UN-GGIM

United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence   UN campus, Bonn, Germany



In 2020 the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) welcomed and supported the offer from the Federal Republic of Germany to establish and host a Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) at the United Nations Campus in Bonn, Germany. With the conclusion and signing of the Agreement on the Operationalization of the UN-GGCE by the United Nations and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, UN-GGCE is ready to start of work. The State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) Juliane Seifert emphasizes:

 

"With the successful conclusion of the Agreement for the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence Germany once more proved itself to be a reliable international partner. The Centre of Excellence is going to provide important contributions to a UN Member State agreed worldwide geodetic infrastructure. This infrastructure is the reliable long-term foundation for applications like satellite navigation, space-borne Earth observation as well as monitoring of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030."

 

Recognizing the growing need for a high quality and sustainable Global Geodetic Reference Frame (GGRF) to support good policy development and decision-making for inclusive social progress, increasing environmental sustainability and vibrant economic development, the General Assembly on 26 February 2015 adopted resolution 69/266, entitled 'A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development'. The resolution recognizes the importance of international cooperation, as no one country can do this alone, to realize the GGRF and services to underpin global navigation satellite systems technology and provide the framework for all geospatial activity, as a key enabler of geospatial data interoperability and data integration, and sustainable development. The resolution also recognizes the economic and scientific importance of and the growing demand for an accurate and stable global geodetic reference frame for the Earth that allows the interrelationship of measurements taken anywhere on the Earth and in space, combining geometric positioning and gravity field-related observations, as the basis and reference in location and height for geospatial information, which is used in many Earth science and societal applications, including sea-level and climate change monitoring, natural hazard and disaster management and a whole series of industrial applications including mining, agriculture, transport, navigation and construction) in which precise positioning introduces efficiencies.

UN-GGCE's overarching goal is to assist Member States and geodetic organizations to coordinate and collaborate to sustain, enhance, access and utilise an accurate, accessible and sustainable GGRF to support science, society and global development. The objective is to support, within available resources, the implementation of General Assembly resolution 69/266 through strengthening and advancing: global geodetic cooperation and coordination; worldwide geodetic infrastructure; standards and policies; education, training and capacity development; and communication and awareness.


The Secretariat of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), in collaboration with the Federal Government of Germany, through its Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) and the Federal Agency of Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), hosted the Opening Ceremony of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) on 29 March 2023 at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany.

Following a series of collaborative and productive consultations over the past two years, in November 2022 an Agreement between the United Nations and the Federal Republic of Germany, which defines the modality of operationalization of the UN-GGCE, was finalized and signed. This Agreement forms the foundation for the establishment and initial operations of the UN-GGCE. The Centre's overarching goal is to assist Member States and geodetic organizations to coordinate and collaborate to sustain, enhance, access and utilize an accurate, accessible and sustainable Global Geodetic Reference Frame (GGRF) to support science, society and global development. The objective is to support within available resources the implementation of General Assembly resolution 69/266 through strengthening and advancing: global geodetic cooperation and coordination; worldwide geodetic infrastructure; standards and policies; education and capacity development; and communication and awareness, while also coordinating measures and overseeing their implementation.

Over one hundred invited guests including members of the inaugural International Advisory Committee of the UN-GGCE and the UN Subcommittee on Geodesy attended the Opening Ceremony. Guests came from every continent on Earth, except Antarctica. There was someone from each of the five regional committees of UN-GGIM, and the eight functional groups and four thematic networks that report into the UN-GGIM. The momentous occasion was graced by a number of invited dignitaries that included: Ms. Juliane Seifert, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community of Germany; Ms. Kjersti Bjǿrnstad, State Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development of Norway; Ambassador Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean and United Nations Global Geodesy Ambassador; Ms. Melanie Grabowy, First Deputy Mayor of Bonn; Ambassador Rainer Lassig of the UN Campus Liaison Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany; together with Prof. Paul Becker, President of BKG and Mr. Stefan Schweinfest, Director of UN Statistics Division.

Provisional agenda
Photo gallery


First Meeting of the International Advisory Committee


  • Documentation

    • Second Consultative Meeting on the Global Geodesy Development Plan


  • Documentation

    • Second Meeting of the UN-GGCE International Advisory Committee and the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Subcommittee on Geodesy


  • Documentation
  • Presentation materials

    • The vision of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) is one where all countries have strong political support for geodesy which enables them to - together - accelerate the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals and derive social, environmental and economic benefits.

