The UN initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) aims at playing a leading role in setting the agenda for the development of global geospatial information and to promote its use to address key global challenges. It provides a forum to liaise and coordinate among Member States, and between Member States and international organizations.

In 2009, the United Nations Statistics Division/DESA (UNSD) convened in New York, on the side of the 9th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for the Americas (UNRCC-A), an informal consultative meeting with geospatial information experts from different regions of the world and discussed how to better coordinate the various regional and global activities on geospatial information and the related management issues. Subsequently, UNSD, jointly with the UN Cartographic Section, convened three preparatory meetings on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) - the first in Bangkok in October 2009, prior to the 18th UNRCC-AP, the second in New York, in May 2010, and the third one also in New York, in April 2011.

In 2010 at the 18th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference- Asia Pacific (UNRCC-AP) and the 41st session of the UN Statistical Commission, the issue of global geospatial information management was discussed and the UN Secretariat was requested to initiate discussion and prepare a report, for the approval of ECOSOC on global coordination of geospatial information management, including the consideration of a possible creation of a United Nations Forum on GGIM. In July 2010, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) decided to request the Secretary-General to submit to the Council at its 2011 substantive session a report on global geographic information management (see the full text E/2010/240); this decision paved the way for subsequent GGIM preparatory activities.

At its substantive session in July 2011, the Economic and Social Council considered the report of the Secretary General (E/2011/89) and adopted a resolution to create the UN Committee of Experts for Global Geospatial Information Management (2011/24).

In 2011 at the First High Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management, held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 24-26 October 2011, the participants of the Forum have met in the context of an United Nations initiative to enhance global cooperation in the field of geospatial information management and issued the Seoul Declaration on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM).

Overview of the UN Initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM Slide presentation, October 2010) - Slides

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Zhejiang Xizi Hotel, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
24 to 25 May 2012

The Secretariat of the United Nations initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (NASG) of China are jointly organizing a Global Geospatial Information Management Forum. more...

RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
24 April 2012, 14:00-17:00, room D201

A working group was established to assess the future trends in geospatial information management at the 1st meeting of the UN Committee on GGIM in Seoul, Korea. Chaired by Dr. Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, the working group has received written inputs from 29 persons or institutions. A summary of the future trends shall be presented during this forum in Amsterdam, followed by discussion among all the participants. Meanwhile, the process of soliciting views on future trends continue and the working group welcome any additional inputs. A consolidated paper on the future trends shall be discussed in the 2nd Session of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management.
Background paper:
Future trends in geospatial information management: the five to ten year vision.

The Second Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 13-15 August 2012. The official announcement of the second session has been issued through a Note Verbale which was communicated to all the Permanent Missions to the United Nations. more...

Past Session:
The Inaugural Session of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 26 October 2011. more...

We are pleased to announce that the Second High Level Forum will be held in Doha, Qatar from 4-6 February, 2013.

Recognizing the importance of geospatial information in national and global development, ECOSOC established in 2011 the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UNCE-GGIM) and encouraged “Member States to hold regular high-level, multi-stakeholder discussions on global geospatial information, including through the convening of global forums, with a view to promoting a comprehensive dialogue with all relevant actors and bodies”. more...

• ECOSOC - Resolution 2010/240 entitled Global geographic information management
• UNRCC-AP - Resolution VII: Global geographic information management
• UN STATCOM - Statistical Commission decision 41/110: Global geographic information management
• 2010 UN STATCOM - Discussion paper on Global Geospatial Information Management
• 2011 UN STATCOM - Report on Global Geospatial Information Management
• CODIST resolution on GGIM
• ISO/TC 211 resolutions on GGIM

By countries

• Australia - Scoping Paper for the Proposed United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geographic Information Management - English
• Brazil - Data Integration - English
• Burkina Faso - Capacity Building and Technology Transfer for Global Geographical Information Management - English | French
• Japan - Scoping Paper for the Proposed United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geographic Information Management - English
• Republic of Korea - Reflections on the critical issues in Global Geographical Information Management - English

By organizations

• Data Integration and Interoperability of Systems and Data

• Scoping Notes for The Preparatory Meeting of the Proposed United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geographic Information Management
• Global Geographic Information Management: Some Institutional and Data Sharing Issues in Integrating Geospatial and Statistical Data
• View on UN Committee of Experts (UNCoE) on Global SDI proposed by UNSD

• Scoping Notes for The Preparatory Meeting of the Proposed United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geographic Information Management
• Reflections about a global forum for Geographic Information (GI) management

• Technical solutions and standards: How ISO can support a forum for global geographic information management

• UNGEGN Scoping notes