The progress that different forms of technology have experienced in the last decades is remarkable. We’ve used technology in making numerous tasks easier and recently it’s also being used in helping cities become more informed, more prepared, more resilient. An introduction to the session on “Advancing urban resilience through the strategic use of spatial data” gave the audience of a quick look of how the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has transformed itself into an infrastructure essential for urban resilience. GIS takes spatial data and transforms it to relevant data through the use of a common language – visualization.

One of the presentations gave us a practical view of how GIS is helping in spatial planning issues in Kosovo. Migration of people from rural areas to urban areas challenged the area’s original planning. Due to lack of adequate information, the urban expansion of the city of Ferizaj from 1964 brought people into flood-prone areas. Disaster risk assessment and management efforts are now integrating GIS in strengthening local and central institutional capacities. One of the products of this integration is coming up with multihazard maps, which aid in the spatial planning of communities.

While the presentations given in the session can be classified under ‘good practices’ or more successful attempts of using GIS, the challenges it faces were also aptly discussed. One significant challenge is how to get policy-makers use this spatial data and guide them in their tasks. Another important issue is how to make this information useful and relevant for everyone including the 4 billion people living under 3 dollars a day. While there isn’t a single and certain solution for any of these, it is important to recognize the feat that this technology has achieved so far and could still achieve. One recent relevant development is the ‘geocode’ attached to twitter messages allowing the density of ‘tweets’ to be mapped – a feature that has proved useful in times of crisis. This example also exhibits how individual users are helping in the use of GIS technology for crisis-related relief efforts.

View original post on the ICLEI blog here

The rapid pace of urban development in Abu Dhabi fuels thousands of projects related to construction permits and urban planning approvals. These result in approximately 100,000 No-Objection-Certificate (NOC) transactions being triggered every year by public, private and government entities, with each having to endure the processing complexities of the system. The GPC Group has partnered with ADSIC to address this processing challenge with strategic planning and implementation consultancy. By combining local expertise with global best practice, GPC will be helping to create a program that can be adopted widespread, that provides the private sector with immense efficiency gains, and that incorporates learning from international benchmark projects. 

“For contractors, developers and many private sector companies, NOCs pose a daunting challenge to business and can often cause significant loss in revenue. This translates into a very large negative impact on the economy in general” says Joseph Abdo, Director of Business Operations at the GPC Group. “With the NOC Program, we aim to make the NOC process painless and efficient. We have already gained support of core stakeholder entities and have a strong team in place to tackle this challenge”.  The NOC solution is designed to provide a single-window electronic gateway through which customers will be able to apply for, and track NOCs effectively from anywhere and at any time. This will be conducive to creating better working environments, improving efficiency, time, and cost, as well as having positive implications on protecting existing utilities and infrastructure, ensuring public safety, sustaining the environment and preserving cultural heritage.

ADSIC has been entrusted by Abu Dhabi Government to work in collaboration with the municipalities and other government stakeholder entities to design a comprehensive NOC solution for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The modernization of the NOC process is critical to an efficient and effective utilities and infrastructure service, and once implemented, it can be used to replicate efficiency in similar areas of service. 

©Nicolas Mamberti

The Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA), under the direction of the General Secretariat for the Executive Council (GSEC), and in partnership with Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Western Region Municipalities, is undertaking the recently initiated Abu Dhabi Emirate Street Addressing, GeoNames and Signage System (ADAGS) project. Bayanat, a wholly-owned Mubadala company born from the commercialisation of the UAE Armed Forces Military Survey Department, was on the 1^st April awarded the contract to lead the planning and implementation of this comprehensive Emirate-wide project.

The ADAGS project is expected to vastly improve how businesses and residences are referenced and located in ways that will provide benefits across most segments of Abu Dhabi society. Improving ambulance response time, reducing carbon footprint, effectively being able to monitor disease epidemics, and enabling economic growth through the online consumer are but a few examples of the possible impact an improved addressing system can have. The potential for change will transform the Emirate’s infrastructure and society as we know it. The ADAGS project will provide a sophisticated addressing system in-keeping with the progressive developments in Abu Dhabi, and the world platform. 

