Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day and Geospatial technology is the future of Barbados.
Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance, Dwight Sutherland emphasised this last Wednesday, as he addressed the opening of the GIS Day, held by the Lands and Surveys Department at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael.
Minister Sutherland noted that GIS technology will be “critical to us if we are to achieve our vision of building a smart society. He stated: “To compete in today’s world, small countries must be nimble creative and innovative. In this context the work of the Lands and Surveys Department is important since its use of GIS tools will be essential if we are to achieve that goal of becoming a smart nation.”
GIS technology over the years has been one of the leading technology utilised by Government through the Lands and Surveys Department for digital mapping, web mapping, online dashboards, image-servers, and online data-collecting forms. It has also been critical in assisting with national projects throughout Barbados like Seek and Save, and Seek and Secure, identifying specific areas, locations and the recording of data from those programmes.
It has also aided the Land Registration Programme through the creation of a required parcel fabric, monitoring the progress of the 2021 La Soufrière Volcanic Ash Fall Clean up Exercise and in monitoring the climate and in the support of coastal resilience.
The Housing Minister, speaking directly to the youth in attendance, said: “It is my duty, as Minister, to let you, young people in this room know that our future is indeed a bright one; but it must be unlocked, the ideas, systems, frameworks, and policies that we develop together today, provide the keys that will unlock security, prosperity, and sustainability for our nation tomorrow. And all of these are only limited by your imagination.”
“You are today’s ‘imaginers’ but tomorrow’s engineers, app developers, big data scientists, analysts, geo-spatialists: you are tomorrow’s e-Barbados builders. You can make your imagination a reality and unlock the future if we all work together and harness the power of GIS,” stressed Minister Sutherland.
Chief of the Lands and Surveys Department, David McCollin advocated for the technology to be in the schools. He said: “The students here today are the adults of tomorrow. We must ensure that our students gain the necessary knowledge that is required to transform their minds to be creative International citizens and emphasize that their success is only limited by their imaginations.
“It is my view that GIS should be taught in our schools from primary to secondary. This would ensure this knowledge will no longer remain with a few but rather with a vast majority of our citizens.”
The GIS Day was held under the theme: “GIS Unlocking our Future”.