Volunteers Assisting WHO-GOARN on GIS Training for COVID-19 Response

GISCorps volunteers Lisa Silva and Noah Krach conducted several short-term online GIS training sessions between July 14th and August 4th for 43 individuals from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) of the World Health Organization (WHO). The training courses were conducted two times every Tuesday through a web conferencing platform . The course schedule was designed and provided by GOARN, and the course materials were extracted from various ESRI web courses and tutorials. During the training sessions, GISCorps volunteers introduced the topics and performed live demonstration on ArcGIS Pro 2.5 application, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Operations Dashboard, and ArcGIS Insights. Attendees also used ArcGIS Insights to visualize the daily COVID-19 data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The goals were to train GOARN partners to utilize the ESRI platform in COVID-19 response to better communicate with others, and to visualize, monitor, and analyze COVID-19 trends. 

“The GISCorps volunteers helped us train GOARN partner organizations on how to visualise and analyse real-time COVID-19 case trends and risks with ArcGIS. Thanks to the GISCorps volunteers, we believe the key national responders in Africa, South America, South East Asia, and Europe are now better equipped with location-based approaches to manage complex issues in their pandemic response at the local level. The GISCorps volunteers were always well-prepared, highly engaging, and 100% dedicated. We look forward to engaging GISCorps again for our future global engagement.” – Mansuk Daniel Han, Partner Coordination Officer, Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN)

“I feel the GOARN ArcGIS training project experience was very valuable to me because I was able to study for teaching a real world issue that could help others display valuable information for the public to learn from. GISCorps and WHO (GOARN partners) professionals in charge of running the volunteer training project did a great job with clear communication on development, course content setup and feedback. I feel very grateful I was able to be part of this work.” – Lisa Silva, GISCorps Volunteer

“Teaching GIS classes on the WHO-GOARN project was a fantastic experience. GIS is a powerful tool that allows decision makers to make smarter decisions. Teaching these classes gave individuals the opportunity to learn new skills that they can take back to their organization. These skills will help them fight this virus and save lives. I am thankful that GISCorps allowed me to participate in this project. It allowed me to meet/work with some wonderful people who are making a difference in the world. This was an experience I will remember for a long time.” – Noah Krach, GISCorps Volunteer