[Geo4All] Environmental Intelligence

[Anand, Suchith]

Dear colleagues,


The Ethical Data Initiative (EDI) held its large-scale annual Town Hall Meeting on 12 March, 2026 at the TUM Think Tank at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). This multi-stakeholder event served as a vital touchstone for our global community to reflect on our progress and co-create the roadmap for the year ahead.


The event concluded with a powerful keynote from Hop Hopkins and Jane Anderson of Local Contexts<https://localcontexts.org/>. Their work addresses the chronic problem of digital colonialism – the historical and ongoing extraction of indigenous knowledge without consent or attribution.Through their innovative system of Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels and Notices, Local Contexts provides a tool for indigenous communities to reassert their cultural authority over data sitting in global repositories. “Colonialism is a structure, not an event,” Professor Anderson noted, explaining how their metadata interventions (such as those at the Library of Congress) are changing the very “plumbing” of institutional data systems. Hopkins encouraged the audience to view this not just as a technical fix, but as a radical social movement toward “data back” and true reparations for the global majority.


The full video recording of the keynote presentation is available at https://ethicaldatainitiative.org/2026/03/19/global-perspectives-on-data-justice-highlights-from-the-edi-townhall-2026/


More details of the excellent work of Local Contexts at

https://localcontexts.org<https://localcontexts.org/>

https://localcontexts.org/labels/about-the-labels/

https://localcontexts.org/films/


The EDI Townhall slides can be found on the Ethical Data Initiative Zenodo Page<https://zenodo.org/records/19000717>


Best wishes


Suchith

On 16 Apr 2026, at 19:56, Suchith Anand  wrote:

Dear colleagues,

This webinar recording from GEO Work Programme might be of interest.

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a partnership of more than 100 national governments and in excess of 100 Participating Organizations that envisions a future where decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations. Details at https://earthobservations.org<https://earthobservations.org/>

Earth observation data, combined with Indigenous governance and local knowledge, is key to stronger disaster resilience, climate adaptation and biodiversity stewardship. During the GEO Open House Webinar, James Rattling Leaf from the GEO Indigenous Alliance made a powerful case for reframing how we think about Earth observation and who it serves. James explained how the GEO Indigenous Alliance connects what satellites can detect and what communities on the ground experience.

Watch James's presentation to learn more about the work of the GEO Indigenous Alliance<https://earthobservations.org/groups/geo-indigenous-alliance>

The full event recording is at https://earthobservations.org/about-us/events/drr-climate-biodiversity-nexus

This article titled “Invest in techno capacity to avoid ‘data colonialism’ in AI” published in  University World News might be of interest. Details at
Details  at https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20231119194849787

Sabina Leonelli’s new paper, published in the Harvard Data Science Review, sets out a powerful and timely vision for Environmental Intelligence as an alternative framework to dominant models of AI. One that centres human values, environmental stewardship, and socially responsible innovation. Details at https://ethicaldatainitiative.org/2025/12/05/beyond-bias-and-fairness-why-environmental-intelligence-is-the-next-frontier-for-ethical-data/

Best wishes

Suchith

Professor Suchith Anand
Professor of Practice in Science Policy | Senior Adviser to Governments and International Organisations | Scientist | Global Citizen | Science Diplomacy |  SDG Volunteer and Advocate
https://spspa.exeter.ac.uk/people/profile/index.php?username=sa1131
https://ethicaldatainitiative.org<https://ethicaldatainitiative.org/>

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