Capacity building in Senegal: a successful endeavor!

In December of 2010, IGN France International won an important European Union tender for the completion of an urban mapping database for the seven main cities of Senegal (Dakar, Thiès, Mbour, Saly, Louga, Kaolack and St-Louis).

Scheduled to last for 25 months, this project boasts production that is entirely executed locally thanks to a heavy capacity building phase. Today, thanks to the progressive climb in efficiency that the teams have managed to implement, the endeavour is well on its way to becoming a successful one.

Christophe Grateau, regional manager for IGN France International, confirms this: “The geodetic, levelling and ground control work is now well mastered by two of the DTGC’s (Senegalese National Mapping Agency) agents. The stereoplotting of the city of Thiès, 70 km East of Dakar, is now finished and the production of the other cities is very advanced. Kaolack, Mbour and Saly, for example, show progressions of more than 95%. Louga is already at more than 40%. More than a third of the stereoplotting for the entire project is finished.”
These convincing results have been attained because of the strong implication of the Senegalese teams, supported by IGN FI.

The recruitment that began in April, 2011 allowed IGN France International to select 15 interns, all with a university level and initial training in geomatics. The team then benefited from customised training supervised by the DTGC.
All of the cartography of the seven cities that is produced in the context of this project will be done by this team. 
Mr. Papa Sambar BEYE, the head of the production workshop, explains: “Capacity building only really works if those being trained are truly accompanied. For this project, it really is the case: IGN FI sent professional photogrammetrists that come to Dakar on a regular basis to assist the teams here. Since the implementation of the workshop in May, we have really seen it grow in strength. Today we are seeing accurate results, very comparable to market standards.” 
Ousmane Lamine CASSE, one of the project’s interns, adds: “The training is of course really important. But most of all, we’re extremely motivated. By working on this project, we all feel immense pride to be serving our country.”

The implication of the Senegalese teams falls in line with the strategy of the European Union Delegation of Senegal for capacity building, aiming to improve the operational capacity of the DTGC and to reinforce the capacity of its agents. This should allow them to meet the goals set out by the Senegalese government's policy for cadastre and total coverage of the territory. 

The current project picks up where IGN France International's former project for the complete updating of Senegal's cartographic coverage at a scale of 1:200,000 left off. This project, financed by the 9th FED and completed by the DTGC, also contributed to the modernisation of materials and equipment and the reinforcement of the DTGC's capacities. The DTGC will eventually be able to autonomously complete the stereoplotting of all of Senegal's cities at a scale of 1:2,000 as well as the updating of the urban mapping databases. 

A second progress seminar will take place in Dakar at the beginning of February and will be assisted by the main users and beneficiaries of this data. 

Read the interview with Youssou Ndong, Director of Geographic and Cartographic Work