GMES and Africa: 14-18 March - Kick off of the Phase 2 of the Programme, awards ceremony and capacity building workshop
The event was to launch the 2nd phase of the program and present its main components, to award the consortia that were granted funds to implement regionally and nationally the action, introduce them to the specifics of the AUC in terms of financial management, grant management, and procurement of goods and services.
Group photo of the award and kick-off opening ceremony
The GRANT AWARD CEREMONY (DAY1)
Consortia of regional institutions are at the heart of the implementation of the Action.
They are meant to cover the entire supply chain for services on Water & Natural Resources (e.g. land use, wetlands, land, forest resources, etc.) and Marine & Coastal areas (e.g. coastal area monitoring, ship traffic and pollution monitoring, etc.) from access to information, generation and provision of services, and engagement and capacity of users to ensure utilization of these services.
8 of them, already involved during the GMES and Africa first phase, were awarded for the second phase grant scheme. The ceremony officially recognized the achievements of the first phase of GMES and Africa, and announced the consortia that will be implementing the GMES and Africa Phase 2:
- Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE) – Dakar, Sénégal
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Pretoria, South Africa
- IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) – Nairobi, Kenya
- Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS) – Tunis, Tunisia
- Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) – Nairobi, Kenya
- Southern Africa Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), Windhoek, Namibia
- The International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS) – DR Congo
- University of Ghana (UoG) – Legon, Ghana
The Ceremony was characterized by:
- Welcome remarks by Hambani Masheleni, Ag. Director of ESTI; see the pictures of the welcome.
- Statement by ECOWAS Representative Mr Ismaila Gueye.
- Statement by the European Union, Excellency M. Ruben Alba Aguilera, Head of Cooperation EU Delegation in Benin.
- Statement by the Government of Benin, Excellency Ahoyo Maxime, Préfet Maritime.
- Statement by the African Union H.E Prof. Mohammed Belhocine, Commissioner, ESTI, African Union Commission; and also https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20220317/au-commissioner-esti-speaks-need-coordinated-approach-management-africas
- Overview of GMES & Africa by Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, Coordinator GMES & Africa.
- Signing of contract agreements by Ag. Director ESTI and Consortia leaders; see the pictures of the signatures.
- Awarding of consortia with certificates by VIP Guests and Consortia representatives; see the pictures of the awarding.
- Vote of thanks by Consortia representative.
- Press Conference Press.
- Group Photo VIP Guests and the Press.
- Individual media interviews and networking VIP Guests, participants and the Press.
- Lunch.
- Visit to Institut Géographique National (IGN) and Institut de Recherche Halieutique et Océanographique du Bénin (IRHOB), Prof Belhocine and Delegation.
The PRESS CONFERENCE
The award ceremony was concluded with a press conference by the African Union Commission. H.E the Commissioner for ESTI responded to questions bordering on the future of GMES and Africa, particularly on the services and applications that will be used in the second phase of the programme. The representatives of the government of Benin also addressed questions on the involvement of Benin in GMES and Africa, whilst the EU Delegation representative provided clarifications on the role of the EU in GMES and Africa.
The award ceremony was concluded with a press conference by the African Union Commission. H.E the Commissioner for ESTI responded to questions bordering on the future of GMES and Africa, particularly on the services and applications that will be used in the second phase of the programme. The representatives of the government of Benin also addressed questions on the involvement of Benin in GMES and Africa, whilst the EU Delegation representative provided clarifications on the role of the EU in GMES and Africa.
The CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP (DAY 2-5)
The Grants will be managed in accordance with the AUC principles, methods and standards of finance, grants, and procurement management.
The AUC grants management system outlines the responsibilities and obligations of the contracting authority, the applicants, and their partners. This capacity building workshop was designed to enable the selected consortia to execute their tasks accordingly.
It was devised to be an interactive and engagement platform for Consortia and institutions to share a common understanding about the programme, actions, and deliverables.
Programme
ABOUT GMES AND AFRICA
EO INSIGHTS ON BENIN
VisioTerra kindly produced three views of the country from the Copernicus hyperlook:
https://visioterra.org/VtWeb/hyperlook/4dfe08c7aa304c598bf9d7f11ba73448
Processing makes a compromise between the very bright savannah areas in the north and the darker rainforests in the south, which results in rather bland colors.
The Grants will be managed in accordance with the AUC principles, methods and standards of finance, grants, and procurement management.
The AUC grants management system outlines the responsibilities and obligations of the contracting authority, the applicants, and their partners. This capacity building workshop was designed to enable the selected consortia to execute their tasks accordingly.
It was devised to be an interactive and engagement platform for Consortia and institutions to share a common understanding about the programme, actions, and deliverables.
Programme
(Day 2)
- Overview of GMES and Africa Phase 2 Description of Action by Hamdi KACEM, including Questions and replies, Download the presentation about the DoA.
- Overview of the GMES and Africa Phase 2 Log frame by Lottie Sinyangwe, including questions and replies, Download the presentation about the Log Frame.
(Day 3-5)
- AUC/GMES and Africa financial management
- AUC/GMES and Africa Grant management
- AUC/GMES and Africa Procurement management
The WOMEN IN GMES AND AFRICA GROUP
The launch of Phase 2 of the Program was also marked by the launch of the "Women in GMES and Africa" group, from 16/03 to 18/03, in accordance with the commitments made by the Program Coordinator during the 2nd GMES and Africa Forum held in Abidjan in December 2021, and also specified in the Programme core document called "Description of Action" - see above for the presentation of the DoA.
Group photo of the women’s workshop opening
OTHER LINKS
By Kalkidan Haelemichael (SASSCAL) Posted 17th Mar 2022
ABOUT GMES AND AFRICA
GMES and Africa is a joint Programme of the African Union Commission and the European Commission.
GMES stands for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security. Born in Europe, a flagship space programme of the European Union Commission, GMES was later renamed Copernicus.
Having the same rational than the European Copernicus Program, GMES and Africa was devised to support African organizations, policy-makers and practitioners by supplying Earth Observation data, products, and services, to develop relevant operational and actionable information, to contribute to a better and sustainable management of natural resources while tackling climate change. More information about GMES and Africa, https://au.int/en/GMESAfrica
EO INSIGHTS ON BENIN
VisioTerra kindly produced three views of the country from the Copernicus hyperlook:
https://visioterra.org/VtWeb/hyperlook/4dfe08c7aa304c598bf9d7f11ba73448
Processing makes a compromise between the very bright savannah areas in the north and the darker rainforests in the south, which results in rather bland colors.
One would also note some deballasting in the East of the Benin EEZ.
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