Jamaica, through the National Spatial Data Management Branch (NSDMB) of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, yesterday (October 12, 2023) participated in the launch of the regional GeoStats Awareness Programme.
The Programme, which was launched virtually under the theme “Caribbean Together-Everyone Counts”, is aimed at fostering interest, understanding and engagement among youths in the Caribbean about the use and benefits of Geographic Information Science, geospatial technologies and statistics.
According Ms. Simone Lloyd, Acting Principal Director of the NSDMB, the overarching goal of the event was to increase awareness among young people, about the role of geospatial statistics in understanding the relationships between the economy, the society and the environment towards the decision-making process.
“Jamaica acknowledges the vast benefits to be derived from the integration of geospatial and statistical information through collaborations forged by the geospatial and statistical communities throughout our region. Where better to start than to target educators and students of Social Studies, Geography and Information Technology, at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, across the Caribbean so that they are inspired to pursue geospatial and statistics driven career paths”, she noted.
Ms. Lloyd further noted that the NSDMB will be promoting the programme locally during Geography Awareness Week and at the 21st staging of GIS Day at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus on November 15.
She added that there will also be a GeoStats Competition, and the NSDMB would provide mentors to support the interested schools and students as well as in other training and educational activities.
“We will be supporting the webinars and training sessions that will target the students, helping them to develop the related knowledge and skills competencies”, she stated.
Participants in the launch came from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
The main partnering organizations in the GeoStats Programme include the UN-GGIM Americas, the Caribbean Geospatial Development Initiative (CARIGEO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
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