News in 2025

UN-GGIM: Americas reinforces unity through governance and geodesy

5-7 November 2025, Santiago, Chile

Report by Dr. Ryan Keenan, Chair, FIG Commission 5, ACCO Representative to FIG Council

The 12th session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management for the Americas (UN-GGIM: Americas) took place 5-7 November 2025, at the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

(L-R): Dr. Rosario Casanova (Uruguay); Dr. Ryan Keenan (Australia); Ms. Paula Dijkstra (The Netherlands).

The meeting, jointly organized by UN-GGIM: Americas and ECLAC, reaffirmed the region’s dedication to strengthening geospatial governance, optimising policy coordination, and closer technical collaboration across spatial data infrastructures as well as unified support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Delegates from national mapping agencies, academia, private sector and partner organizations reviewed progress on policy coordination, data governance, and technical standards, highlighting the importance of regional cooperation in addressing challenges such as climate resilience and disaster management.

FIG representatives were present amongst the participants including Dr. Rosario Casanova, President of the Academic Network of the Americas (ANA) and Chair-Elect of FIG Commission 2, and Ms. Paula Dijkstra, co-chair of the UNGGIM Expert Group on Land Administration and Chair of FIG Task Force on SDGs.

• Dr. Casanova presented the report on the activities carried out by the Academic Network during the last period, and her contributions reflected the strong academic and institutional engagement driving capacity in the region. In addition, the Network co-organized a side event “Inclusive Leadership for Innovation and Impact: Shaping the Future of the Geospatial Industry”. In this regard, one of the key topics discussed both in the session and in the side event was the promotion of education and training for professionals in the geospatial field, including areas such as geodesy, geomatics, and cadastre, among others.
• Ms. Dijkstra presented on the plans for the proposed Hybrid Hub on Land Administration and Management. During a side-event, she presented on the Land Administration processes and innovations in the Netherlands.

As an outcome of these discussions, a proposal was made for the inclusion of a resolution at the 12th Session, aimed at coordinating efforts with FIG to promote youth participation, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building initiatives that will strengthen the next generation of geospatial experts.

This event well complemented the UN-GGCE Geodesy Workshop running in parallel during the week - bridging technical geodesy training with policy dialogue, outreach and engagement to advance the regional geospatial agenda.

Together, these meetings demonstrated the power of collaboration - linking global policy with regional technical excellence and capacity development networks (CDN), such as FIG CDN Americas, to strengthen the geospatial foundations of the Americas.

 

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Dr. Ryan Keenan, Chair, FIG Commission 5, ACCO Representative to FIG Council
14 November 2025

 

©2025 FIG