For the 15th consecutive year ESRI Bulgaria had the pleasure to organize the World GIS Day in Bulgaria and presented the awards for Strategic GIS projects.
Sofia, November 20, 2013 – For the 15th consecutive year on the occasion of the World GIS Day, ESRI Bulgaria awarded strategic GIS projects that were realized in 2013. Mrs. Daniela Bobeva, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, was the patron of the World GIS Day in Bulgaria and the awards ceremony this year.
The awards were given in three main categories – for successful implementations in the central and local administration, and in the area of education.
Mrs. Desislava Terzieva, Minister of Regional Development, awarded the long term contribution award in educating GIS specialists in Bulgaria to Prof. Krassimir Petrov, Dean of the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia.
The Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of the Interior received awards for their contributions to the successful application of GIS technologies in the central administration. Mr. Din Ahmed Onbasi, Deputy Minister of the Environment and Water and Mr. Plamen Angelov, Deputy Minister of the Interior, received the awards for their completed projects, respectively, in applying GIS for the protection of conservation zones from the eco-network NATURA 2000 in Bulgaria, and development of innovative GIS for crisis management. The awards were handed by Mr. Hugo De Groof, INSPIRE Policy Officer of the European Commission and Mr. Dean Angelides, Vice-President of ESRI, the world’s leading GIS company.
Two institutions were recognized in the category for successful GIS projects in the local administration. Mrs. Emiliya Angelova, Deputy Manager of GIS-Sofia and Mrs. Tanya Hristova, Mayor of Gabrovo Municipality, received awards respectively for the application of an innovative GIS approach in developing an ortophoto atlas of Sofia Municipality, and for sustainable development of GIS to support the activities of the Municipality of Gabrovo. The awards were handed by Mrs. Evgenia Karadjhova, General Manager of ESRI Bulgaria and Mr. Blagoy Stanchev, parliamentary secretary of the National Association of the Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The traditional competition for a geographic map for social analysis was awarded to the “Let’s Clean Bulgaria in One Day” campaign of the national BTV channel for analytical visualization of the data. The analysis of the information collected via GIS demonstrates that about 2,000 polluted areas marked in 2012 have been kept clean this year, and only 40 of them have been polluted again. It also visually presents the concentration of polluted areas per capita per municipality. Mrs. Maria Lazarova, “Social Projects” manager in bTV Media Group received the high award.
“These awards are recognition for the remarkable achievements of all the organizations that we acknowledge today. This is also a great responsibility to continue together our efforts to build the geospatial infrastructure of our country – for an economically successful Bulgaria,” said at the ceremony Mrs. Evgenia Karadzhova, General Manager of ESRI Bulgaria.
Almost 200 representatives of business and nongovernmental organizations, state and municipal institutions, and academia attended the awards ceremony. Its main partners were the National Association of the Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Foundation for Local Government Reform, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Faculty of Geology and Geography of the Sofia University, BASSCOM, the Bulgarian Cartography Association, Bulgarian Green Building Council, BAGIS and Green Balkans.
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