Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UNSD, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Jack Dangermond, President – ESRI and Chairman of the WGIC, and Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Secretary General & CEO, WGIC. Image supplied.
The World Geospatial Industry Council has signed an agreement with two United Nations bodies aimed at promoting the value of geospatial data and disciplines in achieving global development targets.
Inked on the eve of the Geospatial World Forum 2019 in Amsterdam, the agreement is between the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Secretariat for the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
The agreement commits the organisations to ‘collaborate and work towards demonstrating the comprehensive value and utility of geospatial knowledge and data systems as core enablers for attainment of the global development agendas, including the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals].’
According to material released by the WGIC, the UNSD supports the work of the UN-GGIM and the United Nations Statistics Commission as the UN’s apex organisation for global statistical and geospatial systems.
‘By compiling and disseminating global statistical and geospatial information, it develops standards and norms for statistical and geospatial activities to strengthen national geospatial information systems of UN member countries and for achievement of the SDGs in their respective national circumstances,’ the statement read.
Jack Dangermond, ESRI president and chairman of the WGIC, said that the association will set new benchmarks for public-private partnerships.
“This collaboration with UNSD paves the way for bringing a greater and enduring professional dimension in preparation of a public-private framework for geospatial policies and standardization of best practices. This association further supports the integration of collective capabilities of both organizations for steering innovation and utilisation of geospatial knowledge for sustainable development goals,” he said.
Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UNSD, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, echoed the sentiment.
“In today’s modern world, with the proliferation of more data every day and so many enabling technologies to analyse, model and disseminate this data, we need to make the most of our combined, and limited, capabilities and resources, and to ensure that no one is being left behind as we strive to achieve sustainable development. This requires public-private partnerships now more than ever before,” he said.
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