Royal Geographical Society

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The Royal Geographical Society ( RGS ; German  Royal Geographical Society ) in London is a learned society that is committed to the promotion of research and teaching and the dissemination of knowledge on geography . The organization is the largest geographic society in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The organization was founded in 1830 . It is the third oldest geographic society in the world after the Paris Société de Géographie and the Gesellschaft für Gekunde zu Berlin.

The Institute of British Geographers is affiliated with the organization .

Former British Minister of State Lynda Chalker has been President of the Society since 2018 . From 2009 to 2012 the actor Michael Palin was president of the company.

aims

The company describes its task with the following six strategic goals:

  • Promote and support geographic research in the UK and overseas
  • Promote and strengthen the image of geography in school education and in lifelong learning
  • Obtaining, maintaining and disseminating geographical information
  • Promote a wider public interest, understanding, and enjoyment of geography
  • Advising governments and other agencies on geographic matters
  • Securing the enduring strength of society and its members.

Members

The members are divided into two main groups: Members and Fellows .

Anyone interested in geography can become a member (approx. 85 percent of personal members).

Fellows (around 15 percent of personal members) are mostly academics with a geographic or related degree. They are appointed upon the suggestion of other fellows for their merit or knowledge useful to society. You are entitled to use FRGS (Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society) as a suffix after your name.

In addition to individual members, schools, companies and organizations can also become members of society.

Research groups

The association currently has 28 research groups. These unite geographers from the respective sub-disciplines of geography and organize seminars, conferences, workshops, etc.

  • Biogeography Research Group (BRG)
  • British Society for Geomorphology (BSG)
  • Climate Change Research Group (CCRG)
  • Coastal and Marine Research Group (CMRG)
  • Developing Areas Research Group (DARG)
  • Economic Geography Research Group (EGRG)
  • Energy Geographies Working Group (EGWG)
  • Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group (GCYFRG)
  • Geographical Information Science Research Group (GIScRG)
  • Geographies of Justice Research Group (GJRG)
  • Geographies of Religion Spirituality and Faith Working Group (GRSFWG)
  • Geography of Health Research Group (GHRG)
  • Geography of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG)
  • Higher Education Research Group (HERG)
  • Historical Geography Research Group (HGRG)
  • History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group (HPGRG)
  • Participatory Geographies Research Group (PyGyRG)
  • Planning and Environmental Research Group (PERG)
  • Political Geography Research Group (PolGRG)
  • Population Geography Research Group (PopGRG)
  • Postgraduate Forum (PGF)
  • Quantitative Methods Research Group (QMRG)
  • Rural Geography Research Group (RGRG)
  • Social and Cultural Geography Research Group (SCGRG)
  • Space Sexualities and Queer Research Group (SSQRG)
  • Transport Geography Research Group (TGRG)
  • Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG)
  • Women and Geography Study Group (WGSG)

Awards

The organization awards numerous awards and prizes.

  • Gold Medals
  • Victoria Medal (since 1902)
  • Murchison Award (since 1882)
  • Back Award (since 1882)
  • Busk Medal (since 1975)
  • Cuthbert Peek Award (since 1883)
  • Edward Heath Award (since 1984)
  • Cherry Kearton Medal and Award (since 1967)

Publications

The organization or the Institute of British Geographers publish several prestigious scientific journals. These are: Area , Geographical Magazine , The Geographical Journal, and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers .

Financed expeditions

The expeditions co-initiated or financially supported by the organization include, for example, some of the Antarctic expeditions of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton . In Africa expeditions were supported by David Livingstone , Heinrich Barth , Eduard Vogel , Richard Francis Burton , John Hanning Speke and Henry Morton Stanley .

See also

Web links

Commons : Royal Geographical Society  - collection of images, videos and audio files