The diverse technical elements within the ADAGS project necessitate Bayanat to partner with several international experts. GPC is part of the management team responsible for project management, outreach, requirements assessment and program design, working in collaboration with ESRI Global, and four other subject matter experts: RoadPro (Australia), Merje (USA), Spatial Focus (USA), and Geo-Naming Solutions (Australia). 

The full project is scoped to span three and a half years.  A pilot effort has been initiated in coordination with Abu Dhabi Municipality to test basic standards and guidelines for four areas of the Capital.  The full implementation of new addresses and signs on the ground is expected to commence in 2014.

JAMAICA - GPC’s GeoVillage platform is intended to bring foundation telecommunications and electrification to remote villages that don’t have such infrastructure, and to build on this with a wide variety of internet-based services that can tie villagers to a global network of useful services ranging from banking, microfinance, telemedicine, agricultural extension, and others.  GeoVillage is currently a conceptual framework developed by the GPC Group, and steps are underway in several countries around the world to turn this concept into reality.

As part of the GeoVillage development effort, the GPC Group has teamed with several important and influential partners in Jamaica to respond to a USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) programme that specifically focuses on disaster management. Using GeoVillage as a foundation, this programme would empower poor and vulnerable communities to accurately prepare and respond to natural and climate-change related disasters with the use of state-of-the-art information and communication technology (ICT), geographic information systems (GIS) and significant participation by themselves. ICT4D (Information and Communications Technologies for Development) Jamaica’s technological and grassroots contribution has been instrumental in taking the project to new heights.     

“ICT4D’s remarkable team motivation and tenacity to progress the ICT infrastructure has now placed attention on all in-country partners to step-up action” said Mark Sorensen, GPC President. Responsibility is now on the broader consortium of committed program partners to seek concept and implementation funding from a variety of institutional, government and private sources. Initial funding for the project is being sought from the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) with a letter of interest recently submitted to the USAID-DIV (Development Innovation Ventures) – Humanitarian Innovation Initiative.        

At present, the Universal Service Fund (USF) Jamaica has a successful network of 118 Community Access Points (CAP) established across the Country, providing broadband internet service particularly to the rural and urban poor areas. GeoVillage would integrate its early warning systems for disaster management into this embedded network, adding efficiency to current regional resources. The proposed USAID-DIV project will select six CAP sites in highly vulnerable urban and rural communities across various Parishes in Jamaica with the potential of directly reaching 5,000 residents and 35,000 residents indirectly. It is expected that within 3 years, the GeoVillage programme could reach 50% of Jamaica’s population either directly or indirectly and 100% in 5 years.  

This collaboration of effort has received the strong endorsed and cost-share support from the USF Jamaica-CAP programme, and is further endorsed with financial support to up-scale the project by the Jamaica Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, National Spatial Data Management Division within the Ministry of Water, Land and Environment and Climate Change, the Land Information Council of Jamaica, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Best Communities Jamaica, and the public-private volunteer network of the Jamaica National Emergency Response GIS Team (NERGIST).

Further details can be found in the GeoVillage Brochure, which is available in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, with Dari and Pashto available soon. Please contact contact@geovillage.org.

Abu Dhabi’s promotion of outstanding e-governance practices by using information and communication technologies to improve administrative efficiency and citizens' access to public services has been acknowledged as a distinguished achievement by the World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGO).

The Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) program, led by the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), has been awarded the Outstanding e-Government Prize in the Open City category during the recently concluded 1st WeGO Awards 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.  The award is yet another prestigious milestone of international recognition for the AD-SDI program achievements, and provides a significant boost to the relentless drive of the AD-SDI program towards transforming government services through spatial enablement.

The award is a reward to the Abu Dhabi government in embodying a clear vision, effective strategy execution, and sustained drive towards excellence in spatially enabling public facing applications and services in Abu Dhabi. The successful execution of the strategy depended upon the AD-SDI community support and collaboration with multiple government stakeholders across various disciplines/ sectors that comprise the businesses and academia as well.

The open access to up-to-date and accurate geospatial information since the AD-SDI program inception in 2007 has empowered the government and the wider society in availing the benefits from spatially enabled e-government services. The journey still continues in providing spatialized and transformed services across the whole-of-government, with the genial endorsement by the Executive Leadership.

