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UNOSAT organizes and participates in conferences with the aim to raise awareness about the benefits of Geospatial Information Technology. The focus topics include Disaster Risk Reduction, Emergency Response and Sustainable Development Goals.
Our events target a wide range of stakeholders including governments, regional actors, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector.
Examples of past conferences and technical workshops we have held include:
Global challenges
Flood and drought management
Disaster risk re...
At a time when natural disasters are becoming more numerous and frequent, UNOSAT aims to equip all countries with geographical information systems (GIS) to make informed decisions and reduce the risks associated with these natural disasters. To this end, UNOSAT has set up the project ‘Strengthening Capacities in the Use of Geospatial Information for Improved Resilience in Asia-Pacific and Africa’. The project focuses on developing the capacity to use GIS in government agencies across eight partner countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Lao PDR, Nigeria, Solomon Islands, Ugand...
The UNITAR Operational Satellite Training Programme (UNOSAT) contributes to human security, peace and socio-economic development by providing integrated satellite-based solutions for governments as well as relief and development organizations within and outside the UN system. As part of its capacity development activities, a two-week training programme took place in Bhutan, with support from the State of Qatar. With funding through the newly-established Strategic Framework Fund, the programme aimed to enhance the use of geospatial technologies for evidence-based decision ma...
22 October - 2 November 2018, Thimphu, Bhutan – UNITAR-UNOSAT has delivered a two-week training programme, with support from the State of Qatar, to enhance the use of geospatial technologies for evidence-based decision making in Bhutan. The in-country training was organised in cooperation with the National Land Commission Secretariat of the Royal Government Bhutan, and it also brought together government officials from the selected line ministries, such as Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The ...
UNITAR offers courses that run throughout the year or several times a year that are free-of-charge and open to the public. For more information about courses offered, please see below. , This self-paced course, jointly delivered by UNITAR and IUCN, promotes a dynamic learning approach through interactive lessons and multimedia contents. Participants will understand the nexus between biodiversity, climate change and land-use plans; discover the rights and roles of different stakeholders in the planning and decision-making process; and consider ways to col...
“Very importantly, climate displacement is a huge reality in our region and very much in Fiji, and using the CommonSensing tools and data, we have started to prioritise top 15 communities in urgent need of relocation. The CS risk index can help us not just to approach this whole question of relocating people, but also to prioritize who has to move and whose land we can save. It tells us how far inland we need to move a village. Without the CommonSensing platform, this would have been very difficult to achieve.” Shivanal Kumar, Climate Change Adaptation Specialist, Min...
When Mr.Jully Odhiambo Ouma was recommended by his director to attend the UNITAR training on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), he was a Master Degree student in Meteorology at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and a research assistant at Climate Prediction & Applications Centre (ICPAC) within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). At that time, he was making meteorological prediction maps about the probability amounts of rain, using a basic graphic software. The probabilities were presented in a way that was often difficult for local farmers and…
Geneva, 16 April 2020
Excellencies, Friends of UNITAR,
We, the Board of Trustees of UNITAR, are deeply concerned about the profound impacts and disruptions being caused by COVID-19. Our concern is first and foremost for the immediate human loss and suffering especially for those who face the most vulnerabilities in withstanding the shocks. But beyond this we know that the economic and social upheavals that the pandemic is generating will last for a long time. We endorse the UN Secretary-General’s urgent call for action and with this statement share the vision of UNITAR in...
At the heart of Bhutan's evolving landscape, Mr. Chokila emerges as a key figure in driving geospatial developments. In his role as Superintendent Survey Engineer at the National Land Commission Secretariat (NLCS), his collaboration with UNITAR-UNOSAT has been instrumental in this progress. Chokila's quest for professional improvements led him to enrol in UNOSAT's training courses, which are part of the project “Strengthening Capacities in the Use of Geospatial Information for Improved Resilience in Asia-Pacific and Africa (2021-2024)”. He has taken part in v...
25 February, Geneva Switzerland – The Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm developed by UNOSAT with the support of UN Global Pulse, the UN Secretary-General's innovation initiative, was used in the recent rapid mapping activation for seasonal floods in Mozambique.
UNOSAT’s Rapid Mapping Service first introduced AI-based methods (UNOSAT FloodAI) during the rainy season in the Asia-Pacific region with a targeted focus on countries affected by the southwest monsoon season from June to September 2020. It was in that context, in July 2020, that the AI algorithm became operati...