Driving diversity and inclusion across Africa

By Dr Kenneth Mubea

We need Earth observations (EO) to keep our planet habitable and to drive inclusive and sustainable development.  EO involves collecting data on the changing status of the environment – both natural and human – using a variety of tools, from buoys in the sea to satellites that scan the Earth from space.  Most raw satellite data is freely available, as an open-source resource, but few people are able to work with raw data.

The lack of access to analysis-ready data and technical resources is a disadvantage in Africa.  With limited reliable data sources, specialised tools or training opportunities, it is difficult to leverage the potential of EO to address pressing environmental and societal challenges on the continent.

This is where Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) comes in.  An organisation that makes raw data ready-to-use to facilitate the monitoring and assessment of changes across Africa’s land and water, it provides access to various platforms and algorithms.  It has developed and supported projects that address food security, water resources, urbanisation, climate change and natural resource management.  One project is a cloud-based programme called DE Africa Platform, that provides free, open and accessible analysis-ready satellite data for use in these and other areas.

The DE Africa Platform was made possible through a partnership with Amazon and Geoscience Australia. Other partners are the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development in Kenya, African Women in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology in Nigeria and the South Africa National Space Agency.

Approximately 3,1 petabytes of data are freely accessible in English and French, even for commercial purposes, and DE Africa hopes to expand to indigenous languages soon. The aim is to reach more people in more communities, so that Africa moves from theory to real-life situations, demonstrating the impact that access to geospatial information can have on people’s lives.  It is also important to ensure that women and young people are included in opportunities to leverage geospatial technologies.

In 2022, DE Africa partnered with Africa Women in GIS Technical Challenge and YouthMappers, the latter a global network of university students and young professionals passionate about geospatial technologies.  The challenge aims to bring together women interested in growing and developing skills for a geospatial career and to encourage women and girls across the continent to study and use Earth observation data.

Women who participated in the competition submitted projects for evaluation by a panel of judges. Nigeria's Jokotola Ombiji emerged as the winner with a project addressing the restoration of mangroves in the Niger Delta, and South Africa's Sinethemba Mtshali took the first runner-up position with a project on urban growth mapping in South Africa.  DE Africa provided an opportunity for YouthMappers and Africa Women in GIS to be part of the Pan African agenda supporting Africa Union Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals, bridging barriers to access analysis-ready data, and to use the DE Africa platform to develop projects in their areas of interest.

DE Africa and YouthMappers also collaborated with the Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability, a specialist open-innovation firm based in Pretoria, to support the YouthMappers Technical Challenge 2022/23. The objective was to help students and early career geospatial specialists by allowing them to learn and use an additional platform for analysing Earth observation data.  The four projects selected by DE Africa were mapping deforestation in Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda by Geo YouthMappers at Makerere University; mapping rural water resources in Kenema by YouthMappers at the Eastern Technical University of Sierra Leone; using GIS to select suitable sites for the construction of wastewater treatment in Morogoro Municipality by YouthMappers at Jordan University College in Tanzania; and the mapping of deforestation, climate change impact and food insecurity in the Dzalanyama Forest Reserve by YouthMappers at Malawi University of Science and Technology.

The technical challenges were made possible through financial support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  There are many other partners that continue to support Digital Earth Africa initiatives.

DE Africa uses the technical challenges to engage diverse audiences across the continent. By fostering collaborations with partners like African Women in GIS and YouthMappers, DE Africa empowers women and young people to develop impactful use cases that address community needs.  This is in line with the DE Africa diversity and inclusion strategy, which focuses on geographic diversity across the African continent, gender equality, and youth and disability inclusion, benefiting many people by removing barriers to participation.

Through inclusive engagement sessions, technical support, and allowing access to its platform, DE Africa ensures that no one is left behind. The technical challenges drive diversity and inclusion and contribute to the Pan Africanism agenda, Africa Union Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals, creating a pathway towards a more sustainable and inclusive future for Africa.

Mubea is the Capacity Development Lead for Digital Earth Africa, which was established to improve the lives of people across the African continent by translating Earth observations into insights that will support sustainable development.

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