It has been a busy few months’ since I became Chair of AGI Cymru in April this year. The AGI Cymru Steering Group committee have embraced new technology, we’ve seen the launch of the National Geospatial Strategy and were joined by over 90 people for our first ever on-line GeoCymru webinar.
One of the things that has always struck me about being a member of AGI Cymru is that the people that work and live in Wales are passionate about Wales. This has never been more apparent than during lockdown as communities, employers and government bodies came together to support one another. For the AGI Cymru team, the inability to meet up in person meant that we had to adapt to new ways of working which was met with enthusiasm as we embraced new online technology to meet up and to progress activity.
The Committee has met regularly to plan events which included getting to grips with new quiz technology for our first online pub quiz in July, which was a fun evening of geography and Welsh general knowledge. Do you know what the 12th most spoken language in the world is?
With the launch of the National Geospatial Strategy, we’re considering how our AGI work supports the strategy and the benefits that this brings Wales now and in the future.
The support and hard work of the Committee enabled our fantastic GeoCymru 2020 event Sustainable Wales – Data Insights and analytics supporting Covid-19 to take place at the beginning of October. Normally a full day conference, we tailored this to a 3-hour webinar. We heard from industry specialists and community experts on the importance that data and services play in Wales in response to the pandemic. We were delighted to welcome the speakers that joined us to provide their thoughts, views and insights. We thank everyone that gave up their time to sponsor and support the event and those that joined us on the day.
Next year will be just as important as we continue to be the voice for Wales for geography and geographic information and we will continue to share our plans with you. Please keep in touch through the AGI Cymru website for latest news. Finally, I’d like to thank all our members for your support, and I hope you have a happy festive season and a successful 2021.
Oh, and the 12th most spoken language in the world is Portuguese! Congratulations if you knew that, maybe we’ll see you at our next quiz.
Pam Whitham
Chair of AGI Cymru