Map Industry Summit Success in London
IMIA had its first in-person event of 2026 in London — the Map Industry Summit, where the key topic was Sustainability, and included valuable presentations, a speed networking event, followed by an industry social at Stanfords.
The featured speaker for this event was Gareth Sumner, the head of Geovation at Ordnance Survey. Additionally, we heard from James Cheshire, Professor of Geographic Information and Cartography in the UCL Department of Geography, Emma Griffin, Co-Founder at Footways London, Stephen Mesquita, the author of the Nielsen BookScan Travel Publishing Year Book, and Ilaria Rovera, Senior Producer at HarperCollins Publishers UK.
Affiiliate Partner News
IMIA Affiliate Partner, British Cartographic Society, presents a series of awards for excellence in cartography that are open to everyone. Entries are encouraged from those engaged in all aspects of mapping – practical, theoretical, commercial and academic, using traditional or innovative techniques and research.
The awards include:
- Peter Jolly Award — Best Map / Data Visualisation
- Stanfords Award — Best entry for Printed Mapping
- The Collins Bartholomew Award for Thematic Mapping & Infographics — Best entry for Thematic Mapping & Infographics
- Ordnance Survey Student Award — Qualifying entries can be from individuals doing full or part-time education courses/studies.
- The Garsdale Design Award — The annual 3D Cartography Award, sponsored by GD3D®, the 3D geospatial brand from Garsdale Design
- Digital Mapping Award — The BCS Award for digital mapping products
- The Ian Mumford Award — For university and college students
- Children’s Map Competition — Supported by Dennis Maps
The awards are presented at the Annual Conference in September. If you have any queries, contact Awards Officer Jim Goldsmith at [email protected].
Sponsor News
Blue Marble Geographics and Avenza Systems Unite to Bring Together Complementary Products in a Field to Office Geospatial Platform
The combined company offers high performance geospatial products accessible to a global base of professional and commercial users.
Hallowell, Maine April 7, 2026 — Blue Marble Geographics and Avenza Systems, Inc. today announced that the two companies have combined and will operate under a single unifi ed brand, Blue Marble Geographics.
The combined organization brings together complementary geospatial technologies that connect high performance spatial analysis in the office with reliable execution in the fi eld. Global Mapper® and Geographic Calculator® from Blue Marble Geographics, together with Avenza Maps® from Avenza Systems, support a connected geospatial workfl ow that spans LiDAR and photogrammetric point cloud processing, high precision coordinate and fi le transformation, and mobile data distribution and collection, providing accuracy and performance across complex environments.
Welcome New Members
Humap is a SaaS interactive map platform built for the academic and GLAM sectors. Humap serves clients including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania, alongside museums, archives, and heritage organisations worldwide.
The platform is no-code and fully multimedia, supporting user-generated content, geo-rectified historical map overlays, walking trails, timelines, and crowdsourcing — all without GIS expertise or bespoke web development. It is designed for organisations publishing rich, place-based digital experiences for public and academic audiences.
Humap is used for citizen science, digital history, cultural heritage, community engagement, and university teaching programmes across the UK, US, and beyond. Learn more about Humap.
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With over 30 years of expertise, SHOCart remains a cornerstone of Central European cartography, blending traditional precision with modern technology. Their mission is simple: to transform complex geographical data into intuitive, beautiful, and highly functional maps for every explorer.
They take pride in our ‘field-proven’ accuracy, ensuring that their cycling and hiking maps are the most reliable companions in the terrain. Driven by innovation, they continuously refine their digital cartography to meet the evolving needs of the 21st-century traveler.
SHOCart is committed to setting the gold standard for outdoor cartography across the Czech and Slovak markets and beyond. Learn more about SHOCart.
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SplashMaps is the world’s fabric map maker. Inspired by the escape and evasion maps of WW2, their fabrics and prints offer the:
- Highest levels of performance for navigation,
- Greatest beauty and desirability for merchandise and the
- The most memorable personalisation possible for your brand.
