Earth observations for Indigenous communities

News / 8 November 2019

Throughout GEO Week 2019, dedicated events focused on inclusive dialogue with Indigenous communities to discuss how Earth observations can better support communities to respond to challenges they are facing.

A global hackathon, (G)EOHack19 ran a series of regional consultations in various Indigenous communities around the world to identify challenges that can be addressed using open EO data. Teams across Alaska, Germany and Australia had 36 hours to develop a solution to these challenges. The winners, Team Triton from Australia, were announced at the GEO Week Plenary. They receive a 10-day mentoring session with IndigiLab, a 100% indigenous owned business that creates innovative projects through digital culture. Their project, Our Map, aims to preserve inter-generational cultural experience and knowledge.

Initiatives including the EO for Indigenous Communities Side Event brought global voices to GEO Week, particularly from the Americas, Africa and Australia.

On the final day of GEO Week, Indigenous communities delivered a statement on behalf of the GEO Indigenous Alliance, which was formed at this event, to call for continued, effective, respectful, and reciprocal relationship with GEO. Read the full statement here.