Building Disaster-Resilient Futures: Collaboration Takes Centre Stage

The sky above Stellenbosch, South Africa hummed with possibility in November 2024 as innovators and decision-makers gathered for the Southern African Drones, AI, and GIS for Disaster Risk Management Conference and Workshop Series. For four days, the air was thick with ideas—urgent, necessary, brimming with hope. Attendees from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region came together with a shared purpose: to bridge the gap between the immense potential of drones, GIS, and AI and their tangible application in disaster management. 

Geospatial technologies offer more than data points on a map. They reveal the vulnerabilities in our landscapes, the weaknesses in our infrastructure, the paths that disaster might take. They allow us to plan—not just for risk reduction before disaster strikes and response when it does, but also for what comes after: rebuilding stronger, smarter. Geospatial technologies offer a lit path to data-driven decision-making, enhancing disaster risk reduction and strengthening response and recovery efforts.

Yet, it is not technology that will save us. The conversations at the conference were even more vital than the tools themselves. To share knowledge is to strengthen it. To listen is to understand. And to collaborate is to wield our greatest strength. Relationships, after all, are the currency of progress, and no single entity can stand against the tide alone.

Disaster reminds us of our smallness. But in our unity, we find power. Together, we can prepare, we can protect, we can rebuild. We can save lives.

Watch the video below to hear from participants about why this gathering mattered. And stay tuned—plans for the next conferences are already in motion.