Ask about our wholesale and print-on-demand packages, or start with a one-off from our global coverage of multiple scales and styles available in our Map Maker.
Choose from a growing selection of formats, from lens cloths to tablecloths, waterproof fabric maps to highly absorbent towels, or desirable satin scarves and versatile headwear.Learn more about Splashmaps.
Connect with Splashmaps here >
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Sutherland Maps specializes in hand-drawn maps with the goal of capturing the beauty of God’s creation through every map. Born from a childhood love for maps, each creation is a joy to make, using colored pencil to bring a place to life.
Each project includes unique aspects about the place, including landmarks, the area’s wildlife, interesting facts, and much more. The process takes weeks at a time but creates maps that capture the beauty of a place.
With a growing collection of maps, Sutherland Maps works to capture the world’s beautiful places, one hand-drawn map at a time. Learn more about Sutherland Maps.
Connect with Sutherland Maps here >
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Stephen Mesquita works as a data analyst and author of the NielsenIQ BookData Travel Publishing Year Book. He number-crunches the annual Nielsen IQ sales data on the travel guide and map market from 11 countries worldwide.
This becomes the Travel Publishing Year Book, which in 2027 will
celebrate its 20th edition. For many travel guide and map publishers worldwide, this has become an essential tool for understanding the market, planning marketing campaigns and refining their print programmes.
Member News
New Chicago Architecture Map
Franko Maps has published the Chicago Architecture Map.
The map locates historic buildings, world heritage buildings, famous homes, notable museums and favorite places of interest in Chicago, the North Shore and Oak Park. 18.5″ x 26″ folded to 4″ x 9″.
Printed on waterproof Rock Paper.
Learn more at frankomaps.com, or contact Eric Riback at [email protected].
View the Chicago Architecture Map here >
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Stanfords Map of the Month
MARCH
Author: Pearson’s Canal Companions
Publisher: Wayzgoose
Canal Companion Map of Great Britain’s Canals & Waterways
This beautifully designed Planner Map brings together the iconic Canal Companions series for both planning and adventure.
APRIL
Publisher: Ordnance Survey
Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa – Conwy Valley / Dyffryn Conwy OS Explorer OL17
Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels, pubs and visitor information as well as rights of way, permissive paths and bridleways.
Upcoming IMIA Events
📍 Mapping Uncertainty
Recognizing Challenges & Creating Opportunities
Rapid change is reshaping the mapping industry, creating both challenges and opportunities for progress. The Mapping Leaders Forum creates a platform for collaboration, bringing together diverse expertise from across the industry. By combining knowledge with innovation, business leaders will discover practical solutions that address real-world challenges, build resilience, and strengthen the role of mapping as a driver of clarity and progress in an uncertain world.
May 12: Amazing Race Around Toronto
May 13-14: Forum Day 1-2: Presentations, Panel discussions, Speed Networking, and more!
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Upcoming Industry Events
Geospatial World Forum
April 27-May 1, 2026 | Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Esri User Conference
July 13-17, 2026 | San Diego, CA, USA
Membership Information
IMIA Members — is your directory listing up to date?
A benefit of IMIA membership includes promoting your company in our digital Member Directory. This provides other members and industry colleagues with real-time information to create new partnerships to grow your business.
Visit the IMIA Member Directory page and search your company name to verify that your information is up-to-date. If you would like to make changes to your listing, please contact Alina Canca at [email protected]. Thank you!
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Call for Committee Participation
Do you want to get more involved with the IMIA? This is your chance to join one of our active committees: Events, Marketing or Membership & Sponsorship. Help us plan the 2026 calendar, assist with marketing efforts to showcase IMIA or strategize on membership growth to keep IMIA thriving.
If you are interested, please contact Donna De Marco at [email protected].
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IMIA Annual Sponsors
