Second UNWGIC

“Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind” was the overarching theme of the Second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) which was hosted by the Government of India through its Ministry of Science and Technology in Hyderabad, India in October. The focus of the congress was to bring together stakeholders from the broad geospatial community to discuss, at the global level, how geospatial information supports sustainable development, addresses global challenges and contributes to positively to the economy and the wellbeing of society.

The congress had a strong focus on the sharing experiences with view of strengthening national and regional capacities and capabilities. Plenary session keynotes and panels expanded on supporting sustainable development and the wellbeing of society, embracing digital transformation and technological development, and environmental and climate challenges. The parallel sessions were structured around various topics, including the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework and its pathways, the future geospatial information ecosystem, the SDGs and generations, diversity and partnerships.

UN-GGIM: Europe participated actively in this event, providing the regional experiences to the global conversations, discussions and exchange in all areas of the programme of the congress. Members from the Executive Committee and secretariat of the Regional Committee and members of the regional working groups presented on the work of UN-GGIM: Europe; sharing our experiences on developing our regional strategy and work plan, on the core data for Europe, and on the findings, challenges and obstacles of data integration.

More information about the second UNWGIC can be found here. While a recording of the open plenary session is available online here (opens in YouTube).