Desde sus inicios la Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid mantuvo vivas y constantes las relaciones con los geógrafos europeos y americanos. Su nacimiento estuvo ligado a la asistencia de uno de sus fundadores, Francisco Coello de Portugal al Congreso Geográfico de París (1875). Más tarde la Real Sociedad Geográfica fue una de las siete representaciones nacionales que, en 1922, en Bruselas, constituyeron la Unión Geográfica Internacional, que hoy reúne a 94 países miembros. España, a propuesta de la RSG, se adhirió oficialmente a la UGI ese mismo año y su Junta Directiva adquirió por Real Decreto su carácter de Comité Nacional del organismo internacional, asistiendo normalmente a sus Congresos y Asambleas y aportando en cada momento sus aportaciones científicas. Actualmente, la RSG y la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles comparten mayoritariamente el hoy Comité Español de la UGI y favorecen la colaboración hispana en las tareas científicas de la Unión.
UGI
The International Geographical Union, hereinafter IGU, was created on July 27th, 1922 by the General Meeting of the International Council for Research. The Meeting was held in Brussels by representatives of Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom. Therefore, Spain, represented by the Real Sociedad Geográfica (RSG), created in 1876, was one of the seven founding countries, to which many others had joined until UGI’s present composition.
EUGEO
The Real Sociedad Geográfica is a founding member of the European Geograhical Association (EUGEO) that, since 1997, is made up by different geographical societies of eleven countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom. Its objectives are: caring for geographical and environmental problems, supplying a wide European approach to geographical research and promoting geographical research and teaching in Europe. The Presidency’s seat is in the Universidad Libre de Brussels and the Secretary’s is in the Italian Geographical Society /Società Geografica Italiana in Rome.
EUROGEO
The Real Sociedad Geográfica is a member of EUROGEO since its beginnings. EUROGEO is a non-profit association with members in almost every European countries. It assembles the European associations of Geography teachers. In 1989 EUROGEO was granted official consultative status with the Council of Europe which in 2004 became fully participatory. Some of its objectives are to promote the European dimension in Geography teaching in Europe. It collaborates with different institutions and bodies and organises conferences and other events to promote good practices in Geography teaching and research.