My Community, Our Earth

Purpose of Initiative: The purpose of the My Community, Our Earth (MyCOE) initiative is to give secondary school, college, and university students worldwide a new set of geographic tools to learn about current economic, social and environmental challenges in their communities, and to involve them in finding solutions within their neighborhoods, villages, cities, and countries. MyCOE, a public/private education partnership led by the Association of American Geographers, addresses issues including: biodiversity, climate change, deforestation, environmental pollution, food production, fresh water supply, health and disease, mountain development, poverty reduction, rural development, and urbanization. A parallel goal of the partnership is to raise international awareness about the importance of geography and geographic information system (GIS) technology, especially satellite images, in addressing issues relating to sustainable development

Resources: MyCOE partners have contributed over $1 million in funds, publications, software, and services to date. The U.S. Government’s contribution to this initiative is approximately $500,000.

Partners: Since MyCOE’s launch at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the four organizers (bold) successfully recruited additional partners. Current partners include: Civil Society:  Association of American Geographers, National Geographic Society; Private Sector: ESRI, ERDAS, 3M, Columbia Earthscape; International Organizations: UN Environment Programme, Inter-American Development Bank; and U.S. Government Agency for International Development, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Department of State.

Accomplishments to Date: The partnership recruited the first round of student projects and project mentors between February and June 2002; students submitted over 200 projects from 27 countries; and a high-level review panel selected 10 MyCOE projects for display at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg South Africa (August 26 – September 4, 2002). MyCOE is using this experience to prepare presentations for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) program in Milan (March 2003) and to exhibit MyCOE information and selected student projects at conferences and other venues around the U.S. through March 2003. In late September 2002, the MyCOE partnership formed a Steering Committee to plan for the second round of student projects. Announcements for the second round commenced during Geography Awareness Week (November 17-23, 2002). Primary outreach and promotion will occur between April and December 2003 with projects due by March 31, 2004. A panel will complete evaluation and selection of projects for awards by May 2004. MyCOE will showcase award-winning projects at numerous U.S. and international events between July 2004 and April 2005.

USG Points of Contact: Agency for International Development: Robert Ford (Phone: 202-712-5073, E-mail: rford@usaid.gov), Department of Agriculture: Greg Crosby (Phone: 202-401-6050, E-mail: greg.crosby@usda.gov) and Peggy Harwood (Phone: 202-205-0877, email: pharwood@fs.fed.us)