The Eye on Earth Summit (Eye on Earth 2011) convened under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 12-15 December 2011 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Summit brought together over 1000 participants, representing governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Held under the theme “Convene, Converge, Collaborate,” discussions during Eye on Earth 2011 centered on strengthening existing efforts and inspiring a search for unified, global solutions to the issues that preclude access to data.

Eye on Earth 2011 featured plenary sessions which formed the “backbone” of the Summit. These plenary sessions featured keynote speeches and panel sessions on varying issues, including water security, financing, disaster management, and oceans and blue carbon. The Summit also featured open sessions, during which four working groups on “Policy, Governance and Institutional Networking,” “Content and User Needs,” “Technical Infrastructure,” and “Capacity Building, Education and Awareness,” took place to finalize the Special Initiatives that were launched at the end of the event. More Information..