By AIT Public Affairs
March 30, 2023 – The Asian Institute of Technology co-organized a side event titled “Future Generation: Multi-Stakeholder Roles for Strengthening Space Applications and Sustainable Development” at the 10th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) organized by UNESCAP in Bangkok from 27 to 30 March 2023 under the theme “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels in Asia and the Pacific.”
The side event was held in-person at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok on March 29 and was jointly organized by the Government of Indonesia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
Students and staff from AIT’s Remote Sensing and GIS (RSGIS) program, Department of Information and Communication Technologies were led by Dr. Salvatore Virdis and Dr. Chitrini Mozumder, who joined the side event that was followed by a networking session.
Representing AIT on the theme of “Youths in Space Applications for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, RSGIS Master student Mr. Aung Chit Moe participated in the student speech session and shared his research on assessing historical changes and projecting the future of land use and land cover in Southeast Asia, which is part of the Climate Change Risk Assessment for Southeast Asian Lakes (CCRASEAL) Project funded by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research and led by Asian Institute of Technology. Read for more information at: https://ccraseal.com/.
During the networking event, the Academic Program Chair and Associate Professor Dr. Salvatore Virdis gave a presentation entitled “Critical Role of Remote Sensing and Geo-spatial Sciences in Achieving the SDGs: Experiences from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.”
The side event was joined by H.E. Mr. Rachmat Budiman, Ambassador of Indonesia; H.E. Mrs C. A. Chaminda I. Colonne, Ambassador of Sri Lanka and senior officials from BRIN (The National Research and Innovation Agency from Indonesia), PhilSA (Philippine Space Agency), Uzbekspace (The Space Research and Technology Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan), UNU-INWEH, UNITAR/ UNOSAT, and GISTDA. Students and academicians from several academic institutions such asUniversity of Hong Kong, Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, and Srinakharinwirot University also participated in this session.
AIT Executive Director of International and Public Affairs Mr. Shawn Kelly also participated at the 10th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) at UNESCAP, participating in a side event hosted by the Government of Mongolia on “Implications of the Energy Transition on Sustainable Critical Minerals Development in the Asia-Pacific: Aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals”.
