidate Accra’s position as the preferred conferencing destination for Africa, but also strengthen the advocacy roles of the joint hosts of the 2021 FIG Working Week, the GhIS and the LISAG to leverage the inherent opportunities associated with the event to grow the emerging surveying industry.”

The joint hosts, the GhIS and the LISAG expressed their gratitude to various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources, the Lands Commission, Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, and the Ghana Tourism Authority as well as Madam Ulla Alanko, Ghana’s Honorary Consul of Finland and the Ghana Union Finland (GUF) in Helsinki for all the support and endorsements, which added the requisite clout to sway the votes for winning the rights to host the 2021 FIG Working Week.

Previous hosts of the FIG Working Week include Sofia, Bulgaria (2015), Christchurch, New Zealand (2016), whilst new hosts are Istanbul, Turkey (2018), Hanoi, Vietnam (2019) and Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2020.