The world is at the dawn of a new era, a new step in the evolution of humanity with hope but also many challenges for sustainable development calling for a series of strategies, synergies of action and evaluation mechanisms. The world human family has just gone through the first phase of a global development vision set by the United Nations for the beginning of the third millennium, in the form of the Millennium Development Goals. Over the past 15 years, geospatial and internet technology has been used as an enabler for the implementation of many initiatives taken around the world in an attempt to translate the Goals into reality.
All these needs are emphasized by two key programs: the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063. In September 2015 the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under the banner Transforming our World. The Agenda 2030 consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with 169 associated targets. At the continental level, the African Union in January 2015 approved Agenda 2063 as a vision and action plan for “the future we want for Africa”. Agenda 2063 contains seven Aspirations for Africa. Due to its long-time frame, Agenda 2063 has been divided up into shorter term objectives. The two Agendas have a lot in common and are mutually supportive and coherent.
Several organizations are working on issues related to geospatial and Internet information. However, the growing number of global issues including cross-border problems such as climate change, food security, natural disasters, peace and security in the world and, the quality of the environment which no nation or region can solve in isolation calls for global coordination between member States of the United Nations and international organizations. It has therefore become necessary for the consideration setting up a mechanism for involving all geospatial and internet stakeholders in Africa.
In spite of the United Nations and African Union effort, the human and organizational capacity needed to support the effective use of these technologies in many African countries is still very weak. It is unlikely that long-term capacity building in technical skills such as geographic information science and internet governance in communities can be sustained in the absence of strong foundations in higher education with emphasis on technology. There is an urgent need to coordinate and strengthen the capacity of African institutions and stakeholders to providing both research and training in geographic information science and internet governance.
The need for capacity building in geospatial and internet governance in Africa has been well articulated by many researchers which need stems from two main reasons; first the role of geospatial and internet technology in economic development of Africa and secondly the weaknesses of past capacity building efforts in geospatial technology in Africa. This technologies provide not only the data and the tools, but also an entire framework within which efficient and effective spatial and internet decisions can be made in Africa.
It is on this background that the African Open Data and Internet Research Foundation is putting together the Africa Geospatial Data and Internet Conference and exhibition from the 21st-25th of October, 2019 at Accra International conference center, Ghana with the theme “Shaping the Digital Future of Africa”. This conference is set to bring together all stakeholders globally to discuss, market, share in the knowledge, and network to find possible solutions for Africa.
Plenary
- Towards a more sustainable Africa
- Sharing the Digital Economy of Africa
- Space Law and policies: The way forward for Africa.
- Digital inclusion and accessibility in Africa.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR ) and Data Protection / Privacy
- Geo-Agric , Health and Education
- Geospacial Technology for SDGs.
- Building a trusted Internet in Africa
For more information, visit the event website.
