GeoFem Workshop in Costa Rica Trains 100+ Women and Girls in Geospatial Technologies
The GeoFem: Women in Geospatial Technologies workshop was hosted and organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Central America Aerospace Network (RAC) in San José. GeoFem seeks to bridge the digital divide between men and women by strengthening women’s geospatial skills. The workshop also supports personal growth, resilience, and professional empowerment.
The November 2023 workshop, held in partnership with SERVIR (a joint program of USAID and NASA), NASA Harvest, and Brigham Young University (BYU), convened students and professionals in geography, agriculture, and natural resource management. GeoFem provided a space for participants from various backgrounds and levels of technical experience to collaborate and explore how geospatial tools can be used to support climate resilience.
GeoFem also welcomed a diversity of age groups to participate in the training. The youngest participants joined from Edunámica, an association for talented youth.
The Edunámica students thanked their fellow GeoFem participants for welcoming them into the event. “Often, it feels like our opinion as young people doesn't matter,” shared one of the students, “but you've encouraged us throughout the entire workshop.”
Participants were introduced to geospatial tools for water management, such as the GEOGloWS Streamflow Forecasting Service, a global hydrological model that generates daily forecasts that can be used to prepare for events like floods or drought.
GeoFem participants also engaged in training on tools for agricultural and food security monitoring. Participants learned how to use several geospatial tools–including GEOGLAM, ClimateSERV and Google Earth Engine–to conduct advanced analysis for agricultural decision-making.
At the workshop’s closing ceremony, participants worked in small groups to present project proposals for applying what they learned to support climate resilience in their communities.
Several participants work with ASADAs, or community-led associations for managing water and sewage systems. GeoFem participant Raquel Gómez-Ramirez interacts with ASADAs through her work as a UN Environmental Programme coordinator, where she consults with organizations across the country to support climate resilience. GeoFem was the first time that Raquel had the opportunity to learn about geospatial tools.
At the closing ceremony, Raquel presented a proposal for using GEOGloWS to create early warning systems that can help ASADAs to prepare for extreme weather. This service can support ASADA decision-making, such as investing in infrastructure ahead of a flood to ensure that the community continues to have access to clean water.
Raquel and her colleagues emphasized the immediate relevance of this proposal. “This is not hypothetical,” they explained. “There is a lack of data that is available for these types of community actors to take action and prevent damage. These tools are truly needed and they can be implemented.”
María José Molina, GeoFem founder and president of the Central American Aerospace Network shared, “We should bring this type of event to women in rural areas who, for various reasons, may not be able to access this type of education in spatial technologies. They, in their rural areas, can be part of the urgent solutions that the planet needs to face environmental changes.”
The training was an advanced edition of the GeoFem: Women in Geospatial Technologies workshop (Rally Femenino in Spanish), organized by IICA and RAC (the Central American Aerospace Network). SERVIR and NASA Harvest supported this most recent workshop in partnership with Brigham Young University, the BYU Ballard Center for Social Impact, the USAID Central America and Mexico Regional Program, and UNESCO, along with GEOGLAM and GEOGloWS (regionally spearheaded by AmeriGEO).
Since 2019, the GeoFem: Women in Geospatial Technologies workshops have provided a space for empowerment and training in innovation technology for more than 500 women and girls.
This event summary is modified from IICA’s press release, written by Yuryvannia Sancho. You can find the full press release on IICA’s website.
Read the stories of four of the workshop participants.