The Capacity Building Workshop for Small Island Developing States: Leveraging Big Earth Data to Evaluate the SDGs Progress successfully concluded on September 8, 2025 in Beijing, China, after a week of intensive discussions and training from September 1-8.
The Workshop was co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), and several other institutions, with generous support from the Pacific Academy of Sciences (PAS). The Workshop, held under the special auspices of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and the Beijing International Science and Technology Exchange Center (BISTEC), produced tangible outcomes and charted viable next steps. More than 30 delegates from UN DESA, and governments and institutions of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and the South Pacific Island Countries (SPIC) actively engaged throughout the full Workshop programme.
In alignment with the Pact for the Future’s call to “bridge STI divides” and the recommendations of the 2025 STI Forum, the Workshop emphasized practical applications of Big Earth Data for monitoring and implementing the UN SDGs. Through lectures, seminars, and interactive presentations, participants explored state-of-the-art methodologies for SDG indicator monitoring and evaluation. The Workshop aimed to bridge critical data gaps, while also strengthening technological and institutional capacity in SIDS to adopt digital tools for data management. By absorbing expertise from leading scientists, delegates were better equipped to support the commitments of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), ensuring progress toward climate resilience, sustainable development, and inclusive growth.
The support of the Pacific Academy of Sciences (PAS) was instrumental in ensuring the representation of island nations, particularly from the Pacific region. Three outstanding researchers nominated by PAS under ISDE’s invitation, namely Dr. Sharon Torao Pingi, Lecturer in Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science of the University of Papua New Guinea, Dr. Philemon Yalamu, Lecturer & Deputy Dean (Planning) of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences (SHSS), University of Papua New Guinea, and Mr. Ierome Tupuola, Lecturer Technology at the National University of Samoa, enriched the Workshop discussions with diverse perspectives and solutions.
Dr. Sharon Torao Pingi shared that the Workshop was transformative for her, giving her valuable insights into how geospatial data can be preprocessed and analysed with AI. She was impressed by China’s significant contributions to the UN 2030 Agenda. Invited by ISDE to present and share perspectives in the Special Session on Digital Earth Technologies for Promoting Sustainable Development in SIDS on behalf of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, she hoped to inspire other delegates to explore how they, as individuals, might begin developing solutions to address their own countries’ SDG challenges. She also voiced her wish for greater innovation through Digital Earth technologies and deeper global cooperation.
Dr. Philemon Yalamu highlighted the value of the advanced Big Earth Data framework, particularly the integration of satellite observations, GIS, AI, and advanced computing, along with the open-access, standardized, and interoperable datasets curated by CBAS, which he called vital for informed decision-making. He described the Workshop as wonderful and insightful, and expressed appreciation to ISDE and PAS for the invitation. As a specialist in human computer interaction, he found it especially meaningful to critically look at the UN SDGs as a way to reshape the world today for the future.
Mr. Ierome Tupuola deemed the Workshop as an eye-opening and enriching experience. For him, the most valuable aspect was to learn how SIDS like Samoa can better position themselves in global science networks while also sharing their unique perspectives and challenges. The Digital Earth Special Session, he noted, highlighted practical pathways for integrating science into policy and underscored the value of regional and international partnerships. Stressing the power of collaboration, he remarked, “No nation, big or small, can tackle today’s pressing issues alone.” Returning home, he said he felt motivated to use science as a bridge between nations and cultures.
A highlight of the Workshop was a Special Session on Digital Earth Technologies for Promoting Sustainable Development in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and South Pacific Island Countries (SPIC) held on September 5. Organized by the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) in collaboration with partner institutions, the Session featured keynote presentations and a dynamic panel discussion, fostering stronger international cooperation and practical pathways for applying geospatial technologies to SDG monitoring.
Among the six invited speakers, Dr. Sharon Torao Pingi presented on “Digital Earth & AI for Bridging Data Gaps in Climate Action: A Pacific Case”. She underscored the potential of Digital Earth and AI to serve as shared platforms for tracking SDG progress, even in contexts with weak national systems. During the panel discussion, she further highlighted the importance of responsible stewardship of AI and digital toolkits to bridge data and capacity gaps across SIDS and SPIC.
All participants of the Workshop also attended the 5th International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals which was held on 6-8 September in Beijing. At the special session of “Big Earth Data facilitating SDGs for SIDS and African Countries: Challenges and Opportunities”, delegates jointly generated and endorsed an Outcome Statement of the Workshop. Representatives from all three SIDS regions—6 countries from the AIS (African and Indian Ocean SIDS) region, namely Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Seychelles; 2 from the Caribbean SIDS, namely the Dominican Republic and Jamaica; and 3 from the Pacific region, namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa—recognized the value of the Workshop and its collective achievements in the statement. The participants reached a consensus that strengthened efforts are needed in areas such as STI roadmap development, technical training on Big Earth Data tools, satellite data sharing mechanisms, and the adoption of Digital Earth technologies, among other priorities. Such workshops and initiatives are believed to advance the ABAS commitments, support the Pact for the Future, and contribute to the SDGs’ vision of “leaving no one behind”.
Building on the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) adopted at the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in 2024, the workshop placed a strong emphasis on the unique vulnerabilities of island nations, such as geographic isolation, small economies, and high exposure to natural hazards. In the same year, the first Workshop on Capacity Building on Utilizing Big Earth Data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was successfully held in Beijing, whose outputs had been featured on the UN DESA website and offered constructive examples for SIDS.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