The underlying principles followed by the AD-SDI program towards spatially enabled government services are the following:

• Comprehensive understanding of the core government business areas within and across sectors and multiple stakeholders
• Holistic master planning with heeded weighing of the interlaced and intricate processes of the government
• Holistic analysis of gaps and opportunities to meet the supply and demand sides of Geographic Information Technology and Services (GITS) in the Emirate
• Aligning the operational needs and requirements of the entities in the subject matter with the strategic goals and priorities of the Emirate
• Leveraging shared government services and geospatial information products and services such as the e-government and SDI
• Drawing on executive leadership support and stakeholders collaboration

Day after day, the vision of transformed and specialized government services is being progressively realized in Abu Dhabi through an Enterprise GIS Capacity Building at the entities. The evolutionary pace of the development process goes in tandem with the sustained awareness and change in mindset among the concerned stakeholders - keeping in mind, a resilient and effective transformation relies on successful institutional capacity building and willingness to embrace the change.

©Fawaz Al-Arbash

Mark Sorensen, President of the GPC Group, delivered a keynote address with crucial insight into the transformation of government through SDI development at the first annual ‘Discover GIS’ conference in Kuwait. 

“The notion of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) has been around for nearly two decades now,” says Mr. Sorensen  “While the formal definitions have not changed much with time, there is a growing number of converging forces that suggest we are approaching a new era that could fundamentally reposition SDI from a framework for sharing information, to new ways of looking at governance and public engagement.”

Mr. Sorensen suggests that these trends have been taking place worldwide in both developed and developing countries. “Today, there are more opportunities than ever to configure emerging technologies to respond to challenges of environmental and societal sustainability and resilience, if we have both the technical foundations, and the institutional awareness, leadership, and foresight to do so. “

The keynote address included a summary of "on the ground" experiences in implementing

SDI 1.0 and 2.0 in the Middle East and beyond, in addition to thoughts about the trends, opportunities and innovations that are pointing towards SDI 3.0 and new dimensions of "GeoMaturity" and "GeoDesign" in the future.

The Kuwait Geographic Society along with KGUG, Openware and the Beyond Company organized the event, which included ministers, state leaders in GIS and regional thought leaders.

Tulisso is a dynamic, innovative and flexible consultancy group that operates in a collaborative environment by exploring new ways of solving its client’s problems. Their process creates dynamic environments that engage their client in a deeper exploration of their vision, their needs and their business. The results are solutions that add business value, build cohesiveness and enhance overall operations. 

Tulisso offers a number of professional services that assist organizations in their development efforts. They are experienced in all phases of the software development lifecycle and are known for custom ESRI and Open-source GIS software applications and consulting assistance for a wide variety of organizations. Their focus is on assisting their clients through their complex GIS implementation issues. They don't confuse technology with solutions. 

Tulisso has diverse collective experiences in a range of development languages and platforms.  They are also an authorized Esri Business Partner with 20+ years of extensive experience designing, developing and deploying on the ArcGIS platform.  Tulisso is technology agnostic and will work with you to recommend the best mapping technology suitable for your organization.  From supporting aging technologies to developing in the latest languages, their projects leverage the toolkits and systems that best fit the distinct needs of their clients.

We develop a shared language between their clients and their design team; by building on this common understanding of the vision and goals for each project, they deliver strong business value to their clients.

In mid-July 2012, GPC-GIS consultants, Aditya Agrawal, Bruce Bargmeyer, Costis Toregas and Raymond Chavez, traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Eye on Earth Summit Special Initiatives Secretariat.  The Secretariat represents a joint partnership between the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), a program within the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).  H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD, and Mr. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, opened the meeting and provided their vision and commitment for the eight Special Initiatives announced at the Eye on Earth Summit held in December 2011 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  Additional participants included representatives from AGEDI and UNEP.

The aim of the Secretariat is to further support and facilitate the implementation of the Special Initiatives (Eye on Access for All; Eye on Biodiversity; Eye on Community Sustainability and Resiliency; Eye on Disaster Management; Eye on Environmental Education; Eye on Global Network of Networks; Eye on Oceans and Blue Carbon; and Eye on Water Security).  The GPC-GIS consultants are supporting this initiative by acting as Special Initiative Facilitators who will primarily engage with the stakeholders within each Special Initiative and support each group in moving the aspirations of each Initiative forward.  The SI Facilitators supported the Secretariat meeting by providing and update and progress report on each Special Initiative, actions required for moving them forward and key issues, opportunities and constraints to be addressed by the Secretariat.  

