Addis Ababa — All is set for the AfricaGIS 2017 Conference, which is being organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and EIS-AFRICA in collaboration with the Ethiopian Mapping Agency to discuss geospatial and statistical issues on the continent.
ECA's Director of the African Centre for Statistics (ACS), Mr. Oliver Chinganya, says AfricaGIS 2017, which runs from 20 to 24 November, will set the agenda for geospatial information and statistics as critical tools in Africa's transformative processes.
"We are excited and ready now that conference is almost here. Monday we begin to deliberate on geo-information and how it has made an impact on people's lives, particularly through support to local development efforts, and how such applications could be scaled up towards transforming the continent into the Africa we want," said Mr. Chinganya.
He said the conference is crucial as it will allow those in the field to discuss what has been learnt and achieved through effective management and utilization of geospatial and statistical information on the continent.
The main theme for AfricaGIS 2017 is: "Geospatial and Statistical Information Imperatives for the Africa We Want."
To fully examine different components of the theme as well as various issues relating to Africa's transformation, the theme will be further explored through the following sub-themes.
The themes are; Transforming land-based resource management; Urbanization and settlements with the emphasis on secondary cities and human geographies; Geospatial information and the blue economy; and Geospatial information and statistics for forward planning and risk management.
"Geospatial and statistical information are imperatives that are essential for Africa's development and its transformative agenda, not just a vain pursuit for the sake of it, but rather as foundations for implementing critical projects for the benefit of, and ultimately the transformation of, the lives of African citizens as expressed in the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063 and also the UN 2030 Agenda," said Mr. Chinganya.
The conference will seek to address the challenge of demonstrating the necessity of geospatial and statistical information as critical decision-support tools to influence local, national, sub-regional, and regional priorities, as well as emerging issues as the continent engages on its transformative agenda.
