At the final business meeting of the Geography of Information, Innovation, and Technology Commission (C16.13/C20.16 - 2016/2024), held on 29 August 2024 in Dublin, the Steering Committee appointed a new leadership team. Chaired by Tommi Inkinen, who completed his second four-year term, the Commission welcomed three geographers to lead its next phase: Philippe Vidal (France), the newly elected President and Professor at Jean Monnet University in Saint-Etienne; Jiyeon Shin (South Korea), Vice-President and Associate Professor at Ochanomizu University; and Clara Di Fazio (Italy), Secretary and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Naples Federico II.

During this Bussines Meeting, the Steering Committee also considered revising the commission’s title. After reviewing several proposals, the committee unanimously selected the new title: Geography of digital society and connected world.

Repositioning the commission's focus on geographical analysis of digital issues

This title change aims to clarify the commission’s role within the International Geographical Union (IGU) and distinguish it from other commissions exploring related topics, such as innovation and technology. With this new focus, the aim is to refine discussions and strengthen the contribution to analyzing the evolving connected world. The goal is to concentrate the field of study and highlight the unique expertise offered by the commission. This renewed emphasis is expected to enrich contributions within the IGU community and reinforce connections with commissions engaged in complementary fields.

Goals and Activities: conferences, publications, and scientific projects

The Commission plans to enhance its activities by organizing conferences under the framework of the International Geographical Union and by participating in national geography committees during years without a regional colloquium or international congress. One initiative already underway is a symposium in Italy, in collaboration with the Italian National Committee for Digital Geography. Additionally, ties are being strengthened with the French National Committee, laying the groundwork for fruitful exchanges and broadening the base for our activities within the geographical community.

Another important activity of the Commission is to support collaborative publications initiated by its members. Netcom Journal, the Commission’s official journal since its inception, plays a key role in maintaining the regularity necessary for international academic publications. The Commission also plans to develop a collective volume on the geography of the digital society, showcasing contributions from its members. We may also consider a digital volume, such as a handbook, to compile and present these contributions.

Starting in the third year of our mandate, we aim to initiate a research project focused on the emerging challenges of the digital and networked society. This project will engage not only geographers but also experts in social and economic issues, as well as spatial planners. Our goal is to bring together diverse expertise to examine how digital transformation is reshaping societal structures and spatial configurations. This collaborative effort will deepen our understanding of the intersection between digital technologies and geographical spaces from multiple perspectives.

Looking ahead: research and AI task force contributions

We also aim to bring our expertise to the International Geographical Union (IGU) by actively participating in the establishment of a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, as announced in Dublin 2024. Our primary objective is to understand how AI is transforming societies and territories and to anticipate the challenges these technologies pose for geography and spatial planning.

Committee Members

Position	Full name	Gender	Country	Institution	Email address
Chair	Philippe Vidal	Male	France	University Jean Monnet of Saint-Etienne	philippe.vidal@univ-st-etienne.fr
Co-Chair	Jiyeon Shin	Female	South Korea	Ochanomizu University	shin.jiyeon@ocha.ac.jp
Secretary	Clara Di Fazio	Female	Italy	Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II	clardifa@gmail.com
Steering committee member 1	Raynald Ballo	Male	Benin	University of Le Havre Normandy	raynbal2@yahoo.fr
Steering committee member 2	Ping Huang	Female	Canada	University of Quebec in Montreal	ping.huang.ph@gmail.com
Steering committee member 3	Mikoto Kukimoto	Female	Japan	Kyoto University	kukimoto.mikoto.5m@kyoto-u.ac.jp
Steering committee member 4	Teemu Makkonen	Male	Finland	University of Eastern Finland	teemu.makkonen@uef.fi
Steering committee member 5	Emmanouil Tranos	Male	United Kingdom	University of Bristol	e.tranos@bristol.ac.uk
Steering committee member 6	Stefano Di Vita	Male	Italy	Politecnico di Milano	stefano.divita@polimi.it

Honorary Board Members

Position	Full name	Gender	Country	Institution	Email address
Honorary Board member 1	Yoshio Arai	Male	Japan	Tokyo University	cyarai0@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Honorary Board member 2	Henry Bakis	Male	France	University Paul Valery of Montpellier	hbgeo.bakis@gmail.com
Honorary Board member 3	Kenji Hashimoto	Male	Japan	Waseda University	hashimoto@waseda.jp
Honorary Board member 4	Tommi Inkinen	Male	Finland	University of Helsinki	toalin@utu.fi
Honorary Board member 5	Aharon Kellerman	Male	Israel	University of Haifa	akeller@univ.haifa.ac.il
Honorary Board member 6	Andreas Koch	Male	Austria	University of Salzburg	andreas.koch@sbg.ac.at
Honorary Board member 7	Becky Loo	Female	Hong Kong	University of Hong Kong	bpyloo@hku.hk
Honorary Board member 8	Maria Paradiso	Female	Italy	Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II	1mariaparadiso@gmail.com
Honorary Board member 9	Mark Wilson	Male	USA	Michigan State University	wilsonmm@msu.edu