The United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC), organized by the United Nations through the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) with the support of the Government of China through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Zhejiang Provincial Government, will be convened in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China from 19 to 21 November 2018.
The first partnership communication meeting of United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) was held in Deqing, China. Representatives from more than 40 world-renowned enterprises from Alibaba, Qianxun SI, Baidu, Tencent, SAIC Motor, JD.com, Huawei, Inspur, China Siwei, NavInfo, ESRI, PCI, etc. attended the meeting. As the first partnership communication meeting held by UNWGIC Secretariat, it aimed to select qualified world-renowned enterprises and public institutions as partners for the preparation work of the UNWGIC, and to follow opinions and suggestions on relevant arrangements.
Mr. Chen Jianguo, Deputy Secretary-General of the UNWGIC Secretariat and Deputy Secretary-General of the UNWGIC, and representatives from 5 companies, including Alibaba, Qianxun SI, Baidu, Zhengyuan Geomatics, EV-Image and Shine Technology, signed a letter of intent for partnership. They were the first partners of the UNWGIC and would be actively involved in the preparations for the Congress.
With an overarching theme “The Geospatial Way to a Better World”, the UNWGIC will be a truly global event bringing together all stakeholders at the highest level to address and ensure that geospatial information has its widest and fullest utility in service of social, economic and environmental development. The UNWGIC will be substantively supported by each of the Regional Committees of UN-GGIM, including UN-GGIM: Africa, UN-GGIM-AP, UN-GGIM: Americas, UN-GGIM: Europe, and UNGGIM: Arab States, as well as the UN-GGIM Private Sector Network, the UNGGIM Academic Network, and the UN-GGIM Geospatial Societies.
While the UNWGIC plenary program covers three days (19-21 November), the overall event will be a week long (19-23 November), and will include exhibitions, technology showcases, global and regional meetings, workshops and learning events, technical side events and meetings, including the Seventh Plenary Meeting of UNGGIM-AP, as well as the annual UN-GGIM Expanded Bureau meeting.