AccuGeospatial 2019 GIS Day Celebration

On Wednesday, the 13th of November 2019, AccuGeospatial celebrated GIS day under the theme “GIS, an essential tool for critical thinking” at SOS-HGIC (Margaret Nkrumah Hall). An Inter-schools GIS Project Competition was organized between the host school, SOS-HGIC and Tema International School (TIS). This was aimed at getting to know how conversant the students are with the use and application of the ArcGIS platform. 

The two schools were selected because they were distinguished beneficiaries of AccuGeospatial’s Spatial Thinking (SpaT) campaign program. SpaT Campaign is an initiative that seeks to improve critical thinking among students using geospatial tools.  

A welcome address was delivered by Mr. Richmond Kyei-Baffour, the Technical Director of AccuGeospatial. He welcomed everyone and stated that the event promises to be fun and educative. A brief video on GIS Day by Jack Dangermond, President of Esri was viewed by the audience. He explained the role of GIS in Decision Making and wished all participants a Happy GIS Day. 

The guest speaker, Mrs. Amerley Ampofo a Senior Manager for Customer Analytics of MTN Ghana, delivered a brief speech and stressed on how thrilled she was to see young students excited about GIS. 

The Panel of Judges for the competition were Mrs. Amerley Ampofo, Mrs. Jennifer Fafa Asiedu-Dartey (GIS Specialist) and Mr. Henry Baffoe (Chief Executive Officer, Big Data). Having balloted for presentation slots, SOS-HGIC, represented by Mr. Alfred F. Ikechukwu and Mr. Samuel Timothy was the first to present their project on the topic, Distribution of fire incidences in Greater Accra. An explanation was given on how data was collected and their ability to use the ArcGIS Platform was also demonstrated in the presentation. The judges sought clarity and some comments were given. 

Tema International School, represented by Miss Elorm Godzi and Mr. Rudolf Dogbegah, followed with their presentation on the topic, Trends in Global Urban growth. The representatives explained to the audience how they were able to analyze urbanization in Moscow from the 1950s to the 2020s, a Web Map Application was created. Judges were given the opportunity to ask questions as well. 

When both schools completed their presentation, the audience and judges had an opportunity to ask questions. The judges were impressed by the impeccable performance demonstrated by the students from both schools. It was an educative event and students also had a lot of fun as expected.

After the collation of results by the judges, Tema International School emerged winner of this competition. For their price, the school received a plaque. The students who presented each received an 8’’ Android Tablet and a 1-year ArcGIS Student license. The Geography tutor of TIS also received a 1-year ArcGIS Student license.  

SOS-HGIC as the first runner up also received a plaque for the school. The student presenters each received a 7’’ Android tablet and a 1-Year ArcGIS student licenses.

The ArcGIS licenses were donated by Esri as part of this year’s GIS day celebration. AccuGeospatial funded the event as well as prices awarded.            

Finally, the Vote of Thanks was delivered by Mr. Stephen Owusu Bempah – IT teacher, SOS-HGIC. He acknowledged the efforts of the staff members of AccuGeospatial, students, teachers, and the esteemed judges for their precious time and presence.

The event ended with a photo session and snacks for all attendees.