UN-GGIM

At its Twelfth Session, in its decision 12/106, the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) noted the Subcommittee on Geodesy desire to convene its Third Plenary Meeting at the UN-GGCE in Bonn once the Centre is established and further urged a greater contribution from relevant technical experts in Member States to the work of the Subcommittee. The last time the Subcommittee met in plenary was in November 2018 on the margins of the inaugural United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress.

The Third plenary meeting of the Subcommittee on Geodesy (SCoG) was hosted by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy of Germany (BKG) at the United Nations campus in Bonn from 29 to 31 March 2023. The meeting was attended by 41 participants: 27 representatives from seventeen Member States that are members of the Subcommittee, three representatives from three participating Member States, ten participants from international and regional organizations, geodetic research institutions, and relevant stakeholders. One staff member from the United Nations Secretariat substantively facilitated the plenary meeting.

Participants also attended the opening ceremony of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) on 29 March 2023 at 1:00 p.m. Plenary meeting participants were joined by a further seventy plus invited guests at the opening ceremony. It was an impressive gathering, the invited guests came from every continent on planet Earth, except Antarctica. There was someone from each of the five regional committees of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). There was someone from each of the eight functional groups and the four thematic networks reporting into UN-GGIM.

At the Third Plenary Meeting, the SCoG selected two from amongst its members as co-Chairs as well as a new bureau that enjoys geographic diversity. The Meeting decided to close the five working groups and establishes three new working groups, namely, (i) Global Geodesy Needs Assessment, (ii) State of Geodesy Report, and (iii) Capacity and Education.