Maria Antonia Brovelli, Professor of GIS and Copernicus Uptake at the Politecnico di Milano (PoliMI), introduced the United Nations Open GIS Initiative, an ongoing Partnership Initiative led by the United Nations Geospatial Operations. The Initiative, established in March 2016, is supported by several UN Agencies and mission partners (Member States, technology contributing countries, international organizations, academia, NGOs, and the private sector) and takes full advantage of their expertise. Maria illustrated the UN position toward data openness, touching various components of the initiative (Working Groups and Pilot Projects), and presented outcomes and results, as well as lessons learned and future developments.