The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to become a Regional Support Office of the UN-SPIDER programme.
The partnership proposal with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, is a result of UN-SPIDER’s various engagements with the Geoinformatics Center (GIC), a Centre within AIT. For example, SPIDER’s participation in the training programmes organized by AIT/GIC for the countries in Asia and the Pacific, AIT’s contribution to the series of Asia Pacific Science and Technology Conferences on Disaster Risk Reduction, their role as value-added provider for the Sentinel Asia and International Charter, their expertise in developing EO based tools for disaster management for the region and their willingness to partner with us in our capacity-building efforts.
AIT is an international institute of higher learning. It is Asia’s pioneer institution established in 1959 to help meet the region’s growing needs for advanced learning in engineering, science, technology and management, research, and capacity building. AIT’s mission is to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy.
The Geoinformatics Center (GIC) is a Center of the AIT, which will work with UN-SPIDER to implement activities under the RSO agreement. GIC focuses on research consultancy services and capacity-building activities in the Asian regions and provides knowledge and know-how to support the processes of planning and decision-making for sustainable development by integrating spatial information with other conventional methods and tools.
It has been designated as the regional hub for the Sentinel Asia initiative (called P-DAN, the Principal Data Analysis Node) for emergency mapping after a disaster in the Asian region. It is also regularly contributing to the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters as the Project Manager to coordinate emergency mapping efforts of catastrophic disasters in the region.
