United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (Centre)
Deqing, ChinaThe United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation is an office away from headquarters established by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and under the for substantive guidance and supervision of the UN Statistics Division, responsible for the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
Centre's overarching goal is to work towards the ambitions of implementation of the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) set by Member States, to develop capacity, promote and support the required innovation, leadership, coordination, and standards to develop, strengthen, integrate and deliver national geospatial information policy, data, systems, tools, services and capabilities into their national government development policies, strategies and arrangements. The objective is to strengthen and advance the geospatial information management capacity development capabilities of Member States, especially developing countries, and to strengthen knowledge sharing and innovative cooperation.
The Centre is guided by its Strategic Plan with its vision and mission anchored in three strategic priorities:
Empowering Member States: dedicated to enhancing the geospatial information management capabilities of Member States, with a particular focus on developing countries.
Implementing the UN-IGIF: committed to fulfilling the ambitions set by Member States for the implementation of the UN-IGIF.
Promoting Knowledge and Innovation: striving to share knowledge, experiences, good practices, methodological guidance, and facilitating innovation and technological advancements, while promoting access to enabling geospatial tools and technologies across countries.
Empowering Member States: dedicated to enhancing the geospatial information management capabilities of Member States, with a particular focus on developing countries.
Implementing the UN-IGIF: committed to fulfilling the ambitions set by Member States for the implementation of the UN-IGIF.
Promoting Knowledge and Innovation: striving to share knowledge, experiences, good practices, methodological guidance, and facilitating innovation and technological advancements, while promoting access to enabling geospatial tools and technologies across countries.
The Centre is guided by its Strategic Plan with its vision and mission anchored in three strategic priorities:
Developing Leadership and Collaboration: Support countries in advancing, integrating, managing, and using geospatial information resources, leveraging the UN-IGIF for social, economic, and environmental benefits.
Addressing National Priorities: Accelerate the achievement of national to global development goals by developing strategies, policies, and national geospatial information capacity in countries through the implementation and knowledge-sharing of the UN-IGIF.
Progressing Geospatial Knowledge: Enhance the country-level implementation of the UN-IGIF, including resources and stakeholder relationships, for efficient and effective collaboration with partners, and to maximize impacts for countries.
Enabling Innovation and Technological Advancement: Deploy country-led and integrated data hubs to assist countries in developing geospatial resources and innovative capacities for sub-national, national, regional, and global monitoring and reporting on national priorities and the SDGs within reliable, secure, and scalable platforms.
Enhancing Communication and Awareness: Promote the value and usefulness of geospatial information and share geospatial knowledge and innovation for the benefit of society, the economy, and the environment.
Developing Leadership and Collaboration: Support countries in advancing, integrating, managing, and using geospatial information resources, leveraging the UN-IGIF for social, economic, and environmental benefits.
Addressing National Priorities: Accelerate the achievement of national to global development goals by developing strategies, policies, and national geospatial information capacity in countries through the implementation and knowledge-sharing of the UN-IGIF.
Progressing Geospatial Knowledge: Enhance the country-level implementation of the UN-IGIF, including resources and stakeholder relationships, for efficient and effective collaboration with partners, and to maximize impacts for countries.
Enabling Innovation and Technological Advancement: Deploy country-led and integrated data hubs to assist countries in developing geospatial resources and innovative capacities for sub-national, national, regional, and global monitoring and reporting on national priorities and the SDGs within reliable, secure, and scalable platforms.
Enhancing Communication and Awareness: Promote the value and usefulness of geospatial information and share geospatial knowledge and innovation for the benefit of society, the economy, and the environment.
In making decision 9/101 at its ninth session in August 2019, the Committee of Experts "welcomed the efforts of the United Nations and the Government of China in developing a proposal to jointly advance the establishment, led by the United Nations, of a Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre in Deqing, China, providing opportunities to build global geospatial capacity and capability and to improve and strengthen expertise on how to prepare for national geospatial information management arrangements in countries, especially developing countries." The Committee of Experts also "noted with appreciation the convening of the first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress, held in Deqing, China, in November 2018, and the Moganshan Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the Congress," the Declaration supported "the establishment of Global Centres of Excellence on Geospatial Knowledge, including in Deqing, to promote and build global geospatial capacity and capability, develop collaborative knowledge and innovation hubs for harnessing contemporary methods, technologies and analytics in geospatial information, facilitate access to regional and global information and data sources including Earth observations, and to improve and strengthen national geospatial information management to assist developing countries to implement the SDGs."
