News Releases

UWI, ACS and Mexico sign MOU on Geospatial Information Management

For Release Upon Receipt - March 31, 2015

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – The Association of Caribbean States (ACS), The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus, Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and the Embassy of the United Mexican States in Trinidad and Tobago convened to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on March 26, 2015, as they resolve to join efforts towards the achievement of the objectives of the “United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management” initiative (UN-GGIM) and of the “Caribbean Platform of Territorial Information for Disaster Prevention” (PITCA) project. These projects are funded by the Government of Mexico.

In his capacity of Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of The UWI St. Augustine, Professor Clement Sankat declared that the signing of the MOU is historic as projects like PITCA are transformative as they involve the incorporation of countries of different languages. He further posited that this is a wonderful partnership because assistance is needed in a range of areas including natural resource management.

The PITCA initiative intends to establish a platform to provide territorial geospatial information, from national as well as regional sources, with the aim of reducing vulnerability in the region through the analysis of risks, strengthening decision-making for the development of planning policies, design and infrastructure construction, housing, reduction of agriculture vulnerability, among other strategic sectors. Complimentarily, the UN-GGIM aims to promote the development of Spatial Data Infrastructure in eleven countries in the Caribbean, to strengthen the generation, use and sharing of geospatial information.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

 

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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