Geneva, Switzerland - From 24 to 26 June 2025, UNITAR supported a three-day workshop in Castries, Saint Lucia, as part of the country's ongoing experimental data project. The initiative aims to explore the integration of data collected via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with other sources, namely the 2022 Population and Housing Census, satellite imagery, household surveys, and citizen-generated data, to produce official statistics.
As informal settlement areas are rapidly changing, utilizing UAV imagery would be a cost-effective method to improve population estimates and infrastructure vulnerability assessments. Throughout the workshop, participants worked in groups to discuss modelling results, further prototyping, and learned from the experience of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica's use of satellite imagery for population estimates and informal settlements via a remote presentation. Discussion on vulnerability assessments in relation to policy needs was also held, with examples on work done in Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Bhutan. Closing the workshop, participants presented their action plans, and task forces were established to adjust/extend the population estimates model and develop a national vulnerability assessment approach.
24 participants attended, representing the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia, relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), as well as members of the Geospatial Data Infrastructure Group and other key stakeholders, including the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap community. Experts from the United Nations, namely Ms. Elena Proden (UNITAR), Mr. Samir Belabbes (UNITAR/UNOSAT), and Ms. Haoyi Chen (UNSD) facilitated the workshop, and representatives from ETH Zurich presented remotely and will continue to provide support during the follow-up stage.
The implementation of this experimental project is supported by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) as the lead implementer of the World Bank-funded Data for Decision-Making project, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), ETH Zurich, and UN Statistics Division (UNSD). The project will run until October 2025, with the follow-up, testing, and recommendations stage to be implemented through Task Forces established during the workshop.
