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Youth encouraged to embrace geospatial technology

Published:Saturday | November 16, 2019 | 12:18 AM

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Daryl Vaz, is encouraging youth to embrace knowledge of geospatial technology, in a bid to support the creation of a global legacy for Jamaica in geographic information systems (GIS).

“As future decision-makers, the knowledge you, our students, stand to gain from utilising geospatial technology will enable you to assume leadership positions in increasingly complex sociocultural, economic and environmental situations, and subsequently make your positive mark on the world,” Vaz said.

He also encouraged them to be “innovators and developers of various aspects of the technology, not just users”.

“Let Jamaica be the go-to country for new and developing technologies in GIS. We should chart our own path … one that will create a global legacy for Jamaica. I, therefore, urge everyone to learn as much as you can about this technology,” he further emphasised.

The minister’s speech was read by principal director for the National Spatial Data Management Division in the ministry, Yaneke Watson, at the 17th National GIS Day Exposition at The University of the West Indies, Mona, on November 13.

Noting that in excess of 80 government entities and more than 100 private entities use geospatial technology in their operations, Vaz said this input will “provide us with the necessary tools to make informed decisions” about global developments.

Some of the areas in which he said these can be effectively utilised are climate tracking, food threat monitoring, logistics, mapping rainfall pattern and distribution, and soil fertility examination.