International Geographical Union

International Geographical Union (IGU), international body of geographers, founded in 1922, with a membership representing some 100 countries by way of each member country’s National Committee for Geography. Its charter calls for the study of geographic problems, the organization of various regional congresses, and the founding of the quadrennial International Geographical Congress. The General Assembly, usually convoked during main congresses, consists of the heads of the national delegations of the member countries and elects an executive committee that organizes the activity of the IGU. A number of commissions, organized at the main congresses for the advancement of geographical research, produce various publications (including methodological handbooks) and sponsor international symposia. The commissions are concerned with topics such as international geographical terminology, humans and the environment, rural development, and agricultural geography.