The Special Initiatives represent compelling and achievable outcomes of the 2011 Summit that translate the principles of the Eye on Earth Summit to “on the ground” commitments and actions.  They were selected and conceptualized through extensive stakeholder engagement with the leading organizations from around the world that are involved in environmental and societal information networking.  They are intended to be a potential agent of change of historical proportions and impact; identified as a compelling and common need across the Eye on Earth Summit community; have high-level support and commitment; and implementable within a 3-5 year period.  

GPC President Mark Sorensen was invited to address the assembly of nearly 300 persons to introduce the audience to geographic information system (GIS) and spatial data infrastructure (SDI) concepts and practices internationally, and to relay the experience of the Libya Spatial Data Infrastructure (LSDI) program initiated in 2005.  Mark outlined the history of GIS development over the past 30 years and the evolution of SDI as a mechanism for sharing geospatial information across society.  He also summarized the results of the previous LSDI program, and his appreciation of the team of dedicated Libyans from 17 different government agencies who worked together over a two year period to prepare a master plan for a national effort.  That earlier project also involved the implementation of the Country’s first GeoPortal and the compilation of an initial data clearinghouse to demonstrate the utility of a coordinated information sharing program.  

Mark went on to stress the significance of geospatial information and SDI as an enabling environment for “eLibya”, a bold initiative proposed by the new interim government.  Under this initiative the Country intends to leverage Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a development and competitive positioning strategy that will help Libya to develop a diversified economy and technical capacity.

As highlighted by the conference organizers and several speakers, Libya has the opportunity to leverage GIS, SDI and other high technology components in the redevelopment of the Country.  Furthermore, these technologies can help Libya to “leapfrog” many development issues, to build a world class spatial data infrastructure, to empower government agencies with the best GIS tools, and to position the Country for a bold and bright new future.

PowerPoint Presentation

The paper will be presented at the upcoming ESRI User Conference in San Diego, California (23-27 July 2012) by GPC President Mark Sorensen.

To download the paper,  click here

The paper's abstract is as follows: 

The label of “spatial data infrastructure (SDI)” has been around for nearly two decades now, and many of the underlying principles have been around for even longer.  While the formal definitions have not changed substantially with time, there is growing number of converging forces that suggest we are approaching a new era that could fundamentally reposition SDI from a framework for sharing information and applications services, to a new way of looking at governance and public engagement.  These trends are happening worldwide in both developed and developing countries, and today there are more opportunities than ever to configure emerging technologies and respond to perspectives about democracy, societal sustainability and resilience in ways that matter most, if we have the institutional awareness, leadership, and  foresight to do so.  This talk will present a summary of “on the ground” experiences in implementing SDI 1.0 and 2.0 in the Middle East and beyond, and thoughts about the trends, opportunities and innovations that are pointing towards SDI 3.0 and possible new dimensions of “GeoMaturity” in society.

During the workshop, ADSIC also invited other government and private entities to present their Geographic Information Systems (GIS) related practices. 

The American delegation, comprised of GIS graduate and undergraduate students and professors, visited Abu Dhabi as part of a regional tour aimed at studying advanced SDIs and government enabled geospatial data and related services. The forum was part of a series of workshops and seminars organized by ADSIC in collaboration with the AD-SDI stakeholder entities to foster international collaboration and spatial thinking. 

A team from GPC-GIS, a regional leader in SDI implementation, attended the seminar as a strategic partner to ADSIC.  The team inspired further attention to spatial thinking and spatial education, in line with their long-term vision and current work on GIS capacity building towards a GeoMature Abu Dhabi. GPC-GIS has accompanied the AD-SDI Program since its inception in 2007 and has contributed to the capacity building of the Spatial Data Center at ADSIC, the steward of the AD-SDI Program.

ADSIC is a government entity created in 2005 to modernize and optimize government operations - one of four key priority areas under Abu Dhabi’s socio-economic vision towards 2030. 

