Sep 14, 2015 -- European initiatives to deliver harmonised dependable geospatial information could help provide a global solution to meet demand for interoperable data, says UN-GGIM: Europe.

The workshop, part of the fifth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), demonstrated how Europe is managing, sharing and distributing harmonised, dependable and seamless geospatial information across boundaries.

It highlighted how the INSPIRE Directive provides a framework for cooperation to ensure compatibility between national spatial data infrastructures (SDI) whilst the European Location Framework provides the practical means for delivering operational cross-border data and pan-European services.

“INSPIRE builds on the infrastructures for spatial information established and operated by the Member States of the European Union through the agreement of common implementing rules,” says Bengt Kjellson, Chair of the UN-GGIM: Europe Executive Committee.

“The European Location Framework takes this to the next level to meet the demand for a single access point to countries’ geospatial reference data and services. It is being used to deliver the Arctic SDI and is also considered Europe’s contribution to UN-GGIM.”

“Achieving data interoperability requires collaboration and agreement on the data that needs to be harmonised at global level. UN-GGIM is the ideal forum for these discussions.”

The side event, at UN Headquarters in New York, featured speakers from the European Commission, Belgium, Norway and Slovenia as well as UN-GGIM: Europe and attracted a global audience from other UN-GGIM regional committees.