UN-GGIM

The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 2 - 4 August 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 31 July - 3 August 2023, the session was attended by 282 participants from 80 Member States. Also present were the representatives of 83 organizations of the United Nations system and observers for intergovernmental, non-governmental and other organizations.

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The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 3 - 5 August 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 1 - 5 August 2022, the twelfth Session was in-person, attended by 384 participants, including 273 representatives from 78 Member States. Also present were 111 representatives of organizations of the United Nations system and observers for intergovernmental, non-governmental and other organizations

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The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) convened its eleventh session in a scaled-down virtual format, consisting of three two-hour meetings, on 23, 24 and 27 August 2021. The Committee conducted its business during the eleventh session through correspondence and informal consultations and considered proposals through a silence procedure pursuant to ECOSOC decision 2021/233..

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The tenth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held in a scaled down virtual format, consisting of three two-hour informal meetings, on 26-27 August and 4 September 2020.

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The Ninth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 7 - 9 August 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 5 - 9 August 2019, the Ninth Session of UN-GGIM ( 7 - 9 August 2019 ) brought together senior officials and executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe

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The first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress held in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China from 19 to 21 November 2018, convened under the purview of the United Nations, substantively improved and strengthened the role of geospatial information management, innovation and related technologies towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to keep the promise to leave no one behind.

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The Eighth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 30 July - 3 August 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 30 July - 3 August 2018, the Eighth Session of UN-GGIM ( 1-3 August 2018 ) brought together senior officials and executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe

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The 5th High Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management, with the theme 'Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: The Role of Geospatial Technology and Innovation', was organized by United Nations Statistics Division as the Secretariat for UN-GGIM in collaboration with the Government of Mexico through the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), supported by Geospatial Media and Communications in Mexico City’.

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The Seventh Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 31 July - 4 August 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 31 July - 1 August 2017, the Seventh Session of UN-GGIM ( 2-4 August 2017 ) brought together senior officials and executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe

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The Kunming Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), with the theme Cities of the Future: Smart, Resilient and Sustainable was convened in Kunming, China, from 10-12 May 2017. More than 160 experts from 30 countries met to share experiences and methodologies on a number of contemporary topics to emphasize and explore the role and contribution of geospatial information in shaping and building smart, resilient and sustainable cities of the future. The Kunming Forum was organised by the United Nations Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as the Secretariat of the UN-GGIM in collaboration with the Government of China through the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

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The International Forum on Policy and Legal Frameworks for Geospatial Information was organised pursuant to decision 5/107 made at the fifth session of UN-GGIM in August 2015 (E/2015/46). The Committee of Experts is cognizant of ongoing developments and increased focus that could have an impact on policy and legal frameworks supporting geospatial information including that which relate to the collection, use, provenance and accessibility of data, such as privacy, licensing, accessibility and national security.

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The Sixth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 1-5 August 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New Yor. Preceeded by a number of related side events from 1-2 August 2016, the Sixth Session of UN-GGIM brought together senior executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe.

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The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), in collaboration with the Government of Ethiopia and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), will host the Fourth High Level Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management at UNECA’s Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 20-22 April 2016.

This forum will be focused on land administration and management, with particular emphasis on sharing experiences, including benefits and challenges, considering fit for purpose aspects, digital land registers, cadastres, and other land data needs, demonstrating practical examples of land administration success stories. Land information and its management are fundamental to successful land administration and the derived benefits to the economies, and overall sustainable development of nations. Therefore, the overarching theme of the Fourth High Level Forum is ‘Good Land Governance for the 2030 Agenda’.

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The Fifth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 3-7 August 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a number of related side events from 3-4 August 2015, the Fifth Session of UN-GGIM brought together senior executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe..

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The TThird High Level Forum on UN Global Geospatial Information Management was held in Beijing, China, from 22-24 October 2014, with the theme Sustainable Development with Geospatial Information. The meeting brought together 261 participants from 44 countries, 9 United Nations representatives, and 27 representatives from international organizations and the private sector.

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The Fourth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 6-8 August 2014 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Preceded by a UN Global Forum on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information and a number of technical side events, the Fourth Session of UN-GGIM brought together senior executives from national geospatial information and statistical authorities within Member States, and international geospatial experts from across the globe..

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The United Nations Global Forum on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information took place in the UN Headquarters in New York from 4-5 August 2014. The Forum was organized by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), as the Secretariat of the UN Statistical Commission and the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), and substantively supported by the United Nations Expert Group on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information (UN EG-ISGI).

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More than 180 experts from 40 countries attended the Chengdu Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management in Chengdu, China from 15-17 October 2013. Convened by 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, and with the theme Development and Applications in Urban Hazard Mapping, participants met to share experiences and methodologies in the production, management, analysis, modeling and dissemination capacity of hazard related geospatial information. The Forum concluded that geospatial information has a vital role to play in all phases of hazard and disaster risk management and reduction, and it extends the ability for nations to not only map their geography and topography, but also those areas that are vulnerable to natural hazards, particularly in urban environments.

