1,000 cities in developing countries to receive software and training in Geographical Information Systems UN-HABITAT receives a grant of $US 15 million from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, the leading developer of Geographical Information Systems. Nairobi, 5 February 2003: UN-HABITAT, the UN agency responsible for helping governments to address the problems of human settlements and rapid urbanization, received a grant of US$ 15,000,000 from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) the leading developer of Geographic Information Systems software (GIS). This ambitious international grants initiative has been given by ESRI to UN-HABITAT's Global Urban Observatory, an international capacity building network established to help meet the goals of the Habitat Agenda, which was endorsed at Habitat II in 1996. More recently, the General Assembly mandated UN-HABITAT to monitor the implementation of the Millennium Development Goal, target 11, which is committed to improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. "Most local authorities in the developing world have outdated information about the state of their cities. Few of them have the technologies to collect and analyze data about basic infrastructure and the current status of housing," said Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT at the launch of the initiative. "If we are going to improve the living conditions of the urban poor, city authorities must be provided with the necessary tools, technology and training. We are grateful to the software developer ESRI for this generous grant. It will enable cities in Africa and Asia to produce accurate and accessible information. This is the basic right of every citizen and is also essential for good urban governance." The goal of the grant program is to provide GIS technology and training for up to 1,000 cities in developing countries so that they can participate in the collection of urban indicator information. Urban indicators include information about poverty, environmental degradation, lack of urban services, degeneration of existing infrastructure, and the lack of access to land and adequate shelter. Cities can use GIS for the collection and analysis of urban indicator data to facilitate better urban management and the formulation of participatory development policies. The GUO grant program will be implemented in a phased approach. Initially, in 2003, grants will be awarded to provide GIS technology and training to 350 cities that currently do not have access to the technology. The grants to the cities will consist of a package of GIS software, technical support and upgrades, and training. They are valued at approximately $15,000 each, making the entire program worth about $15 million dollars. "I believe that GIS technology can truly make a positive contribution in improving the general quality of life for the impoverished people of the world," comments ESRI President Jack Dangermond. "We at ESRI are honored to offer this support to the UN-HABITAT Global Urban Observatory program." For further information, please contact: Mr. Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson & Head, Media Press Relations Unit, Tel: 623136 or Ms. Zahra A. Hassan, Media Liaison, Tel: 623136, Fax: 624060, E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org, Website: www.unhabitat.org. Eduardo Moreno, Global Urban Observatory at 254-2-62-3149, E-mail: eduardo.moreno@unhabitat.org or Carmelle J. Côté, ESRI-Washington, DC, at 703-506-9515 x 8013, E-mail: ccote@esri.com. More information about ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com. Editor's Note: ABOUT UN-HABITAT UN-HABITAT was established in 1977 and is the lead agency within the UN system for managing human settlements and the problems of rapid urbanization. UN-HABITAT is directly responsible for implementing and monitoring the Habitat Agenda, which was endorsed at the UN Conference on Human Settlement, Habitat II, in 1996. More recently, UN-HABITAT has been charged with the responsibility of helping governments meet the Millennium Development Goal, target 11, of improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. To help governments achieve this goal, in 2001, the UN General Assembly mandated UN-HABITAT to monitor the implementation of this goal. This includes designing innovations to collect, manage and analyse urban indicators to assist local authorities with policy formulation. ABOUT ESRI ESRI, established in 1968, is the world's leading creator of geographic information systems (GIS) It has over 1 million users of GIS in over 100 countries, including thousands of city governments and has had a long history of support for GIS within the UN system. GIS methodology and tools are an important technology for managing, analysing, and using spatial information at the local, urban level. Brief Background to the MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN UN-HABITAT & ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ESRI) Objectives: Through a grant program ESRI will support the Habitat Global Urban Observatory (GUO) to implement monitoring activities related to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Development Goal, Target 11. ESRI will provide GIS technology and training for up to 1,000 cities in developing countries, so they can participate in the collection of urban indicator information, in order to improve city management and participatory mechanism for policy formulation. The use of desktop GIS and internet mapping technology will allow GUO partners to create, maintain, and disseminate data documenting the condition of the world's cities. Additionally, this information can support local decision-makers to create more sustainable communities. Estimated cost In total, this program is up to a US $15,162,500 commitment by ESRI to support the Global Urban Observatory and promote the sharing and of urban geographic information. The Grant Programme includes: Donate GIS Software to support the Urban Indicators Program and the monitoring of the Habitat Agenda and the MDGs up to 1000 cities in developing countries. Donate GIS Software to UN-HABITAT for the collection and dissemination of the urban indicator data. Training by distance learning will be provided to grant recipients and to UN Habitat professional staff via free ESRI Virtual Campus training subscription. ESRI will supplement the scheduled UN-HABITAT training programs in the use of GIS for urban indicator data collection, census, household survey, development indicators and analysis. ESRI will provide staff time and hands-on software training class materials and technical Support and Upgrades during twelve months of free maintenance. Use of GIS and related technology Through the use of this technology, UN-HABITAT will create a platform to gather and analyse similar data all around the world, creating conditions to homogenize information for comparison purposes. The GIS will be useful to collect and analyze data at city and intra-city level to inform policies that will implement the MDG T11 and the HA. This information would be world-wide disseminated by ESRI on the Geography Network system. The GUO will be able to develop a model that will integrate spatial and statistical data. . This data will serve local authorities and stakeholders to formulate and implement upgrading policies and programmes and improved targeting of investments in the most poorly served areas and communities.