The International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) convened a thematic parallel session on "Digital Earth" during the 2024 GEO Symposium and Open Data & Open Knowledge Workshop (ODOK) in Hangzhou, China, on Sept 24.

The session gathered Digital Earth programmes from various levels to exchange best practices and identify gaps in leveraging Digital Earth for informed decision-making and the realization of Earth Intelligence for All.

Chaired by the ISDE Vice President Mario Hernandez, and moderated by Andiswa Mlisa, the Digital Earth Pacific Program Manager at the Pacific Community (SPC), the session featured a video presentation by Hernandez titled “Digital Earth today and tomorrow”. Mlisa, along with Joseph Tuyishimire, User Engagement Manager at Digital Earth Africa, and Jesarela López Aguilar, an economist from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, delivered insightful presentations.

They explored the collective efforts of these programs in advancing the vision of Earth Intelligence for All, emphasizing a shared commitment to integration to harness the immense potential of global Digital Earth communities across various regions, with tangible outcomes anticipated.

The 2024 GEO Symposium and Open Data & Open Knowledge Workshop (ODOK), themed "From Vision to Action: Crafting GEO’s Post 2025 Implementation Plan", comprised 27 sessions, bringing together nearly 400 participants from 68 countries and regions. The attendees represented the GEO Co-Chair and member countries, the GEO Secretariat, academia, and industrial sectors, as well as 19 international organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

As a member of GEO, the ISDE has consistently been a strong supporter of GEO, dedicated to accelerating the translation of the GEO Post-2025 Strategy into a detailed and costed Implementation Plan through innovations in Digital Earth technologies. The ISDE serves on the GEO Programme Board for two terms: from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2024 to 2026. Importantly, it is one of the 7 Participating Organizations in this effort.

Source: The official website of the ISDE