Last week MapAction’s CEO Liz Hughes was in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China, to take part in the UN’s international forum for global geospatial information management.

The theme of this year’s event was ‘The Geospatial Way to a Better World’. As MapAction has for several years been involved with the Working Group on Geospatial Information and Services for Disasters which is part of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), Liz was invited to present on a panel looking at how we can better prepare for disasters. Discussions were framed by the global Strategic Framework on Geospatial Information and services for Disasters agreed earlier this year.

The need for interoperability, partnership, open data and preparedness, and the centrality of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) were underlined in several sessions throughout the Congress and some excellent examples of national-level initiatives to progress the SDGs were presented. “Although a short trip, this was a thoroughly enjoyable one with Chinese welcome and hospitality on a grand scale. It was also gratifying to hear our messages around open data echoed elsewhere during the Congress,” said Liz.