USA: Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). CARICOM is an integration bloc in the Caribbean that comprises 15 Member States and five Associate Members. Its objectives are to promote economic integration, coordinate foreign policy, and ensure human and social development and security. Under the agreement, Esri technology will help CARICOM develop a foundational geospatial information platform so it can better understand and solve societal problems related to the region’s economy, sustainability, and quality of life, as well as manage and respond to disasters.
“CARICOM recognizes the significant impact of the support by Esri given the need to make operational the Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS) that was endorsed by the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM last July,” said Dr. Philomen Harrison, director, Regional Statistics, CARICOM Secretariat. “The overarching theme of the RSDS is to build resilience in CARICOM, which requires the strengthening of statistical systems to enable the production of geographic-based data that can ensure that development reaches all CARICOM peoples. CARICOM is highly appreciative of this support that is being provided and ensures Esri of its commitment to achieving results.”
The Caribbean region is particularly susceptible to natural disasters, and many of the Member States of CARICOM were severely impacted by hurricanes in the last two years. Some Member States suffered major socioeconomic impacts and faced challenges related to understanding where services need to be established to aid citizens.
“CARICOM is dedicated to understanding how to best grapple with sustainability and resilience, specifically as it pertains to the economy and disaster response,” said Linda Peters, Esri global business development manager. “The complex challenges faced by the Caribbean region require deep geographic insight, and we are happy to assist by providing the tools necessary to address these issues.”
Through its Caribbean distributor, Spatial Innovision Limited, Esri will collaborate with CARICOM to create a regional spatial data infrastructure (SDI). The organizations will also foster the understanding and progress toward reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the community.
“This agreement presents a novel partnership framework for Esri and Spatial Innovision to collaborate with CARICOM to develop the region’s human talent in order to become world-class innovators in one of the foundational sciences of the fourth industrial revolution—geospatial technologies,” said Dr. Silburn St. Aubyn Clarke, chairman/CEO of Spatial Innovision Limited. “We are extremely happy to cocreate these various future opportunities for the ultimate benefit of our CARICOM citizenry.”
