Following the success of the 2011 inaugural Summit, Eye on Earth 2015 took centre stage on October 6-8 in Abu Dhabi, to promote dialogue and drive international action that revolutionises the way we collect, access, share and use data and information for real-world change. The 2015 summit sought to foster a culture of collaboration through a network committed to achieving scalable impact for a sustainable future.

Eye on Earth addresses the crucial importance of environmental and societal information and networking to decision-making. It aims to convene thought and action leaders of the worldwide community, converge consensus on the key areas of mutual importance, and finally collaborate towards strengthening existing initiatives and filling the gaps into the future.

In December 2011, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) through the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), convened global leaders, innovators and decision-makers to an inaugural Eye on Earth Summit.

Through the Special Initiatives, the Eye on Earth initiative convenes a diverse range of stakeholders to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure and access to information for environment and sustainable development in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Eye on Earth Summit Declaration (Abu Dhabi, 2011).

Objectives

Eye on Earth facilitates a broad stakeholder engagement process that is regionally relevant and convenes, converges and collaborates around this common agenda to deliver collective impact.

Through the Eye on Earth framework the initiative engages a community of stakeholder organizations and existing networks to work towards a common agenda to collectively increase the availability and accessibility, as defined in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, of integrated and scientifically-based information that is relevant, usable and provides impact within a developed and developing country context.