Eye on earth summit & exhibition
The Eye on Earth Summit brings together the global leadership of the environmental information movement, a group dedicated to bringing the benefits of better information to people, including conservation, planning, disaster mitigation and education.
Over four days Eye on Earth will address the crucial importance of environmental and societal information and networking to decision-making. On the final day, the Summit will deliver its conclusions, special initiatives and a declaration towards Rio+20. Keynote speakers throughout the four days of the Summit include President Bill Clinton and H.E. Dr Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahd, UAE Minister of Environment and Water with more to be announced.
Representatives from government, business, science, civil society and academia will join forces to:
- Convene to celebrate ‘best-impact’ data initiatives from around the globe;
- Converge on key issues to reach consensus on solutions to greater data accessibility;
- Collaborate to strengthen existing initiatives and, where necessary, launch new ones.
The Eye on Earth Exhibition will showcase ‘best-impact’ examples of geospatial and environmental data technologies, projects and innovations.
The vision of Eye on Earth was formed almost ten years ago, the moment when Abu Dhabi Global Environment Data Initiative (AGEDI) was announced, on 2 September 2002, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a Type II Initiative. The Eye on Earth Summit signifies a major milestone in AGEDI’s progress.
The Eye on Earth Summit
Eye on Earth will feature prominent speakers from the worlds of philanthropy, business, government, data engineering and technology. To ensure a Summit that is as relevant and impactful as possible, the Eye on Earth Summit agenda and schedule are being developed with the aid of five Working Groups representing all aspects of the global environmental and social data movements. European Environment Agency are main contributors to the creation of the agenda as well.
Eye on Earth Projects Showcase
Eye on Earth is about the environmental and social data community. It will showcase the very best projects dealing with data access and analysis. Showcased projects won’t necessarily be those that are the most technically ambitious or architecturally elegant. Instead, they will be those with the most promise, those that have shown the best impact on the issue they seek to tackle.
Why it Matters
The issue is an important one. Access to environmental knowledge is critical. Wise decision-making depends on an ever-growing pool of often-unavailable data. It may be absent, inaccessible or simply hidden. Emerging Economies are at risk of losing valuable environmental assets as a result of inaccurate decision-making caused by the lack of useable, quality data.
The solution is an achievable one. Much of the world's growing wealth of data is held in incompatible standards, ‘protected’ by bureaucratic complexity, restrained by lack of open access or ignorance of its existence.
The need for collaboration, information and understanding is greater than ever.
Water scarcity, food security and climate change are policy issues that require solutions that extend beyond political boundaries.