On 29th June 2007 UN under-secretary-general and executive director of UN-Habitat Dr Anna Tibaijuka and ITC Rector Prof. Martien Molenaar signed a co-operation agreement to cluster their knowledge on urban development in developing countries: capacity development, training and research. Professor Molenaar feels the Netherlands must raise its profile as expert in urban development and management, as it is already doing with water and agricultural expertise. We asked Dr Tibaijuka how the new agreement would help meet UN-Habitat aims in combating poverty and achieving sustainable urban development.
What were the main reasons behind UN-Habitat signing a co-operation agreement with the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)?
For us ITC is a knowledge base with many students in the field of surveying, that generally means the production of geo-information, and in the use of geo-information. And geo-information is one of the important prerequisites for achieving sustainable urban development. ITC’s expertise in geo-information management is very complementary to the concerns and expertise of UN-Habitat. Therefore we are keen to have them contribute to the international work we are doing in assisting others. In ITC we have a service partner that is part of a global network of solidarity and co-operation in our pursuit of development.
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