3-1 Role of the UN in the standardization of geographical names Helen Kerfoot Natural Resources Canada

Background l 1950s - need for clear unambiguous names in UN cartography and communication l 1960s -first UN technical meetings; first UN conference (1967) l 2000s –names at core of communication... maps, census, search & rescue, postal services, etc. –UN continues to provide focus and forum l 8th Conference 2002; 21st UNGEGN session 2002

Some major goals/dreams l Every country having some form of authority for geographical names l Standardized (“authorized”) forms of names nationally recognized and used l All authorized names easily available and accessible for international use l All languages/writing systems having a standardized conversion to Roman orthography

Some areas of common interest l Field collection of locally used names –resolving questions of recording and writing l Names authorities and standardization processes l Disseminating data - gazetteers, digital files, data transfer standards, world wide web... l Developing national toponymic guidelines for international cartographic use l Conventional names and exonyms

How the system functions l UN Conferences (every 5 years) l UNGEGN (~ every 2 years) l UNGEGN Divisions (22) –geographical and/or linguistic groups of countries l UNGEGN Working Groups –Publicity and funding; Toponymic terminology –Gazetteers and toponymic data files –Country names; Romanization systems –Training courses

UNGEGN tools and Berlin Conference l Available references –UNGEGN and Conference reports –individual papers –UNGEGN web site –Glossary of terms –UNGEGN brochure l UNCSGN Conference –Where, time, how it functions

UNCSGN resolutions

Linguistic/Geographical Divisions 1. East Central and South-East Europe Division Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, Yugoslavia (Chair: Milan Adamic, Slovenia) Web site: x.html

16th SESSION OF THE EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH-EAST DIVISION OF THE UNGEGN MEETING OF THE WG ON GAZETTEERS AND TOPONYMIC DATA FILES 16th SESSION OF THE EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH-EAST DIVISION OF THE UNGEGN MEETING OF THE WG ON GAZETTEERS AND TOPONYMIC DATA FILES April 18-20, 2001, Ljubljana, Slovenia The aim of the meeting will be focused on establishing national database system on geographical names and giving answers to the following questions: How to create a national toponymic database? What are the data elements required in the database? What are the data formats required? What are the data transfer standards required? How to maintain collected data?

UNGEGN WORKING GROUPS l Under the umbrella of UNGEGN, several working groups have been created to follow up topics and issues which cut across the divisional structure of UNGEGN.

1. Working Group on Country Names Convenor: Sylvie Lejeune (France) 2. Working Group on Gazetteers and Toponymic Data Files Convenor: Randall Flynn (USA) 3. Working Group on Toponymic Terminology Convenor: Naftali Kadmon (Israel) 4. Working Group on Publicity and Funding Convenor: David Munro 5. Working Group on Romanization Systems Convenor: Peeter Päll (Estonia) 6. Working Group on Training Courses in Toponymy Convenor: Ferjan Ormeling (Netherlands) 7. Working Group on Evaluation and implementation Convenor: Ki-Suk Lee (Republic of Korea)

8. Working Group on Exonyms Convenor: Milan Orozen Adamic (Slovenia) 9. Working Group on Pronunciation Convenor: Donall Mac Giolla Easpaig (Ireland) Other UNGEGN Working Groups that have been created, fulfilled their functions, and have been disbanded, include: Names of undersea and maritime features Extraterrestrial topographic names