Overview

In the early days of the United Nations, the problem of geographical names lacking standardized forms was raised, particularly in connection with cartographic services coordinated through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

In 1959, ECOSOC Resolution 715A (XXVII) paved the way for a small group of experts to meet and provide technical recommendations on standardizing geographical names at the national and international levels. This meeting gave rise to the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names, now held every five years, and to the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), which meets between Conferences to follow up the implementation of resolutions adopted by the Conferences.

Outside its meetings, UNGEGN functions through 23 geographical/linguistic divisions and through working groups, currently addressing issues of training courses, digital data files and gazetteers, romanization systems, country names, terminology, publicity and funding, and toponymic guidelines.

As fundamental to the need for global standardization of geographical names, UNGEGN promotes the recording of locally-used names reflecting the languages and traditions of a country. UNGEGN's goal is for every country to decide on its own nationally standardized names through the creation of national names authorities or recognized administrative processes. With the wide dissemination of the nationally standardized forms through gazetteers, atlases, web-based data bases, toponymic guidelines, etc., UNGEGN can promote the use of these names internationally. For each non-Roman alphabet or script this will be through the adoption and use of a single scientifically-based romanization system.

This web site provides for UNGEGN a focal point for timely dissemination of information on its activities and of material on the standardization of geographical names.

As mentioned in UNGEGN's publicity brochure, geographers, linguists, cartographers and planners are among those specialists who develop the tools, harness the technology, provide the outreach, and share the belief that accurate and consistent use of a common framework of geographical names can offer considerable benefits to the world.