Mature initiative

摘要

For the last seven years, there's been even more of a buzz in steaming-hot New York in the midst of summer. Okay, that's perhaps a bit over the top, but nevertheless...every summer, several hundred policymakers, directors of cadastres and national mapping agencies, ministers and secretaries of state, permanent representatives and other delegates from Member States plus a large contingent of observers from the private sector and non-governmental organisations come together there. As the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), they shape the future implementation of geospatial information at the very heart of government decision-making right around the globe. Why, one could ask? Well, because good information forms the basis for better decision-making - whether by governments, society or citizens. And, these days, almost all good information must contain a 'geo' component. Therefore geoinformation needs to be at the core of the decision-making process. UN-GGIM has become an increasingly mature initiative over the past seven years, gaining more and more traction among decision-makers.