Watch the recording:
- Overview
- Speakers
Behind every effective development decision is a simple truth: geography matters. Accurate, up-to-date maps are essential for understanding context and supporting smarter, more inclusive and precise development.
To this end, the World Bank Group has updated its global administrative dataset with a new high-resolution covering 3 levels of details: countries, states/provinces, and districts. The dataset includes a robust versioning system, ensuring that historical analyses can reliably align with past boundary definitions and that research using time-series remains consistent and reproducible.
These updated boundaries strengthen the quality and consistency of Bank research and operations, while also serving as a valuable public resource for governments, NGOs, and development partners worldwide.
Join us on Tuesday, February 3rd for an in-depth discussion on how this global public good dataset supports transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration across development initiatives. We will explore how the data are updated and maintained and hear from partners and stakeholders about how they are using the boundaries to inform their work.
Umar Serajuddin
Umar Serajuddin is a Manager at the World Bank’s Development Data Group, in charge of its Data Analytics unit.
Fleur de Lotus Illunga
Fleur de Lotus Ilunga is the Associate Geospatial Information Officer at the United Nations Geospatial Unit, and more specifically in charge of the United Nations Second Administrative Level Boundaries (SALB) Programme.
MacKenzie Dove
MacKenzie Dove is a Climate Data Lead for the Climate Change Knowledge Portal in DECGT since 2021. She is an expert on climate risk analysis and brings 15 years of experience working across public and private sectors to support cross-disciplinary research, policy, and investment on climate change risk governance and adaptation efforts.
Katie McWilliams
Katie L. McWilliams is a Geographer with the Development Data Group’s Data Analytics and Tools team at the World Bank Group, where she incorporates geospatial data and analytical insights into development projects. Her work encompasses a variety of sectors, from transportation to climate change to urban development. She also works with partners and clients to build capacity in the geospatial and remote sensing fields.
Bruno Bonansea
Bruno Bonansea is the Program Manager of the Cartography Unit at the World Bank Group. He leads projects across various domains requiring geospatial analysis and mapping, managing the development of static and interactive visualizations. He is also in charge of delivering map clearances making sure official maps’ standards are met. In this regard, he liaises with the Legal Department about boundary updates, projects’ validity near disputed areas. He holds a MA in Geography from France.
Date: February 03, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM ET
Location: MC 4-800 (for WBG employees only) and Webex (open to everyone, see link in the Overview tab)
Event Contact:
Martin Echenique (mecheniquepeiran@worldbank.org)