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The Third Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was held from 24-26 July 2013 at the Corn Exchange Building, Cambridge City Centre, United Kingdom. Bringing together more than 250 geospatial experts from across the globe, the Third Session of UN-GGIM was convened back-to-back with the Cambridge Conference, and made considerable progress in fulfilling GGIM's mandate to enhance collaboration and support the use of geospatial information to promote sustainable development globally..

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The Second High Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) was held in Doha, Qatar from 4-6 February, 2013 at the Qatar National Convention Centre. It provided the opportunity for Member States of the ESCWA region to meet to discuss UN-GGIM. All 11 Member States present agreed in principle that more regional cooperation on GGIM was needed. UN-ESCWA and the UN-GGIM Secretariat, with the help of other regional GGIM groups, will provide the guidance and support to help the region to establish their own regional GGIM mechanism

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The Second Session of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management was held at UN (New York) from 13 - 15 August 2012. Interpretation in all six languages was provided..

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Organized by the UN-GGIM secretariat and supported by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil, this side event took place on 20 June from 5:00 to 6:30pm in Room T-10 of T Pavilion in RioCentro. A senior politician from the government of the United Kingdom gave the opening speech. This event demonstrated the vital role accurate, maintained and reliable geospatial information can, and indeed is, playing in helping to deliver sustainable development across the globe and in providing financial benefits to users. With presentations based on real-country experiences, it illustrated why Member States should develop and leverage accurate and maintained geospatial information in order to deliver successfully on the outcomes of Rio+20 and to monitor the implementation of such outcomes effectively. The main target audience was senior government officials with decision responsibility on monitoring systems for sustainable development

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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 jointly convened the Global Geospatial Information Management Forum which was held at the Zhejiang Xizi Hotel from 24 to 25 May 2012 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The Hangzhou Forum discussed priority issues for the regional implementation strategy of the GGIM initiative. The meeting was substantively supported by the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) was held back to back with the PCGIAP Executive Board meeting. The Forum provided a platform for an exchange of views on the key policy and technology issues and the need for an improved regional cooperation in this field.

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The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, established by ECOSOC on 27 July 2011 as the official UN consultative mechanism on GGIM, is convening its inaugural session on 26 October 2011 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The inaugural meeting will bring together experts from Member States and observers from international organizations to adopt the terms of reference of the Committee, review its rules of procedure and discuss its contribution to Rio+20 Conference as well as an inventory of critical issues to be addressed by the Committee in future sessions.

Immediately preceding the inaugural session of the Committee, the United Nations is jointly organizing with the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) of the Republic of Korea, for the first time, a High Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management at the COEX Convention Centre in Seoul, 24-26 October 2011. The Forum will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion of current critical geospatial information issues and consultations among governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

At the opening of the Forum, a Ministerial Segment will be convened in the morning of 24 October 2011. The Under-Secretary-General for DESA Mr. Sha Zukang will deliver the opening address. The Segment will provide a platform for Ministers, representing all the regions of the world, to discuss national policies on geospatial information, particularly in reference to management aspects; to provide direction in evolving common frameworks and methodologies across countries; to promote the use of geospatial information to address key global challenges; and to give guidance on capacity development and enhance technology transfer.

The High Level Forum and the inaugural session of the Committee will be accompanied by two thematic side-events, namely an ‘Exchange Forum with the Geospatial Industry’ (on Sunday 23 October 2011) and a ‘Seminar on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information’ (on Thursday 27 October 2011).

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The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), jointly with the United Nations Cartographic Section/DFS (UNCS), is organizing the third preparatory meeting of the proposed United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM). The Meeting will discuss the report on GGIM to be submitted to ECOSOC and the inter-governmental process. In addition, the meeting will discuss the agenda and the modality of the forthcoming UN Forum on GGIM to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 25-28 October, 2011. This is the last preparatory meeting and we expect to receive strong guidance from the member states on the progression of this GGIM initiative.

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UNSD, in collaboration with the UN Cartographic Section, is organizing the Second Preparatory Meeting of the Proposed United Nations Committee on Global Geographic Information Management.

The purpose of the Meeting is to discuss and initiate the preparation of a report, for the approval of ECOSOC, on global coordination of geographic information management, including the consideration of a possible creation of a United Nations global forum for the exchange of information among countries and other interested parties, and particularly for sharing best practices in legal and policy instruments, institutional management models, technical solutions and standards, interoperability of systems and data, and sharing mechanisms that guarantee that geographic information and services are easily and timely accessible. The Meeting, bringing together official representatives from member countries as well as representatives from relevant professional organizations, will also offer the possibility to the participants to discuss the terms of reference and the modalities of work for the global forum and the Committee of Experts.

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UNSD, in collaboration with the UN Cartographic Section, organized the First Preparatory Meeting of the Proposed United Nations Committee on Global Geographic Information Management. The purpose of the meeting was to discus how to better coordinate the various regional and global activities on geospatial information and the related management issues and to reflect upon what the challenges at the global level are, and how they should be met, in particular with reference to the development and management of national, regional and global geospatial information to support decision-making in an increasingly complex world.

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