    One of the first things we are doing is our "Listening World Tour" where we want to hear from you. We are organizing virtual meetings over the next few months with Member States in the Americas, Africa, Arab States, Asia-Pacific and Europe to hear what you need. We will also be reaching out to scientific organizations like the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and - International Organization for Standardization TC/211 (ISO).

    Our objective at the UN-GGCE is to work with Member States and geodetic organizations to strengthen our collective impact to:

    The UN-GGCE team is composed of three personnel internationally recruited by the United Nations and four secondees from Member States.

    The personnel recruited by the United Nations are:

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  • Nicholas Brown - Head of Office
  • Nicholas (Nick) Brown is the Head of Office for the Centre of Excellence at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany. Prior to taking on this role, Nick was the Director of National Geodesy at Geoscience Australia (Australian Government) and co-Chair of the UN-GGIM Subcommittee on Geodesy. Nick studied geomatics at RMIT University in Melbourne and completed his Masters in Space Geodesy from the Australian National University in Canberra.
  • You can contact Nick at nicholas.brown@un.org

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  • Liubov Poshyvailo-Strube - Associate Geospatial Information Officer
  • Liubov is an Associate Geospatial Information Officer at the UN-GGCE in Bonn. Prior to this position, she worked as a researcher at the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), where she studied heat waves in Europe by conducting regional simulations on the JUWELS supercomputer. Liubov studied physics at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine) and completed her Master at the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" (Ukraine). Liubov holds a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Wuppertal (Germany).
  • You can contact Liubov at liubov.poshyvailo-strube@un.org

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  • Walaa Allahham - Administrative Assistant
  • Walaa provides administrative support to the UN-GGCE in Bonn. With over a decade of hands-on experience in the humanitarian and international development sectors, she has held diverse roles in program and operations, executive administration, team leadership, crisis response, and risk management across field, regional, and global levels. Walaa is passionate about technology and innovation. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics with a specialization in Accounting from the University of Damascus and is currently pursuing a Master's in Data Analytics at the University of York.
  • You can contact Walaa at walaa.allahham@un.org

    • The personnel seconded to the UN-GGCE are:

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  • Jan Dostal - Technical Adviser
  • Jan is a technical adviser from Germany on secondment to the UN-GGCE in Bonn. He is supporting the Centre as a German government official of the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy in Frankfurt am Main. Jan studied geodesy at the Technical University in Dresden (Germany) and holds a PhD in Geophysics of the Free University of Berlin (Germany). With Jan you can communicate in English, German and Czech language.
  • You can contact Jan at Jan.Dostal@bkg.bund.de

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  • Sarah Kowal - Technical Adviser
  • Sarah Kowal, is also on secondment to the UN-GGCE from the Federal Agency of Cartography and Geodesy (BKG, Germany). As this is her first job, she is very excited to apply and widen the knowledge she gained during her Master's degree in Geodesy and Geoinformation at the University of Bonn (Germany) and the skills she developed afterwards during her two years of administrative traineeship, which culminated in state examination.
  • You can contact Sarah at sarah.kowal@bkg.bund.de

    • The personnel virtually seconded to the UN-GGCE are:

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  • Anne Jørgensen - Strategic Communications Adviser
  • Anne Jørgensen is the Strategic Communications Adviser for the UN-GGCE, on virtual secondment from the Norwegian Mapping Authority (Kartverket, Norway). Anne started to raise awareness about the importance of geodesy at Kartverket in 2010, and she was the first co-Chair of UN-GGIM Global Geodetic Reference Frame Working Group (now UN-GGIM Subcommittee on Geodesy), representing Norway. Anne studied Journalism at Oslo Metropolitan University, German and International Trade at Oestfold University College (Norway), and marketing.
  • You can contact Anne at Anne.Jorgensen@kartverket.no

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  • José Carlos Rodríguez Pérez - Technical Adviser
  • On virtual secondment from the National Geographic Institute (IGN, Spain), José Rodríguez is supporting the Centre as a Technical Advisor. He holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Reading (UK). José joined the world of geodesy in 2011 through the SLR technique, at the Space Geodesy Facility in Herstmonceux (UK). Nowadays he is deeply involved with the ILRS service from IGN's geodesy department in Madrid, and is the Director of the Bureau of Networks and Observations of the Global Geodetic Observing System.
  • You can contact José at jcrodriguez@transportes.gob.es


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