Overview
On 22 April, the Digital Sector Office of ADB, in collaboration with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the Asian Institute of Technology, organized a workshop titled “Empowering Developing Member Countries to Use Multispectral Satellite Images and Artificial Intelligence.” The workshop aimed to harness Earth Observation (EO) data, technological innovation, and institutional partnerships to enhance operational monitoring and efficiency.
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Jiangfeng Zhang, Director of Agriculture, Food, Nature and Rural Development, underscored the critical role of technology in addressing global challenges. Mr. Antonio Zaballos, Director of the Digital Sector Office, emphasized the transformative potential of EO data when integrated with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. Dr. Manzul Kumar Hazarika, Director of the Geoinformatics Center, Asian Institute of Technology, made a presentation on potential applications of EO Data in various fields, including disaster risk assessment, urban mapping and monitoring, crop mapping and monitoring, and air pollution monitoring.
Twelve national agencies presented their current initiatives and explored the opportunities EO data offers. They identified key enablers for optimizing EO data use, including institutional capacity building, the development of EO data processing infrastructure, and the formulation of policies for data sharing.