In decision 10/101, at its tenth session in August 2020, the Committee of Experts "supported the continuing efforts of the United Nations and the Government of China towards the establishment of a global geospatial knowledge and innovation centre in Deqing, China, which would provide opportunities to build and expand global geospatial capacity, competence and capability and strengthen geospatial information management arrangements in countries, especially developing countries."
Shortly after, at the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, declared "to support the United Nations in playing its central role in international affairs, China will set up a United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre and an International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals to facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."
In parallel, from 2019 to 2022, series of collaborative and productive consultations were convened between the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and its Statistics Division, as the UN-GGIM Secretariat, and the Government of China through the Ministry of Natural Resources. These consultations and negotiations resulted in an Agreement for the establishment of the UN-GGKIC in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China and a Memorandum of Understanding on the operationalization of the UN-GGKIC. The Agreement and the Memorandum were signed by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and China's Minister for Natural Resources in a virtual ceremony on 20 May 2022.
In adopting resolution 2022/24 entitled 'Enhancing global geospatial information management arrangements' on 22 July 2022, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) recognized "the sustained efforts of UN-GGIM to establish the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UN-GGKIC) in Deqing, China [... in an open, inclusive, participatory and transparent manner, provide opportunities to develop and expand global geospatial capacity, competence and capability, and to strengthen geospatial information management arrangements in countries, especially developing countries." Further, ECOSOC reiterated "the importance of strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of the Committee of Experts, particularly for the achievement of its operations focused on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework, to strengthen and ensure its continued effectiveness and benefits to all Member States."
In making decision 13/101 at its Thirteenth Session in August 2023, the Committee of Experts "noted the progress and efforts made to finalize the modalities for the establishment of the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre in Deqing and the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence in Bonn, as tangible means to develop and expand global geospatial capacity and capability and to strengthen geospatial information management arrangements in countries, especially developing countries, and looked forward to ongoing updates on the operations of the Centres at future sessions of the Committee of Experts."
In making decision 14/101 at its fourteenth session from 7-9 August 2024, the Committee of Experts reiterated the importance of strengthening and enhancing national geospatial information management arrangements, capacity, capability and leadership, and urged for sustained national investments in national geospatial programs. The Committee of Experts also welcomed the establishment of the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UN-GGKIC) and endorsed its Strategic Plan .
The United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre is an office away from headquarters established by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and under the for substantive guidance and supervision of the UN Statistics Division. The overarching goal of the UN-GGKIC is to strengthen the geospatial information management capacity development of Member States with UN Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) , accelerating the achievement of SDGs.
The Centre participated or supported several activities that contributed to the operationalization of the Centre, as well as to engage the wider UN-GGIM community particularly on accelerating the implementation of the UN-GGIM and related geospatial frameworks, including to promote the role and upcoming activities of the Centre, to understand opportunities and challenges in the implementation of the UN-IGIF, and to contribute to the overall programme of work of the Committee of Experts. These activities included:
- Expert consultations on enhancing national geospatial information management arrangements and accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 23-28 October 2023, to discuss, key elements of national efforts in Africa towards enhancing their geospatial information management arrangements, resources and capacities and to implement the UN-IGIF.
- Expert Consultation and Meetings on enhancing geospatial information management arrangements and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs, held in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on 22-26 January 2024, including the Third Plenary Meeting of the High-level Group on the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (HLG-IGIF).
- 2024 Meeting of the International Advisory Committee of the UN-GGKIC, held in Deqing, China, on 17-18 April 2024, previously mentioned in the report.
- Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States side event: Geospatial Technology for Sustainable Development of SIDS, held in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, on 28 May 2024, to explore data, platforms, frameworks and experiences for the benefits of countries including SIDS and how geospatial information and technologies contribute to addressing national development priorities and sustainable development toward resilient prosperity
- Fourth Plenary Meeting of the High-level Group on the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (HLG-IGIF), including the delivery of a presentation on the operationalization of the Centre and its Strategic plan
- Side event with presentation at the Fourteenth session of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management
- UN-GGKIC Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Week