[Geo4All] UN SDG mapping book updates

Tue Jun 6 13:22:17 PDT 2017

Thanks Maria for sharing your opinions. We are all humans and we will make mistakes . We learn from each other and become better humans. For me,  Openness means being open to different perspectives ,ideas, viewpoints, cultures  and learning and improving to be a better human every day... It is the Open Principles in Education that is important not software A, B, C or D !

On your profound question of which are our strategies as community of educators? I really hope we all will work together for strongly in support of empowerment of educators and students globally forever (esp for colleagues in developing and poor countries). In my humble opinion, Education and Science should be lead by academics   not vendors (either directly or indirectly!) For decades  most of the developing world never got real opportunity to learn or benefit from GIS  opportunities and now only  we are getting that opportunity in true spirit . Colleagues in the developing world need empowerment NOT enslavement strategies in any form by any vendors! 

I am very grateful to get  the opportunity to be working with you and all amazing colleagues globally who are all working for education and empowerment for all forever. 

Best wishes,

Suchith

________________________________________
From: Maria Antonia Brovelli <maria.brovelli at polimi.it>
Sent: 02 June 2017 4:48 PM
To: Anand Suchith; geoforall at lists.osgeo.org; m.j.kraak at utwente.nl; sg at icaci.org
Subject: Re: UN SDG mapping book updates

Thank you Suchith for having raised this problem. I want to try to answer in a global way. ESRI is just a detail.

In my opinion "proprietary/closing" and "sustainable development" are not good companions. We want a sustainable development for whom? Is it possible to ensure a sustainable development for everybody if we don't share knowledge?
My answer is no. Therefore openess is a necessary (even if  not sufficient) condition for going toward that sustainability we are speaking about.
Said that, I understand that the way is very long. But please, everyone who reads, have in mind that the relevant point is the future of the humanity, as Suchith recalls us everyday. And, if we want to go toward a sustainable world, proprietary/closing has to be dismissed.
But at the end all of us, we are humans and weak and full of contraditions, and therefore it is impossible to be coeherent every day in everything.
So,  good to start discussing and possibly deciding which are our strategies as community of educators. Once the line is marked , probably it will be easier to decide collectively how to move.
Concluding, here my question to you: is it possible a sustainable development based on a "proprietary/closing" approach?
I already gave my answer. Waiting for yours.
A warm hug
Maria

Pay attention to this Special Issue and see if it is of interest by you:

http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi/special_issues/Geospatial_Big_Data_Urban_Studies

----------------------------------------------------
Prof. Maria Antonia Brovelli
Professor of GIS and Remote Sensing
Politecnico di Milano

ISPRS WG IV/4"Collaborative crowdsourced cloud mapping (C3M)" http://www2.isprs.org/commissions/comm4/wg4.html, Board of Directors of OSGeo; GeoForAll Advisory Board; NASA WorldWind Europa Challenge; SIFET Advisory Board

UN-GGIM Italy, UN-GGIM Academic Network Task Team, UN OpenGIS Initiative (Chair of the Capacity Building WG)

Sol Katz Award 2015

P.zza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 - Building 3 - 20133 Milano (Italy)
Tel. +39-02-23996242 - Mob. +39-328-0023867,  <mailto:maria.brovelli at polimi.it> maria.brovelli at polimi.it

________________________________
Da: GeoForAll <geoforall-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> per conto di Suchith Anand <Suchith.Anand at nottingham.ac.uk>
Inviato: venerdì 2 giugno 2017 09.39
A: geoforall at lists.osgeo.org; m.j.kraak at utwente.nl; sg at icaci.org
Oggetto: [Geo4All] UN SDG mapping book updates

Dear  colleagues,

As you are aware there is some excellent work done by our ICA colleagues by highlighting the value of cartography by “mapping” the UN sustainable development goals. Silvana and our colleagues have done excellent work highlighting the importance of openness in reducing inequalities.

I believe this is a very important activity  but recently  I came to know that the book  proposal that is planned  to be developed from this is being planned to be published through a properitery GIS vendor ‘s publishing house. Hence I have written to Menno-Jan requesting him to consider publication on this important issue through  any neutral academic publishing houses as publishing this through properitery GIS vendor ‘s publishing company is against the spirit of openness in geo education and ICA-OSGeo MoU .  I think it is important to have both properitery and open solutions but ICA as an organisation should be neutral . Hence very important not to promote Properitery vendor agenda esp in UN SDG work by having the properitery GIS vendor publishing this. As an ordinary ICA volunteer  I am disappointed to see this.  I am grateful that Menno-Jan has understood my concern and I hope this will be rectified asap.

I will keep you updated on the developments.

Best wishes,

Suchith

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