Neil Sorensen joined the Land Portal as its Communications Specialist in October 2015. He has extensive experience leading communications for international organizations and developing relationships with civil society, donors, intergovernmental agencies, the media and the private sector. Previously, Neil worked for the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) as a Governing Bodies Officer and Strategic Adviser to the Secretary of IFAD. He has also led communications for three international organizations, including the International Land Coalition, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). He holds a Master’s degree in Global Diplomacy from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as well as a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in German and Sociology from St. Cloud State University.
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State of Land Information Reports Unveil Insights on Botswana and Zambia
Two comprehensive State of Land Information (SOLI) reports have been released, providing in-depth assessments of the land data and information ecosystems in Botswana and Zambia. These reports examine the availability of land information and evaluate its compliance with open data standards. The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each country's land information management practices and offer insights for targeted interventions.
State of Land Information in Zambia
This State of Land Information (SOLI) report is an analysis of the current state of land data in Zambia, assessing the availability of land information and the compliance of this information with open data standards.
State of Land Information in Botswana
This State of Land Information (SOLI) report is an analysis of the current state of land data in Botswana, assessing the availability of land information and the compliance of this information with open data standards.
The aim of this report is to serve as a diagnostic for the land information ecosystem in Botswana and enable targeted interventions for improved information management.
Webinar Recap: The State of Land Data in Africa
The State of Land Data: Transforming Africa Into a Powerhouse of the Future" took place on June 22 and featured five speakers. The event was organized by a team of organizations including the Land Portal Foundation, NELGA, GIZ and German Cooperation.
IOS Fair Transitions
The State of Land Data: Transforming Africa Into a Powerhouse of the Future
This webinar aimed to build the capacity of researchers and practitioners across Africa to better understand sustainable approaches to land data governance. The webinar highlighted the importance of good land data governance for improving property rights and enabling more efficient government services.
Residential workshop on Land Governance and Development
To equip development practitioners with better and nuanced understanding of land and development connections, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and the Centre for Land Governance, Bhubaneswar are organising a five-day residential workshop from 3 July–7 July 2023.
Introducing the State of Land Information Index
This side event will serve to introduce the Land Portal’s State of Land Information Index (SOLIndex), which measures openness of land data at the country and global level. The aim of this index is to make land-related findings more actionable and to complement existing land governance monitoring systems, such as tools developed by GLTN. The SOLIndex provides an overall indicator that assesses the openness of land data and information at global and country levels. The SOLIndex can be used as a diagnostic and advocacy tool for making land data more open and inclusive in support of good land governance.
This side event will explore the range of indicators that constitute the index, explore strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the collection of these indicators in an effort to obtain and incorporate feedback from GLTN Partners into the process of validating the indicator.
Through the Land Data Lens – What are we seeing/Not seeing?
The objectives of this session are to highlight national, regional and global progress and accomplishments in outcome 3 of phase 3 of the GLTN program, to gather feedback from GLTN partners and receive proposals on the monitoring focus in phase 4, and to identify potential collaborative opportunities with GLTN partners to upscale monitoring of the land agenda.