The article presents information about the sections and presentations of the XXVII International cartographic conference held in August 2015. It provides and insight on the opening of the international map year, the launch of the international journal of cartography, emphasizes the role of the Russian National Cartographic Committee and the achievements of Russian participants. It provides a description of the International cartographic exhibition, its themes and views which to some extent identify main trends of cartography’s development. The article also contains an announcement of the Russian scientific conference “International year of maps in Russia: uniting space and time”.