Organisations and Institutions of German Geography

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Geographers in Germany may become members of different associations according to their professional activities and interests. This decentralised structure of organisation is intended to serve the particular needs and aims of different professional groups in which geographers are active, and to provide a better organisational backup for its members. Nevertheless, all these professional groups cooperate in the "German Geographical Society" ( http://www.geographie.de) which is home to some 25.000 members. It represents geography to the public, takes up a position on current issues, supports and coordinates the efforts of the sub-associations, and tries to build on the synergy effects of the sub-associations.

Geographers who teach at one of the 62 German universities, where geography can be studied (see http://www.geographie.de), normally become member in the "Association of Geographers at German Universities" (Verband der Geographen an Deutschen Hochschulen, http://www.geographie.de/vgdh-english/). Also geographers from universities in other countries may become members of this association. One of the precursors of this association came into being in 1925 as the "Association of German University Teachers of Geography". The "Association of Geographers at German Universities" not only represents the interests of about 800 geographers, but also publishes a Newsletter ("Rundbrief") and proposes candidates to be elected as geography evaluators of the "German Research Council" (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, http://www.dfg.de/english/). The German Research Council is the central public funding organisation for academic research in Germany.

Geography teachers at high schools (or secondary schools) are members of the "Association of German School Geographers" ("Verband Deutscher Schulgeographen"; http://www.erdkunde.com), which represents geography teachers from all school types and areas of education. The history of this association goes back as far as 1912. Since the German school system falls into the responsibility of the 16 federal states, this association is subdivided into 16 relatively independent regional associations, as well as into district and local groups, with a total of about 5,000 members. This association is concerned with the teaching and didactical development of geography, supports geographical and environmental education with various activities, coordinates the development of geography in all types of schools of each German federal state, administers the organisation of a school geographers' conference which takes place every other year, organises seminars and excursions for the further education of teachers, and deals with educational, didactical and methodological issues of geography teaching. The "Association of German School Geographers" also arranges competitions relating to geographical knowledge in schools.

Those geographers employed in "applied geography", i.e. in business enterprises, consultancies, planning institutions, non-university research institutes and public administration, are predominantly members of the "German Association for Applied Geography" ("Deutscher Verband für Angewandte Geographie"; http://www.geographie.de/dvag/), which has about 1,500 members. It was founded in 1950 as the "Association of German Professional Geographers" (Walter Christaller was a prominent founding member) and renamed in 1979 with its current title. Applied geographical work involves determining, analysing and evaluating spatially relevant factors and developments and thereby advancing practical solutions for the preparation and application of business, planning and political decisions. This association tries to give geography the position in the public arena which it deserves in the solution of many problems with which present-day society is struggling. It publishes the journal "STANDORT - Zeitschrift für angewandte Geographie" and the series "Materialien zur Angewandten Geographie".

Those geographers involved with the theory and methods (didactics) of geographical education, about 60 % of whom are employed in universities and 40 % in training geography teachers, are active in the "Association for Geographical Education in Germany" ("Hochschulverband für Geographie und ihre Didaktik"; http://compute.ku-eichstaett.de/hgd/). This association was founded in 1971, has about 260 members, and aims to encourage the further development of methods and theories in teaching geography. It publishes the members' journal "Geographie und ihre Didaktik" as well as the monograph series "Geographiedidaktische Forschungen".

Furthermore, there are so-called "Geographical Societies" at 26 different locations all over Germany ( http://www.geographie.de/gesellschaften/index-e.htm), which as a rule are closely connected with the geography departments of the respective universities. The oldest Geographical Society is the "Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin", which was founded in 1828 by Heinrich Berghaus and Carl Ritter, with co-operation from Alexander von Humboldt and other contemporary scientists. Critically and competently transmitting the geographical knowledge to the public, producing a general awareness of problems in spatial planning and development, and making visible environmental conflicts and the socio-cultural sustainability of developments on Earth at global, regional and local scales rank high among the aims of the Geographical Societies in Germany. They want to contribute to unprejudiced and balanced information regarding other countries and cultures, so that these will be respected and valued. This transfer of geographical knowledge from the universities to the general audience is of particular significance and has positive effects on the other associations. In order to fulfil these aims the Geographical Societies organise lectures illustrated by modern media, field trips and various other "events", which are attended by many thousands of interested people annually. Several of these societies also publish scientific journals (e.g. "Die Erde"), members' magazines and monograph series.

