Addis Ababa, 31 July 2018: A Communications Working Group of communications and experts in Earth Observation has been launched at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The group will be supporting outreach and awareness-raising for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES and Africa), a Joint AU-EU Earth Observation programme designed to address sustainable development challenges in Africa. The launching was followed by a two-day meeting of the working group comprising representatives of the thirteen consortia of African institutions that won the bid for the GMES & Africa grants.
The Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission, Dr. Mahama Ouedrago, presided over the launching and used the opportunity to call upon the communicators to play their critical role of raising awareness on the utilization of Earth Observation data and information for sustainable development in Africa. Dr. Ouedraogo described the meeting as timely, saying is happening when the GMES and Africa Support Programme has just entered its active implementation phase of addressing regional priorities identified by stakeholders across the continent.

The meeting discussed the GMES & Africa Communications and Engagement Strategy and participants shared their experience in communicating for Earth Observation at the national and regional levels, whilst pledging to deploy their expertise in support of GMES & Africa. The meeting also identified mechanisms for driving the outreach and advancing the visibility of activities by GMES & Africa and its affiliated consortia across Africa. Participants agreed to work together in mobilizing efforts towards the upcoming GMES and Africa Forum, scheduled to take place in November.
By design GMES & Africa seeks to build indigenous capabilities and skills required for self-sufficiency and sustained progress in Africa by responding to needs related to water, natural resources, marine and coastal areas. It is also meant to enable the implementation of the African Space Policy and Strategy, formulated as an important pillar of Agenda 2063, to harness the continent’s capabilities in utilizing space science and technology for socio-economic growth and sustainable development.

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