Decision-makers are faced with the constant challenge of maintaining access to and understanding new technologies and data, as information and communication technologies (ICTs) are constantly evolving and as more data is becoming available. Despite continually improving technologies, informed decision-making is being hindered by inadequate attention to enabling conditions, e.g. a lack of in-service education and professional training. Practitioners are in a position to greatly benefit from this data revolution and to better shape management strategies and make more informed, data-driven decisions if they have a periodic overview of emerging technologies and their potential applications.
ISEPEI was launched in 2013 to bridge this gap between decision-makers and ICTs as a part of Eye on Earth, a global initiative comprised of a diverse set of stakeholders from around the world, striving to enable generation, maintenance and application of environmental, societal and economic data and information to support achieving sustainable development. Through a series of international Summer Universities, ISEPEI has connected United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, ICT experts, and environmental practitioners, bringing professionals up-to-date on the latest advances in ICTs and their potential use in a wide variety of applications.
For the seventh year in a row, ISEPEI is conducting a series of educational workshops and professional trainings in 2020:
22-28 June 2020 - online webinar series
The webinar series "Bridging ICTs and Environment" will be held featuring online presentations by representatives of key global stakeholders in data-driven decision-making in Disaster Risk Reduction, Water Security and other SDG-relevant issues.
The following presentations are scheduled:
- Use of earth observation in Monitoring and Evaluation by Anupam Anand (WorldBank/ GEF)
- Resilience and Sustainability: UNDP Approach by Armen Grigoryan (United Nations Development Program)
- Earth Observations to inform decision-making for the Benefit Society By Douglas Cripe (Group on Earth Observations)
- Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) Project by Lorant Czaran (United Nations Population Fund)
- Open Data Cubes by Philip Frost (IMMAP)
- Cloud geospatial technologies in sustainable water management in agriculture by Elizaveta Khazieva (CEU)
- Introduction to the use of Sentinel-2 by Pablo Vega (Copernicus, European Union Satellite Centre)
- Geospatial technology during the COVID-19 outbreak by Ed Parsons (Google, UK)
- Earth observation for water management by Zoltan Vekerdy / Arno van Lieshout (ITC)
These 60-minute long webinars are free and open for all. Registration is mandatory. If interested, please register at THIS REGISTRATION FORM to receive the webinars' schedule and joining instructions.
17-31 October 2020 (tentative) - on-site events
Two core in-residence workshops, exploring innovations application in monitoring of environmental security and in disaster risk reduction, will once again bring together environmental and ICT industry leaders, expanding participants capacity to make more informed, data-driven decisions:
- Innovations in Disaster & Climate Risk Reduction
Combining regional UNDP experience, ICT industry expertise, and accumulated first-hand knowledge by the global community of practice, the workshop will offer both theoretical and practical skills in disaster risk reduction, monitoring, and recovery. Click here for more information.
- Geospatial Technologies for Monitoring Water- and Health-related SDGs
The workshop provides an opportunity to get updated on the latest advances in geospatial technologies and remote sensing and see how these technologies can be applied to the monitoring of some of the SDGs. Click here for more information.
The core workshops will be accompanied by a series of short weekend training courses. The list of offered courses will be published here later.
This series was originally planned for June 2020, but was postponed to October due to traveling restrictions. Participation is competitive and requires application form to be submitted. Applicants submitted their packages by March 15th don’t have to re-apply, but will have to confirm their interest in participation once the dates are fixed. Additional application round will reopen shortly. Please sign up at THIS REGISTRATION FORM to stay updated.