Aster Denekew YILMA is a Geographic Information Officer working in the Geospatial Information Management System Section at the African Centre for Statistics. Ms. Yima joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 2010. Her area of expertise is in Geospatial Science and Technology, which includes GIS, Remote Sensing, Earth Observation and Space Technology. Before joining ECA, Ms. Yilma worked as GIS, IT and Database Expert in the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), an international research organization, where she had contributed to several research outputs. She also worked in the public sector as GIS Specialist and Computer Programmer in Environmental Protection Authority and as Senior Statistician in Ministry of Mines and Energy. Ms. Yilma has more than 20 years of professional experience in the field of geospatial science and technology, earth observation and space technology. In her current capacity, she is involved in promoting the use of geospatial information and technologies in African countries to support decision and policy making for sustainable socio-economic development, environmental impacts and societal benefits. In this regard, she contributed in many areas such as the development of national spatial data infrastructure in African countries by providing technical assistance and policy support to Member States; contributing to the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UNGGIM) initiative; integration of statistical and geospatial information; capacity development in African countries through capacity building and training workshops; development of space policy and strategy in Africa; and working in collaboration and providing assistance to regional and international organizations such as Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), African Regional Institute for Geospatial Science and Technology (AFRIGIST), EIS-Africa, African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE), Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association, Geospatial Media and Communication, Group on Earth Observation (GEO), and Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Ms. Yilma contributed in several professional and scientific papers as author and co-author. Some of her publications include: Volunteer Geographic Information in Africa; Spatially Enabled Africa; Spatial Characterization of the Nile Basin for Improved Water Management; Characterization and Atlas of the Blue Nile Basin and its Sub Basins; Water Resources and Irrigation Development in Ethiopia; and Ontology Based GeoPortals for Accessing Geospatial Data and Web Services. Ms. Yilma holds a Master of Science degree in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation from the University of Twente Faculty of Geoinformation and Earth Observation, formerly named International Institute for Geoinformation and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands; Professional Masters degree in Geoinformation Science specializing in Geographic Information Systems from ITC, The Netherlands; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.