Dubai Municipality, DM, has won the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Awards in a ceremony held at the annual Esri International User Conference, Esri UC, in California. The SAG Awards acknowledge innovative and intelligent applications of GIS, or geographic information system, technology.
"The civic body was selected for the effective use of cartography, the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively" said Abdul Hakim Malik, Director of the GIS Department at Dubai Municipality.
"Each year, the SAG Awards highlight extraordinary achievements and efforts to improve our world. We deserve this recognition as we did our best to apply geospatial technology to address the needs of our industries and community," he added.
Organisations from around the world honored at the Esri UC span industries including agriculture, cartography, climate change, defence and intelligence, economic development, education, government, health and human services, telecommunications, and utilities.
Speaking on the occasion, Hussain Nasser Lootah, DM Director-General, said that the GIS Department at Dubai Municipality is responsible for all geographic data within the emirate and it seeks to ensure the development of this area in collaboration with government agencies in other emirates as well.
"Our Smart map of the city has been selected for its importance in identifying locations and landmarks in the city, searching for services and other smart uses" he said. "We are delighted to receive this prestigious award, which is a great honour by the International Environmental Systems Research Institute in the United States of America." He also thanked the GIS Department and its employees for bringing this prestigious award to the civic body.