iMMAP Attends the 25th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers in Geneva
The mine action world came together for the first time in three years on June 23-24, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. The two-day event, themed “Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home” was a chance for iMMAP to showcase the services provided in humanitarian mine action (HMA) information management across various response missions globally while cultivating long-term partnerships with actors and stakeholders.
iMMAP delegation to the 25th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers, June 2022
iMMAP delegated Arie Claassens - Nigeria Country Representative, François Beurdeley - Iraq Country Representative, Clare Pritchard - Iraq Program Coordinator, and Simon Elmont - Global Security Advisor to attend. The conference was an opportunity to engage with established and prospective partners from international institutions, governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) platform
At the conference, Arie Claassens presented iMMAP’s activities in developing and updating information management (IM) systems in support of implementing partners working in HMA. Until this day, iMMAP has developed IM tools and resources that have been successful in various operational fields.
This stems from the very early origins of iMMAP where our co-founder, William Barron, was a part of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation´s (VVAF) team that worked on the development and implementation of the Landmine Impact Survey Initiative. The combination of expertise in mine action together with IM and geospatial information systems (GIS) has given iMMAP its current identity and molded the organization into what it is today.
This is evident with the strongest ongoing HMA operations iMMAP established. Since 2003, iMMAP has been working actively in Iraq. What began with development of a common operating picture for HMA, has continued with a long-lasting partnership with the Directorate of Mine Action (DMA) and the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) leading to the establishment of an open-source platform – IMSMA, to produce maps and reports for explosive remnants of war (ERW) planning, prioritization and clearance activities. In addition, iMMAP conducts third-party monitoring of HMA implementing partners who partake in clearance activities.
Furthermore, in northeast Syria (NES), iMMAP supports the Mine Action Sub-cluster in the coordination of HMA efforts by providing and maintaining a comprehensive picture of the explosive hazard contamination along with the progress of intervention activities set in place.
iMMAP continues to expand its reach in other humanitarian contexts such as Nigeria, where iMMAP has already provided HMA IM training to the national authorities in the northeast region ahead of the establishment of the Nigeria National Mine Action Center (NMAC) together with the recent deployed experts in Ukraine to tackle the HMA challenges across the most affected parts of the country.
The above activities together with the active networks and partnerships iMMAP has maintained with United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS), governmental, development and humanitarian partners and the Sub-cluster, makes iMMAP a trusted partner in HMA.
This stems from the very early origins of iMMAP where our co-founder, William Barron, was a part of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation´s (VVAF) team that worked on the development and implementation of the Landmine Impact Survey Initiative. The combination of expertise in mine action together with IM and geospatial information systems (GIS) has given iMMAP its current identity and molded the organization into what it is today.
This is evident with the strongest ongoing HMA operations iMMAP established. Since 2003, iMMAP has been working actively in Iraq. What began with development of a common operating picture for HMA, has continued with a long-lasting partnership with the Directorate of Mine Action (DMA) and the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) leading to the establishment of an open-source platform – IMSMA, to produce maps and reports for explosive remnants of war (ERW) planning, prioritization and clearance activities. In addition, iMMAP conducts third-party monitoring of HMA implementing partners who partake in clearance activities.
Furthermore, in northeast Syria (NES), iMMAP supports the Mine Action Sub-cluster in the coordination of HMA efforts by providing and maintaining a comprehensive picture of the explosive hazard contamination along with the progress of intervention activities set in place.
iMMAP continues to expand its reach in other humanitarian contexts such as Nigeria, where iMMAP has already provided HMA IM training to the national authorities in the northeast region ahead of the establishment of the Nigeria National Mine Action Center (NMAC) together with the recent deployed experts in Ukraine to tackle the HMA challenges across the most affected parts of the country.
The above activities together with the active networks and partnerships iMMAP has maintained with United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS), governmental, development and humanitarian partners and the Sub-cluster, makes iMMAP a trusted partner in HMA.
iMMAP applauds the work achieved by the Sub-sector to improve evidence-based decision making through closer integration of IM systems. We look forward to the continued evolution of the Sub- sector's IM landscape that will see improved access to and use of information.
iMMAP aims to remain close to the field operators, by providing accurate data and monitoring expertise, while committing to be a long-term partner to support the IM needs of partners in working to make ´Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home´ for the most vulnerable populations across the globe.