 The GPC Group has joined over 80 nations, private companies and international organizations in declaring its support for the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO) Declaration at Brazil’s Rio+20 Summit.   During her keynote at the event, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte lauded the Declarations’ enormous support.  “Everyone can see the value in being part of a Partnership that aims to turn around the decline in our oceans,” Kyte said. “Everyone stands to benefit if the oceans are better protected, better managed and better understood for the important ecosystem services they provide.”

Falling on the heels of its involvement as a founding partner  of the Tijuca Center for Applied Sustainability (TCAS) in Brazil, the announcement is another push for global environmental sustainability by The GPC Group.

“At our core, we are an information solutions company,” says GPC Group President Mark Sorensen, “but by leveraging our solutions to deliver environmentally sustainable growth in both developed and developing countries, we’ve realized our impact can be more meaningful.”

Lelei LeLaulu, of the Small Island Developing States Climate Change Alliance of the Earth Council and Special Adviser to the World Bank on Oceans, remarked, “To effectively battle the misuse of our oceans’ rapidly dwindling resources, timely and accurate information management is key so GPC's participation adds enormously to the effectiveness of the Global Partnership For Oceans.”

“An estimated 61% of the world’s total economic wealth generation comes from areas within 100 km of the coastline,” added Raymond Chavez, Senior VP Program Development & Communications, Earth Council Alliance.  “GPC’s support of the GPO declaration should help other private sector organizations to recognize the importance of protecting these vital coastal ecosystems.”

The Global Partnership for Oceans, a new and diverse coalition of public, private, civil society, research and multilateral interests working together for healthy and productive oceans, was first announced in February 2012 by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick at the World Oceans Summit.

Country supporters of the Declaration for Healthy, Productive Oceans to Help Reduce Poverty include: Australia, South Korea, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway and the US Government’s overseas development arm, USAID -- all participating as part of their commitment to international sustainable development. Coastal and island nations, including Fiji, Palau, Samoa the Seychelles are also participants in the Partnership, which they see as key to providing coordinated support to their development needs. 

National and international civil society organizations like Conservation International, IUCN, Plant-A-Fish, RARE, The Nature Conservancy and WWF as well as specialized groups like Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and ISSF, among many others, are also putting their knowledge and operational capabilities behind the Partnership.

For more information about the Global Partnership for Oceans, visit www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org

 Recognizing the critical requirement for a new, more impactful approach to sustainable growth, the GPC Group is proud to be a founding partner of the Tijuca Center for Applied Sustainability (TCAS) in collaboration with Pro-Natura, in line with its triple-bottom-line commitment to leveraging its capabilities for the achievement of positive environmental change.

The Center, to be housed in the historic Castelo de Alto near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, will support the development of a new sustainable development paradigm by providing a working environment that brings NGOs, academia and private and public sectors together into one dynamic network.  By rubbing shoulders in the same physical location, these collaborators will help to reversing the negative, interconnected spiral of poverty, biodiversity degradation and climate change.

GPC Group, the parent company of GPC GIS, GCS and GPC Inc., utilizes globally-renowned GIS and SDI expertise to help their clients realize improved planning effectiveness and operational efficiency through the integration of geospatial and related technologies via whole enterprise information solutions.  

With environmental care as a key corporate priority, GPC GIS spearheaded the Eye on Earth Summit with the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), which shone a spotlight on the need for greater environmental information sharing and brought Bill Clinton, Sha Zukang, Jack Dangermond, Phillippe Cousteau, Dr. Aspasia Camargo and several others to Abu Dhabi in December 2011.  The company has also delivered the Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi Emirate, a landmark, large-format and highly illustrative exploration of Abu Dhabi’s environmental heritage and future, for the AGEDI program.

Initially focused on extractive (oil/gas, mining, pulp paper), large infrastructure and the financial industries, the new Tijuca Center for Applied Sustainability will house cutting-edge public and private sector capabilities and intelligence in the sustainability gathering, storing, processing, systematizing and transferring of information.

Geographically, the Center couldn’t be in a more appropriate, and stunning, location.   Brazil, with over 50% of the world’s biodiversity, 1/3 of all fresh water, the 9^th largest economy in the world and societal support for environmental initiatives, provides a stable foundation.  The specific location, the Alto da Boavista near Rio de Janeiro, is a ‘breeze canal’ positioned between Rio’s two large bodies of water that stands as a forest majestically at an altitude of approximately 700m above Rio.   The structure itself, currently under renovation for the new Center, is between 120 and 180 years old with high ceilings, cast iron stairs and a primarily stone structure.

