In support of education in Thailand, Dangermond recently provided 100 K-12 GIS kits, which include GIS software, a community teaching guide, and student handbooks, to the country's Ideal Schools program. Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is responsible for national standards and infrastructure for GIS, space technology development, remote sensing, and geoinformatics. It is also acting as a clearinghouse for all GIS data in Thailand, particularly government data, in anticipation of the development of the country's NSDI.
The agency is currently working with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok to create a National GIS Master Plan. It plans to implement a pilot NSDI system this year and to proceed with a nationwide implementation in 2004-2005. Recently, ESRI awarded a Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) grant to GISTDA to support the building of a NSDI in Thailand. To date, ESRI has awarded more than 100 GSDI grants, worth approximately $50,000 each, to countries around the world to help them in their development of National Spatial Data Infrastructures. The program also promotes the sharing of geospatial data to further the GSDI movement.
Commented Dangermond, "ESRI is pleased to be in a position to offer comprehensive support for the development of national geospatial data infrastructures. I believe that cooperative initiatives to promote intergovernmental spatial data sharing and development are vital to achieving sustainable economic development throughout the world."
About ESRI
For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading developer of GIS software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is used in all 200 of the largest cities in the United States and in more than 60 percent of counties and municipalities nationwide. Headquartered in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than 1,500 business partners. ESRI's goal is to develop comprehensive tools that enable users to efficiently manage, use, and serve geographic information to make a difference in the world around them. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.
ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by ESRI, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Quelle: Directions Magazine
