HISTORY of GEOSEA
The inaugural REGIONAL CONGRESS ON GEOLOGY, MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA (GEOSEA) was held in 1972 at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was organized by the four co-founding institutions: Geological Society of Malaysia (GSM), Ikatan Ahli Geologi Indonesia (IAGI), Geological Society of the Philippines, and Geological Society of Thailand. Since then, each co-founding institution took turns to host GEOSEA on the rotational basis.
The GEOSEA Secretariat was established in 2009 during the Business Meeting chaired by the President of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Dato’ Yunus Abdul Razak. Activities of the GEOSEA Secretariat are funded by the Geological Society of Malaysia.
The GEOSEA logo comprises a twinned crystal and a geological hammer. The twin crystal represents continuous growth as a single entity, whilst the geological hammer is depicted as solid without joints, reflecting the strength and unity among geoscientists of the region. The logo was created during the early days and a major contributor to the design was Dr. Prinya Nutalaya from the Geological Society of Thailand.
The rectangular GEOSEA flag carries the logo in black on an orange background. The background color is similar to that used in the ASEAN logo, to capture the vision of an ASEAN community of geoscientists. The design of the GEOSEA flag was agreed upon at the Business Meeting of GEOSEA XII, chaired by the President of the Geological Society of Thailand, Mr. Songpope Polachan.
FORMATION OF AFGEO
The ASEAN Federation of Geoscience Organisations (AFGEO) is the joint federation of geoscience organisations in the Southeast Asia, the current members are Indonesian Association of Geologists (IAGI), Geological Society of Malaysia (GSM), Myanmar Geosciences Society (MGS), Geological Society the Philippines (GSP) and Geological Society of Thailand (GST).
The formation of ASEAN Federation of Geoscience Organisations (AFGEO) from GEOSEA was established by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of AFGEO was initially signed online by Geological Societies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand on 7th April 2021. The Myanmar Geosciences Society (MGS) joined AFGEO in 2022, the MoU was signed in the AFGEO Business Meeting during (GEOSEA2022) in Langkawi, Malaysia.
GEOSEA will be maintained as the branding of flagship congress event. AFGEO was first initiated in the GEOSEA Business Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2018.
The first AFGEO/ GEOSEA Business Meeting was conducted online on the final day of the 16th Regional Geoscience Congress of Southeast Asia 2021 (GEOSEA2021) held on 6 – 8 Dec 2021, hosted by the Geological Society of the Philippines (GSP). The meeting was attended by 6 geoscience organisations from 6 countries namely Ikatan Ahli Geologi Indonesia (IAGI), Geological Society of Malaysia (GSM), Myanmar Geoscience Society (MGS), Geological Society of the Philippines (GSP), Geological Society of Thailand (GST), and Vietnam Union of Geological Sciences (VUGS), represented by the President and other members. CCOP Secretariat joined as an observer. The meeting was chaired by the current Chairman of GEOSEA/AFGEO Secretariat, Abd Rasid Jaapar, who is also the Immediate Past President of GSM and current President of IGM and co-chaired by the Secretary of GEOSEA/AFGEO Secretariat, Dr Lim Choun Sian, the Treasurer of GSM and Dr Decibel Eslava, the President of GSP.
In the meeting, members agreed to strengthen ASEAN Federation of Geoscience Organisations (AFGEO) in leading the way for the future of geoscience organisations in Southeast Asia. Future biennial meetings will be known as AFGEO Executive Meeting. GEOSEA will be the flagship event of AFGEO and to be continue as biannual event on rotational basis among members.
A sub-committee on ASEAN Register of Professional Geologists (ARPG) and Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) was also formed in the meeting. This initiative is in line with ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) established in 2015.
The formation of AFGEO aims to strengthen geoscience, collaboration of geoscientists community, the profession and practice in ASEAN.
MEMBERSHIP
The Business Meeting at GEOSEA XII in Bangkok, on 8 March 2012 agreed that the Geological Societies of all 11 countries in Southeast Asia will be core members of GEOSEA. Where there are no Geological Societies, a relevant government department or institution will be invited to represent that country as an interim measure. Membership to GEOSEA is free of charge, voluntary and based on friendship and goodwill.
Core GEOSEA members will maintain affiliation with geological societies from East Asia and other parts of the world. The tradition of inviting geoscientists from East Asia and other parts of the world to participate in GEOSEA will be continued and strengthened.
SECRETARIAT
The GEOSEA Secretariat was established in 2009. Activities of the GEOSEA Secretariat are funded by the Geological Society of Malaysia. GSM to serve as GEOSEA and AFGEO Secretariat under mandate: (i) 2012 Bangkok for 4 years till 2016, (ii) 2016 Bandung for 4 years till 2020, and 2020 Business Meeting till 2022.
CONTACT
AFGEO / GEOSEA SECRETARIAT
c/o Geological Society of Malaysia
Geology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Web | http://www.afgeo.asia | http://www.gsm.org.my
Email | geologicalsociety[@gmail.com] , please remove the symbol []
Phone | +(603)-7957-7036