With a forest canopy exploration facility, several green areas, an eco-friendly hotel and cultural institutions, the Castelo de Alto will provide the Center with an active environment for growth.

Founded in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985 by Dr. Marcelo Carvalho  de Andrade, Pro-Natura has become one of the few NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) from the global south to internationalize.  Since 1993, the Paris-based Pro-Natura International has engaged more than 500 qualified volunteers alongside about 250 employees to primarily work on rural development projects around the world. 

The innovative approach that Pro-Natura has developed is founded on the firm belief that poverty reduction, the conservation of biodiversity and the struggle against climate change are best pursued in combination. Pro-Natura has demonstrated in Latin America, Asia and Africa that the vicious cycle of rural poverty, unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation and accelerating climate change can be reversed, especially when systems of democratic governance are put in place.

Areas of collaboration between GPC Group and OGC addressed consultancy and advisory support for clients on the application of Geospatial standards and interoperability practices in their organizations, capacity building in the form of professional development as well as specially configured orientation and educational workshops focused on the specific needs and requirements of the clients in their particular domain areas. Notwithstanding their implementation scale, geospatial standards, which are an integral component of the Geospatial Information, Technology & Services (GITS) development methodology by GPC Group, are analyzed from the business, institutional, and technical perspective with the purpose of balancing GITS readiness versus utilization by the end users. This is achieved through a hands-on capacity building process towards developing geospatial solutions that matter to the clients! Concurrently, one of the cornerstones of GPC Group and OGC activities is to map geospatial standards development to the business value for the stakeholders. 

Want to rent a chalet on the beach in Kuwait?  Having never heard of such a thing, the GPC team that recently joined partners GISCON and Universe Computing to design and implement an enterprise GIS for the Kuwait Ministry of Finance was surprised to learn that there are over 3,000 such vacation homes lining much of the coast of this small country in the northern end of the Arabian Gulf.  While some of these “chalets” are small, quaint cottages fronting the sea, many are large and extravagant complexes of multiple attached and detached homes able to accommodate large extended families that are typical in Kuwait.  

Prior to the mid-1980’s, many Kuwaiti citizens informally claimed beachfront land and built their vacation homes, often without any sort of approvals or building permits.  By 1986 the development pressures and environmental impacts on the coastline, especially south of Kuwait City and extending to the border of Saudi Arabia could no longer be ignored, and the Government decided to pass a decree to reassert State ownership of the land, to lease the property back to the occupiers, and to apply stringent controls on further development so that the citizens could continue to enjoy their investment but avoid further impacts and uncontrolled expansion.  Although the number of chalets is not allowed to expand, the redevelopment of existing properties with much larger houses continues to present a challenge.  Fortunately, all such development is now controlled through a very tightly defined and applied property boundary and building permit processes that involves careful review by Kuwait Municipality, the Ministry of Electricity and Water, other organizations and the Ministry of Finance, the latter of which ultimately manages Chalet properties on behalf of the State.

Chalets are just one of the land and property issues that the Ministry of Finance is involved with.  The Ministry is also responsible for compiling an inventory and assessment of all properties and buildings owned by the State, the administration of processes for taking private lands where required for public benefit, managing land exchanges between the government and private entities, running auctions for the sale of government owned land, and managing leases for markets and shops where these are established within government property.  In carrying out these activities, the Ministry works closely with Kuwait Municipality for planning and cadastral boundary matters, with the Ministry of Justice in regards to land title administration, and with many other units of government who are involved in land affairs. 

Universe Computers of Kuwait is the prime contractor for the project, and the technical management for this multi-year program is being carried out by GISCON, a Germany-based GIS and IT consulting consortium.  GPC-GIS is responsible for the development of the Master Plan for the Ministry of Finance Enterprise System for Land and Property Management, and is conducting interviews with the key departments during the month of May.  The project was initiated at the end of April, 2012 and the Master Plan is to be completed over the next several months.  For more information, contact Mr. Rajy Wehbeh at +971-2-666-65-74.

