BVI to join in worldwide observance of GIS day on November 19

~~Adz:Left~~ Roadtown, Tortola - Fourth and fifth form students in the Territory will be made more aware of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) on Wednesday November 19 when the BVI joins more than 80 countries in observing GIS Day.

Members of the BVI National GIS will visit high schools across the Territory to share with students, information about the GIS technology, its utilisation in the BVI and its benefits. The school visits will allow students an opportunity to see the technology in action.

Public Relations Officer for the BVI National GIS Mrs. Rozina Norris-Gumbs explained that GIS Day is designed to celebrate the innovative technology, which is basically a “computer-based system for collecting, storing, manipulating, analyzing and presenting geographic information.”

Mrs. Gumbs further explained that “the ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts and others to make informed decisions about their communities.”

Chief Planner in the Town and country Planning Department Mr. Louis Potter told the Department of Information and Public Relations GIS has had a positive impact on the BVI because it allows for the collection and management of information in a manner that is easily visualised.

 He expects GIS Day to help make people “more aware of the GIS technology and the important contributions it is making in the fields of science, technology, information and the humanities.”

Mr. Potter noted that the department has already developed a postal code system in conjunction with the BVI Post as well an address system for the BVI. “We do have within our system an address for every single house in the country so deliveries could be made very easily once we begin to use the system. “

The Chief Planner added “we can easily go to my computer now and we can find every school in the country, we can find every business and I can just bring up a map showing where the businesses are and where the ports of entry are.”

He said this will significantly reduce the amount of time spent in the field although support staff will be required to ensure that the system is constantly updated. Mr. Potter further stated that the Town and Country Planning Department is now trying to develop an enterprise GIS “where we work with other departments to ensure that they have access to that information.”

He added that the department is now trying to create a system to be made available on the internet where maps from the Survey Department will be available as well as information from various departments including Land Registry and Inland Revenue. “It could be available to everybody so that sitting at a desktop, we can easily pull all the information, decipher what we need and in a short time be able to produce a report that speaks to what we need, and it is very informed, very accurate.

According to Mr. Potter, “the challenge for us is that each agency will be maintaining their own information and be responsible for the accuracy of it and at present, each of the agencies do not have the kind of staff to do that but we hope that over time we can get people to understand the need to have the information current and accurate.”

The annual observation of GIS Day provides a forum for users of the GIS technology to demonstrate real-world applications that help to make a difference in our daily lives.