Thao Ton-That Whelan leads GIS for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. The ICRC is a humanitarian organization that works in 80 countries around the world to help those affected by armed conflict. Their Geospatial Team - which includes a network of 35 GIS specialists around the world - uses GIS to support local water authorities, conduct damage assessments in conflict zones, locate landmines, identify gravesites, monitor crops grown from seeds distributed by the ICRC, and more.

 

Thao will share a snapshot of the ICRC's GIS initiatives, and explore the use of remote sensing where access is impossible in areas of conflict. She'll outline the challenges of building clean data across regions and sharing them with local authorities. She'll also discuss how emerging technologies such as machine learning will strengthen the ICRC's humanitarian response into the future.

 

Following her thought-provoking remarks, participants will move into small groups for introductions and discussion, before coming back into plenary to share with the whole audience.