Latest Contributions by WilliamTarpai

Wish I could have helped get more than a few young GIS professionals from East African countries enrolled and able to attend the GIS Leadership Summit.  @EzraCheruiyot   Thanks to Books for Africa, books and reconditioned computer equipment was delivered to rural Bomet County.  It would be great to entice some of those speakers for the Leadership Summit willing join in this conversation to explore mapping opportunities to  the growing list of successful projects.  add to https://un-two-zero.network/all-projects/#explore . ... View more

@EzraCheruiyot   Thanks for your good works in Kenya.  I agree with your comments about opportunties with the leadership gap....    I commented this week at the opening session of a UN Behaviorial Science event.  "Still 4 more years left in the 15 year SDG challenge, so lots of time to improve rankings. Urging US to submit a VNR at UNGA between now and 2030 is very important. Very pleased to see SJSU collaboration developing between the Kenyan National Library Service with Books for Africa. California State Universities has 23 campuses, and University of California has 10 campuses - all in the state of California. Involving students and their professors by providing entryways for active involvement with counterparts around the globe is an idea that needs further discussion"....   Let's begin to provide more possibilities to learn and hone skill sets allowing development to take place, even in the most rural regions of this world. ... View more

@EzraCheruiyot.  GIS LEADERSHIP is certainly important as we enter the last 4 years of the 15 year Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenge.   Spend some time reviewing the UN 2.0 library https://un-two-zero.network/all-projects/#explore.  I wonder how many we might be able to add using GIS in east Africa in the next 4 years? ... View more

@EzraCheruiyot I hope you can be having conversations with GIS leaders in Kenya and neighboring countries about the GIS leadership gaps mentioned in this post, and can be coming up with ways to speed up development progress. ... View more

Excellent, timely and thoughtful post @IzabelaMillerGC  Preparing for the UC 2026 is now well underway, Definitely hoping GIS leaders need to have discussions on your questions. This morning I was listening to a UN Behavioral Science event – MODEL BEHAVIOR ACROSS GLOBAL CONTEXTS  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLSHK3qQN74&list=PL5dkWbaJeOg589Gfsvw3yw-I4cT-2GqXm&index=1   (Part of the UN Innovation Network) The video began looking at multifactorial research – After listening to the first speaker, then turned to the opening ceremony - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi28XGzrV4Y&list=PL5dkWbaJeOg589Gfsvw3yw-I4cT-2GqXm&index=3 Then I posted @William-SafinaEmpowerment Still 4 more years left in the 15 year SDG challenge, so lots of time to improve rankings. Urging US to submit a VNR at UNGA between now and 2030 is very important. Very pleased to see SJSU collaboration developing between the Kenyan National Library Service with Books for Africa. California State Universities has 23 campuses, and University of California has 10 campuses - all in the state of California. Involving students and their professors by providing entryways for active involvement with counterparts around the globe is an idea that needs further discussion (interrogations???) Keep up your good works, there is certainly lots to be done, in so many places, to make our world a better place.     ... View more

@JesseCloutier   A young colleague at CWE-Tech recently asked what skill sets are most important to master.  I mentioned GIS, and wanted to introduce you to the EQUAL MEASURES 2030 website Equal Measures 2030  This is all about achieving SDG5 successful outcomes by 2030.    ... View more

Thanks @JeffreyThompson2   @EzraCheruiyot We have been hoping to be building maps which cover cross-border areas as we build Story Maps.   Can't wait to see the results of your suggestions.... ... View more

Hello @CdnLibraryTech  Welcome to the platform.  I have been actively promoting a Kenyan National Library Service - San Jose State University collaboration to improve early childhood education in Kenya by improving reading skills.  @EzraCheruiyot who is a Kenyan professional can tell you about life in rural Kenyan towns and villages.  We would really welcome your research and customer service support knowledge and skills to collaborate with us going forward, especially helping students acquire and hone mapping and spatial analysis skill sets.   ... View more

@AdamCarnow Great post.  Having been in San Diego during the annual ESRI conference, it is quite amazing to note the energy and incredibly talented people who are deeply involved in mapping and spatial analysis.  Another amazing reason might be participant leadership to accurately account for assessing how the US is doing achieving the SDG challenge. Allow me to provide a link to the 2025 annual Sustainable Development Solutions Network report -https://www.unsdsn.org/news/explore-the-sdsn-s-2025-annual-impact-report/.  After downloading, click on country reports to open the US standings.    One may reasonably ask why the US standings are dropping globally? It is NOT so much life is NOT improving here in the US, as US is backing away from being actively involved with the United Nations.  The US is the only country that has never submitted a VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW (VNR) since the 2015 SDG challenge was initiated. Why?  Can't we collect the data needed to assess our progress? As we know ESRI mapping professionals exist and are active in cities and states from coast-to-coast in the US.  In fact, it is hard to understand why data seems to be missing to allow the SDSN to accurately rate US progress against all of the 17 SDG targets and indicators.   So my question is can and should ESRI help  out to improve the data required that could allow the US to submit to the UN a VNR  (where?- at the annual September gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly) so an accurate accounting of US progress against the 17 SDGs can be achieved before the last end of the 15 year SDG challenge in 2030? ... View more

@StevenAustin   Great post, sorry it took me so long to find it.  ESRI does a super job of Convening partners, policymakers, academics, and global leaders annually working on how to improve the science of where.   Keep up the excellent work in 2026 -  I invite all readers to explore the 2025 Sustainable Development Solutions Report https://www.unsdsn.org/news/explore-the-sdsn-s-2025-annual-impact-report/.   Find your country and check out progress achieving the 17 SDGs - Only 4 years remaining in the 15 year challenge to achieve the best results globally and nationally.    ... View more

@SamuelDadson   Excellent post!!!!  GREAT ADVICE for students!!!!   Disaster Risk Reduction efforts are really important and DO CONTRIBUTE to public safety and emergency response capabilities.   You might wish to introduce your skill sets to Red Cross clubs on campus.....    ... View more

Wow,, wish I would have had water modeling info when I briefed the (then) president of Somalia during his surprise visit to the BurDhubo refugee camps (1983).  He was interested in how to build a bridge across the river.... ... View more

@ArushiKapoor  Thanks for posting and all your good work preparing and publishing; it is truly helpful for others as we work on improving water quality and improve the communities where we live.... @EzraCheruiyot is a Kenyan currently putting together ways to introduce students and their teachers in rural Kenya to GIS to address research on important questions facing local communities.   He  usually teaches Mapping skills on youtube and Tiktok accounts.    We are reaching out on this platform hoping to find ways of getting Kenyan students collaborating with their peers, especially in neighboring states.   Being introduced to your work will certainly help efforts looking ahead.   Thanks again.    (look us up on https://safinaempowerment.org/. or on Linkedin search - SAFINA DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION ) ... View more

EZRA,   Can you draft a map for us to begin our collaborations of Bomet County, pin pointing where the schools that have already received books and computer equipment (thanks for Books for Africa and Safina) are located?   We need to be making lists in each school identifying teachers and students from each school interested in this project, and creating opportunities to introduce both teachers and students to why we are advocating for introducing learning mapping and spatial analysis skill sets.   Let's make this an agenda item for our next SAFINA Zoom call....     ... View more