UNOSAT has been setting standards in satellite analysis for humanitarian response since 2003. This accomplishment and the continuous research and development work done by UNOSAT Team to keep the humanitarian community at the edge of geographic information as a substantial decision support tool have been recognised on many occasions ranging from the Esri Award for excellence in GIS, to the UN Secretary-General’s UN21 Award for outstanding service.

UNOSAT is frequently invited by organisers of international gatherings to illustrate the work done by the Programme in support of humanitarian relief and human security. This year’s Redlands GIS Week featured UNOSATEsri, consisted of a workshop on special time-critical applications and brought together thought-leaders from academia, government, and different industries to advance the integration of volunteered geographic information, or crowd-sourced geodata, with traditional GIS technology. together with otherl outstanding examples of mapping and analysis under the title “Volunteered Geographic Information: Real-Time and Emergency Applications”. The event, organised annually by Redlands GIS Week is held at Esri's headquarters in Redlands, California.

This year the event was entirely devoted to debating the present and future of creating, integrating, and extracting value from Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). Participants connected with their peers and exchange ideas on advancing geospatial decision making, problem solving, and innovative solutions across industries.

Photo: The Esri Headquartes in Redlands, California (image courtesy of Esri)