13th AARSE Conference, Kigali : The event dwells on the role of space and geospatial technologies in realizing the Africa We Want

The 13th Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing (AARSE), opened on Monday 24th October, in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The biennial Conference brings together geospatial and space experts and practitioners from across Africa, to discuss and explore opportunities for harnessing geoscience and space towards solutions for Africa and the world's socio-economic challenges. This year's edition focuses on the theme Space and Geospatial Technologies for the Africa We Want.

Rwanda minister welcoming the participants 

At the opening ceremony, the Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation..., said the AARSE Conference has come at a time when the world is facing global warming  and climate change where geospatial technologies have an important role in providing sustainable solutions. She underscored the need for Africa to utilise the opportunities offered by earth observation and geosciences in addressing priorities in agriculture, seasonal monitoring, education and policy,  for better planning and decision making. To realise the Africa We Want, she called on geoscience and space practitioners, the public and private sector to intensify collaboration especially among academic institutions and in capacity building and knowledge transfer.

The African Union Commission (AUC) is a traditional sponsor of the Conference and institutional supporter of AARSE. The Coordinator of the GMES and Africa programme and Space Science Expert at the AUC, Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, observed that the ideals of AARSE are in alignment with the AU's vision for an integrated Africa. He cited the continent-wide African Space Programme as an exemplar of the decision to centralise and institutionalise the coordination of space activities in continent. Dr. Ouattara highlighted the AUC's positive duty of mobilizing and supporting the critical mass of space scientists and practitioners in both the public and private sector to catalyse the realization of the Africa We Want.

The President of AARSE, Prof. Kamal Labbassi, said the conference is an opportunity for participants to learn new developments in the field and share experience, whilst providing a forum for networking and the utilization of earth observation products and services. He assured participants that resolutions and recommendations from the conference will be shared with governments and stakeholders for implementation.

The five-day event is the first since the outbreak of COVID-19 which prevented the organization of the the conference in 2020. It features keynote speeches, presentations, thematic discussions and an exhibition.

More

• The AARSE 2022 site, https://www.aarse2022.org/