Esri signs memorandum of understanding with UN-Habitat
Esri, the world leader in location intelligence, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UN-Habitat. Under the agreement, UN-Habitat will use Esri software to develop a cloud-based geospatial technology foundation to help build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities around the world in areas where resources are scarce.
UN-Habitat, based in Nairobi, Kenya, works for a better urban future around the world. "As a center of knowledge and innovation for a better future, UN-Habitat is committed to supporting and disseminating the use of technology for development," said Marco Kamiya, senior economist in the Knowledge and Innovation Branch of UN-Habitat.
“Digital technologies have the potential to serve people, as well as to improve living and working conditions. Through this partnership with Esri, we take another step towards supporting sustainable development with the use of leading-edge technology that can serve cities and communities. "
UN-Habitat will now be able to leverage the specific geospatial tools and open data capabilities of the Esri platform to improve the efficiency and sustainability of urban infrastructure and service delivery in regions where development is needed. These technology resources will include ArcGIS Hub, which was implemented to build the Global Urban Observatory urban indicators database site, launched earlier this year at the XNUMXth World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi.
“We are honored to provide tools that can empower neighborhoods, villages, and cities around the world to solve complex economic and environmental challenges,” said Dr. Carmelle Terborgh, Esri senior account manager for global organizations.
“We are pleased to enhance our collaboration with UN-Habitat by formalizing our joint commitment to use data-driven methods to achieve one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. ”.
As part of this agreement, Esri will provide free licenses for its ArcGIS software to 50 local governments in resource-limited countries. Esri has already supported six municipalities in Fiji and the Solomon Islands in collaboration with the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to begin to act on this commitment. The partnership also involves the creation and delivery of joint capacity building resources, such as free online learning modules on urban planning, to train and help build the technological capacity of each local community with a focus on ensuring long-term sustainability. .