The Pilot Training Course in Toponymy in Indonesia

Abstract

The value of establishing training courses in toponymy, with particular emphasis on field collection and office treatment of names, has been expressed repeatedly by UN Regional Cartographic Conferences, by UN Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names as well as by the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN). Since aerial photographs and satellite imagery reveal no geographical names, a new type of specialist the name collector must go into the field to acquire and check them, after which the collected names are processed in the office by other specialists. Participants at the third session of the UNGEGN in New York in 1971, under the chairmanship of Dr. Meredith F. Burrill, noted the worldwide interest in field collection and office treatment of geographical names for mapping and other purposes. At the same time, they recognized that the number of persons with some basic knowledge and experience in geographic nomenclature was far from adequate, particularly in developing countries where more than one language may be spoken and where languages may lack writing systems. It was agreed that special courses were needed to bring out and emphasize the importance, problems, and procedures of field collection and office treatment of names. These courses should be attended primarily by senior officers involved in mapping who subsequently would be able to train and supervise junior staff in their respective countries. At this stage of discussion, Dr. Burrill introduced the concept of a pilot training course in order to collect experience. From the outset, it was clear that such an experiment would serve its purpose only when followed by subsequent courses of a more permanent nature.