GPC GIS Exhibiting at GISWORX Dubai, 2012

GPC GIS brought a team of some of its most experienced staff and partners to the GISWORX 2012 conference and exhibition in Dubai, UAE.  In additional to hosting an exhibition booth during the event, the team was involved in plenary conference discussions and the ESRI Middle East & Africa Utility User Group Meeting.

The Utility User Group Meeting shined the light on several new possibilities, including the use of maps in Excel, symbology on the fly, desktop enhancements, ArcGIS server enhancements, ArcGIS online improvements and cloud solutions for utilities.  Several entities, including 3-GIS, Telvent, AED SICAD, SAP Labs, Abu Dhabi Municipality, VENTYX and GEOIMAGE, delivered meaningful presentations.

Meanwhile, in the GISWORX exhibition area, the GPC GIS team was inundated with inquiries and discussion threads throughout the 3-day event.  The exhibition booth provided the team with a well-positioned platform for direct, one-on-one engagement with the most well-known professionals in MENA-region GIS.  The platform also gave GPC GIS an opportunity to showcase its recent company accomplishments, including projects with the Ministry of Finance in Kuwait and support to the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) at the Rio+20 Summit from 20 - 22 June 2012.

Visitors to the exhibition booth expressed interest in several of our services, including our industry-leading GIS and SDI consultancy solutions and professional development programs.  Connections were made with both private and government entities from the region and internationally.

GISWORX is an annual GIS conference and exhibition that runs each spring in Dubai, UAE.  The event has become one of the most well-known and established venues for leading-edge GIS discussion in the region.

The main event, alongside the exhibition, provides a unique, indepth learning environment for various aspects of GIS to both beginners as well as advanced users through several technical workshops on focused topics. Over the years, GISWORX has evolved to be the premier GIS event in the Middle East region.

The exhibition will provide GPC GIS with a great platform to showcase their recent project successes and to discover new business development opportunities in the region.  Senior GPC GIS partners will also be actively involved in the main event that runs alongside the exhibition.  If you are in the area from the 1st - 3rd of May, come by to meet our directors!

With the success of the 2011 Summit, a considerable amount of work remains in order to fulfill commitments to the Special Initiatives and provide a strong presence for the UAE government on sustainability related issues at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20).  As a result, GPC has entered into an agreement with the AGEDI Program to provide consulting services for 1) supporting the coordination and planning of the UAE government’s (including Eye on Earth related matters) presence at the Rio +20 Conference; and 2) supporting the facilitation and coordination of 8 Special Initiatives through the Eye on Earth Secretariat.  

The Rio +20 Conference marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.  It will bring together world leaders and thousands of participants from government, private sector, NGOs and other groups to tackle issues on poverty reduction, advancement of social equity and ensuring environmental protection for a global community.  GPC will support AGEDI providing as needed facilitation and coordination with the Rio +20 organizers; development of Eye on Earth Side Events; provide for further socialization of the Eye on Earth Declaration and Special Initiatives; and ensure that the UAE government’s and the AGEDI program’s interests are well aligned and presented at the Conference.

Eight Special Initiatives were announced at the 2011 Eye on Earth Summit:  THEMATIC:  1) Eye on Oceans and Blue Carbon; 2) Eye on Biodiversity; 3) Eye on Water Security; 4) Eye on Community Sustainability and Resiliency; 5) Eye on Disaster Management; FOUNDATION:  6) Eye on Global Network of Networks; 7) Eye on Education; and 8) Eye on Access for All.  Special Initiatives were developed as part of the stakeholder consultation process leading up to the 2011 Summit and are considered a critical outcome of the Summit that translate the principles of the Summit to “on the ground” commitments and actions.  The Special Initiatives seek to fundamentally improve the landscape of environmental and societal information networking for the benefit of mankind from which compelling and tangible benefits can be achieved.  GPC will support the Eye on Earth Special Initiatives Secretariat by acting as lead facilitators for each of the 8 Special Initiatives.  To do so, GPC will work closely with the AGEDI Program and the Eye on Earth Community to facilitate, coordinate and support the advancement of each Initiative as envisioned by the community and the governing body.  Special Initiative related side events will be coordinated for the Rio +20 Conference and clear set of objectives and outcome statements will defined for each Initiative.