In order to co-ordinate the activities of these various sub-associations and Geographical Societies and to represent the general interests of German geography as a whole, the sub-associations and the Geographical Societies work together in the "German Geographical Society" established in 1995 ( http://www.geographie.de). Its predecessor was the "Central Association of German Geographers" (Zentralverband der Deutschen Geographen) which was founded in 1951. The structural changes completed in the 1990s were not least an adaptation to the new situation after German reunification. The "German Geographical Society" is responsible for the "Conference of German Geographers" (Deutscher Geographentag) which takes place every other year (the 2003 meeting will be held in Berne, Switzerland), and is attended by about 2,000 participants.

Within the framework of the "German Geographical Society", 32 study groups provide a very important contribution to research and to the further theoretical and methodological development of geography. The representatives and addresses of the following study groups can be found on the homepage of the "German Geographical Society" ( http://www.geographie.de):

Applied physical geography and landscape ecology	Housing market research
Central Europe	Hydrology
Climate	Medical geography
Communications and telecommunications	Natural hazards
East Asia	North America
Environmental protection	Northern Europe
Genetic settlement research in Central Europe	Polar geography
Geographical Information Systems	Political geography
Geographical-didactical media research	Population geography
Geography and retailing	Soils geography
Geography of knowledge and education	Southeast Asia
Geography of leisure and tourism	Theory and quantitative methods in geography
Geography of oceans and coasts	Transport geography
Geography of religions	Urban futures
Geomorphology	Village development
History of geography	Waste disposal and the recycling of raw materials

The Institute of Regional Geography in Leipzig (Institut für Länderkunde; http://www.ifl-leipzig.com), which was newly founded in 1992, is the only geographic research institute in the Federal Republic of Germany that is not part of an university. The institute is funded by the governments of Germany and the province of Saxony, as well as by research grants of various foundations. It is built on the tradition of the "Deutsches Institut für Länderkunde" (German Institute for Regional Geography) and its predecessors (1896-1968) and the "Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie" (Institute for Geography and Geoecology) (1969-1991) in the former Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic. It carries out basic and applied research on the Regional Geography of Germany and Europe (focusing on Central and Eastern Europe), deals with theory and methodology of Regional Geography and is the editor of the first National Atlas of the Federal Republic of Germany (12 volumes with more than 600 contributions featuring more than 1000 newly published maps).

Its tasks include the management of regional research projects on political, demographic, economic, social and cultural structures and processes, the analysis of regional structures, potentials and development processes on various levels of scale and the publication of regional geographic information and research results. One of its main tasks is to portray the regional geography of the Federal Republic of Germany to the outside world. The Central Geographic Library with its collections of approx. 200.000 library units, including geographical books, periodical, maps and atlases, offers a unique opportunity for investigation and research. The Archives for Geography holds about 100 estates of renowned geographers and explorers with precious documents like expedition documents, including for the German South Pole expedition (1901-1903) or historical photographs, postcards and paintings.

The "German Academy of Regional Geography" (Deutsche Akademie für Landeskunde e.V., http://www.deutsche-landeskunde.de) is the only academy for regional geography in Germany. Its predecessor was founded by the German Geographical Congress (Deutscher Geographentag) in 1882 as the "Central Commission of Regional Geography of Germany" (Zentralkommission für wissenschaftliche Landeskunde von Deutschland). Since 1974, it has been named "Committee of German Regional Geography" (Zentralausschuss für deutsche Landeskunde); the current name and organisational structure was chosen in 1995 in order to match the new requirements after German reunification. According to the principles of scientific academies, the German Academy of Regional Geography has associated members which perform or support scientific studies in regional geography.

The main goals of the "German Academy of Regional Geography" are to encourage research in regional geography in cooperation with scientific institutions and with practice-oriented public and private organisations, to organise meetings to discuss the results of current research in regional geography of Germany with representatives and interested persons from science and practice, to advise various organizations of spatial planning and policy-makers in basic problems concerning the spatial structure and spatial development on a local and regional level, and to publish results of current research in regional geography (Berichte zur deutschen Landeskunde, Forschungen zur deutschen Landeskunde).

Peter Meusburger
Former president of the "German Geographical Society" and of the "Association of Geographers at German Universities"