COBRIG

 COBRIG is the Council of British Geography.  The GA is one of the affiliated organisations.

COBRIG is the organisation which represents all those bodies concerned with geography and geographical education in England, Wales and Scotland.  Northern Ireland is loosely affiliated to COBRIG and efforts are being made to strengthen links.  

Objectives currently are:

• To enable member organisations to exchange information, ideas and views on matters, policies and practices related to geographical education in general, academic geography and research across the four regions and to identify common concerns and issues therein.
• To act as a spokesperson and a point of reference for the subject in order to be able to represent the views of the geographical community on major issues affecting the status of the subject in the four regions and its constituent organisations and members matters of public interest and policy on which the views of geographers ought to be known
• To follow a flexible and wide-ranging brief embracing the following general areas:

1. policies and proposals affecting geography at all levels of education from primary and early years to higher education, including research
2. provision of resources for geography in education at all levels including research matters of scientific and public concern both national and international to which geographers ought to contribute
3. the raising of public awareness of geography through the media and through the COBRIG website and websites of member organisations of the role that geography can and does play in the day to day matters of the four regions

There are currently 8 member organisations, including the GA and the RGS-IBG. COBRIG provides a forum for discussion and exchange between countries, organisations and sectors of education.  

It represents the interests of geography at national and international levels and identifies issues which need concerted action.  The Seminars were held biennially during the 90s and early 2000s as a forum for discussion and exchange, particularly between schools and higher education.  

Neil Simmonds and Eleanor Rawling were the GA contacts for some time, the latter being a former President of the GA, who established the CoBRIG Seminars.

One COBRIG seminar in 1994 led to the publication of a book co-authored by Eleanor Rawling and Richard Daugherty.

References

(1998) Book Reviews, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 7:3, 265-270, DOI: 10.1080/10382049808667584