The ICHC is the only academic conference solely dedicated to advancing knowledge of the history of maps and mapmaking, regardless of geographical region, language, period or topic.
The conference promotes free and unfettered global cooperation and collaboration among cartographic scholars from many academic disciplines, curators, collectors, dealers and institutions through illustrated lectures, presentations, exhibitions, and a social program. In order to expand awareness of issues and resources, each conference is sponsored by a leading educational and cultural institution.
Conferences are held biannually and are administered by local organizers in conjunction with Imago Mundi Ltd. In 2024, the University of Lyon welcomes the conference with the support of the research unit UMR 5600 – EVS (Environment, City, Society).
The 30th ICHC will take the opportunity to present the following themes:
- Mapping travels, voyage and encounters in cartography
Encompasses the production of maps to help travelers and tourists meet their goals, organize accommodation and transportation, and the way territories are highlighted.
- Maps and networks - Using, exchanging and circulating maps
Explores the interrelations between map producers, bearing in mind diffusion of new fields of interest, new uses, the introduction of new techniques and sharing networks
- Mapping nature, wilderness and agriculture
Aims at a new understanding of how spaces of nature, wilderness and agriculture were dealt with, including vegetation, mountains, water expanses, agricultural productions, city surroundings, and natural hazards.
- The development of urban planning and cartography
Planning implies or supposes a precise knowledge of the topographic reality, which led to improvements in cartography, both in measuring techniques and conceptualization, and recently to the introduction of digital mapping
- New perspectives on the digital transition
Investigates the way dematerialization introduces new issues: breaking down in vector layers to put together and organize for new uses, new relationships between data and graphic expression, big data, conservation (or discarding) of historical/outdated data and digital maps.
ICHC Conferences
- London (1964)
- London (1967)
- Brussels (1969)
- Edinburgh (1971)
- Warsaw (1973)
- Greenwich (1975)
- Washington (1977)
- Berlin (1979)
- Pisa, Florence, Rome (1981)
- Dublin (1983)
- Ottawa (1985)
- Paris (1987)
- Amsterdam (1989)
- Uppsala, Stockholm (1991)
- Chicago (1993)
- Vienna (1995)
- Lisbon (1997)
- Athens (1999)
- Madrid (2001)
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine (2003)
- Budapest (2005)
- Bern (2007)
- Copenhagen (2009)
- Moscow (2011)
- Helsinki (2013)
- Antwerp (2015)
- Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2017)
- Amsterdam (2019)
- Bucharest (2022)
- Lyon (2024)