Geo Symposium 2023: The G&A Coordinator was invited

A premier gathering of experts and stakeholders in the field of geospatial information and technology, the GeoSymposium closed on Wednesday 2023. On Tue 13 Jun, Dr Tidiane Ouattara participated in the panel of the session 2: Operational services via the GEO Work Programme

GEO is a unique global network connecting government institutions, academic and research institutions, data providers, businesses, engineers, scientists and experts to create innovative solutions to global challenges at a time of exponential data growth, human development and climate change that transcend national and disciplinary boundaries.

Explore Geo, https://www.earthobservations.org/index.php

The panel was made of: 

• Franz Immler, head of the Environmental Observations (EO) Sector in the department for Research and Innovation of the European Commission in Brussels, https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies/research-and-innovation_en. 
• Fabio Venuti, ECMWF’s Head of Cabinet, supporting and advising the Director General in matters related to ECMWF governance, strategic aspects, international relations, policies and coordination of committees, https://www.ecmwf.int/. ECMWF is the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service, producing global numerical weather predictions and other data for our Member and Co-operating States and the broader community.
• Phillip Harwood, Senior consultant at Evenflow, https://evenflow.eu/. Evenflow produces insights aiming to facilitate innovation and support strategic decision-making.
• Audrey Hasson, the EU coordinator for the GEO Blue Planet Initiative, https://geoblueplanet.org/
• Osamu Ochiai, Associate Senior Engineer, Satellite Applications and Operation Center (SAOC), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), https://global.jaxa.jp/, and
• Andrew Eddy, Founding partner of Athena Global, https://www.athenaglobal.com/. Bringing space solution to terrestrial problems, the company uses satellite Earth Observation to focus on key areas of interest: environment, sustainable development, security, disasters and oceans; and
• Dr Tidiane Ouattara, Space Expert and Coordinator of the Joint AUC and EU G&A Programme.  

The session explored the key characteristics of effective operational service from the perspective of GEO Work Programme, showcased how existing operational services contributed by GEO Members enable the GEO Work Programme activities and how this effort can be scaled broadly across the GWP and at the global level.

In recent years, GEO has invited G&A to participate in several of its events, for example in November 2022, GeoWeek in Accra, https://www.earthobservations.org/geoweek2022.php, thus helping to forge links between the two programs which share the same will to promote EO for decision-making, sustainable development and natural resource management. 

The participation of the coordinator and the leader of the technical assistance team was made possible thanks to the support of the European Commission's DG INTPA. The AUC's aim for these 2 days was to foster collaboration, establish synergies and share ideas on the operational services provided within the framework of GMES and Africa.  

Held in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 13 and 14, the GEOSymposium attracted over 120 participants in person, with a further 100 logging on online.