STORY: Chinese software firm inks deal with Kenya to boost geospatial technology cooperation
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 22, 2023
DATELINE: Nov. 23, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:15
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the conference
2. SOUNDBITE (English): MOSES AKALI, Director, Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing

STORYLINE:

Chinese technology firm, Supermap International, signed an agreement with Kenya's Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS) on Wednesday, aimed at enhancing the East African nation's proficiency in geospatial technology.

The agreement entails training for over 70 Kenyan government officials, academics and private sector individuals in advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) over the course of one year, said Director of DRSRS Moses Akali. "The collaboration between DRSRS and Supermap International seeks to bolster Kenya's institutional capacity in utilizing space-derived products, services and customized tools for diverse needs in natural resource management, planning, and monitoring," Akali said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2023 Supermap GIS software innovation conference, themed "GIS Innovations for Rapid Spatial Data Analysis and 3D Modeling for Sustainable Development in Kenya and Beyond," Akali stressed Kenya's interest in harnessing Supermap's advanced technologies in such fields as big data, artificial intelligence, 3D modeling, distributed GIS and cross-platform GIS, which would enable the country to develop robust solutions for urban planning, cadastral mapping, natural resource management, traffic monitoring and land valuation planning.

Moreover, Akali said that by integrating remote sensing data processing and interpretation capabilities into GIS technologies, Supermap would facilitate Kenya's more efficient application of geospatial data, which could extend to areas such as food security, natural disaster monitoring and management, climate change and carbon emission control.

SOUNDBITE (English): MOSES AKALI, Director, Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing"This conference is about sensitization among the players in GIS and the remote sensing field in terms of the applications of this technology and in terms of data acquisition and data analysis and being able to generate the output that can be able to support decision-making. We want to look at how this can influence our policy directions, so we're saying that technology is the way to go, and so we have to build our capacity to be able to be cutting-edge. The world is competitive in terms of technology, and we believe that once we are able to train ourselves, then we will be able to have all these government entities being able to mainstream applications of GIS and remote sensing in terms of planning and decision-making."

Roger Wang, president of Supermap International, expressed the company's commitment to establishing partnership relationships with various Kenyan agencies, including influential universities and companies.

He noted that this partnership would serve as a solid platform for Supermap to better support Kenya's socioeconomic development.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)