The ICA Executives Committee approved of the following

Terms of Reference for the HoC Working Group for the period 2026-2027:

• Promote the history of cartography at scientific, educational, and public levels by recognizing maps as key carriers of scientific, technological, social, cultural, and artistic knowledge. Special emphasis will be placed on the modern period and on emerging areas such as non-European mapping traditions (e.g., East Asian, Islamic, Indigenous) and the global diversity of spatial knowledge.
• Enhance the visibility and dissemination of research in the history of cartography through scholarly meetings, peer-reviewed publications, digital platforms, and collaborative initiatives with institutions, collections, and archives. Establish a moderated mailing list for announcements, calls, and WG updates, as well as a website featuring a quarterly “Map History Spotlight” and a “Young Historians of Cartography” spotlight.
• Support teaching and public understanding of the history of cartography to foster critical cartographic literacy. This includes organizing an international “Teaching the History of Cartography” symposium and publishing its proceedings. Further initiatives include coordinating an international travelling exhibition of early maps with outreach programs and providing a “Teaching Map History Starter Pack” to help instructors introduce historical map literacy.
• Study the roles and uses of maps across cultures and in critical contexts—including environmental crises, political tensions, and armed conflicts—through historical case studies. Particular attention will be given to ethnolinguistic maps and their influence on spatial discourses related to national, regional, colonial, and imperial identities. A digital booklet with cross-cultural case studies will be produced.
• Develop a comparative overview of major map collections, examining their historical development and intellectual and cultural roles as conveyors of knowledge and preservers of heritage. Create a curated online directory of major collections and collectors, as well as a list of researchers in the field.
• Support research on the transformation of cartographic knowledge through technological innovation and historical production and dissemination networks. Promote approaches that integrate qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., cartometry) in historical interpretation, and highlight the cognitive, technological, social, and artistic relevance of old maps through a “Methodological Forum” on the WG website. A curated list of innovative projects and good practices will also be published to encourage interdisciplinary and international collaboration.