SWALIM Gives Training in Mogadishu on Open-Source GIS, Google Earth and GPS
SWALIM has been working on expanding the capacity of Somali government line ministries and partner agencies on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by conducting an intensive training course on “Basic GIS, Google Earth and Global Positioning System (GPS)” in Mogadishu.
Five days of practical training were given to 15 staff from the Ministries of Water, Agriculture, and Livestock, the Department of Environment, the Disaster Management Authority, the Somali Resilience Institute, Somali National University, Aljazeera University and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). All participants work directly in the ICT area in their respective institutions and so brought considerable skill and knowledge into the course..
The hands-on training, given by SWALIM experts Ugo Leonardi and James Ngochoch, covered the use of the free open-source Quantum GIS software as well as the Google Earth Pro software. Participants also had the opportunity to learn how to prepare handheld GPS equipment for field data collection, data downloading and mapping.
Similar training programs are planned for Hargeisa (in May) and Nairobi (in June).
