Letters | 16 May 2009

A charted course

Sir: Charles Moore has lost his bearings and entered ‘terra incognita’ in his recent exploration of the Royal Geographical Society’s remit and work in the 21st century (The Spectator’s Notes, 9 May). To be clear, the society stays true, today as over its 170-year history, to its founding charter to ‘advance geographical science’. The suggestion that the society is not fulfilling its charter is a misinterpretation and makes a travesty of the society’s work with schools and universities, with the public and policy-makers — and not least to the hundreds of professional researchers that the society currently supports to advance new understanding of all aspects of our world. Since 2005 we have supported 150 projects led by established researchers in 65 countries — from the Amazon to Greenland and from China to New Zealand — addressing issues ranging from climate change to migration. Turning to our forthcoming SGM; from the start of this process the society — in consultation with those calling for the SGM — has placed the running of the vote in the hands of the Electoral Reform Services to ensure due process is followed.