LOCAL ORG SALT
INSIDE ZASPACE Here’s a brief look into an organisation making waves in South Africa’s geospatial sector. By: Zakiyah Ebrahim ZASpace was created in 2019 and was the first initiative of its kind to grow South Africa’s geospatial sector. The geospatial industry comprises private companies, the government, non-profit organisations (NPOs), as well as academic and research institutions that focus on researching, developing, manufacturing and using geospatial technology. WHAT IS GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY? Geospatial technologies include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and Global Positioning Systems. They are unique in that they can track specific geographic information. Thousands of geospatial technology applications are in use worldwide. These technologies have numerous purposes, such as allowing for the studying of objects or surfaces at faraway distances. Scientists can then use this to assess the risk of natural disasters and global climate change, for example. Incorporating these technologies also makes it possible for officials to make informed decisions based on the priority of resources on Earth. ZASPACE’S ROLE ZASpace has support from the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and has access to resources and expertise, which is used to improve collaboration between different sectors. Its vision is to stimulate growth and transformation of the space industry.
Justine Letard, who is Head of Brands and Digital Channels of ZASpace, told Science Stars that ZASpace improves collaboration between public sector institutions, such as SANSA, and the private sector organisations in order to allow for better opportunities to grow the private sector and business overall. WHY WAS IT CREATED? The organisation was born out of the need to maximise the impact of space assets accumulated by SANSA, Kamal Ramsingh, CEO of ZASpace, told Space in Africa in 2019. Ramsingh also believes that South Africa has had “decades of missed opportunity” because it outsourced its technology needs, but that this was not necessarily needed for the growth of the country’s geospatial sector. One of ZASpace’s plans from the very beginning was to develop learning contents and academic curriculum on geospatial science and technologies – in collaboration with secondary schools in South Africa – in order to broaden awareness for career opportunities in the sector. While ZASpace does not have any student offerings at this stage, they will be looking at incorporating youth projects as a mission in the future and are happy to promote youth development projects, Letard said. To find out more about how ZASpace is benefitting the industry, visit their website at zaspaceinc.org
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