NEOSS Communities of Practice (CoP) Integrated Workshop 2023

The 1st Communities of Practice (CoP) Integrated Workshop 2023 integrated workshop was designed to bring together South Africa's Earth observations (EO) and space community to facilitate information exchange, collaboration and to develop the use of EO-based solutions for national priorities. The workshop also served as an important lead up to the GEO Ministerial Summit that will take place in South Africa in November 2023. Key Highlights: Opening Session: High level reflections on the country's role in GEO and national coordination were opened the workshop with several notable speakers from government and the international community highlighting EO for food insecurity, Africa development impact, climate resilience and national space capabilities. Section One: Exploring national initiatives and private sector partnerships to promote EO applications. Session highlights included NEOSS Communities of Practice coordination, smallholder farming through precision applications, South Africa blue economy with OCIMS, infrastructure for sustainable development, satellite communications' applications, and building the EO start-up ecosystem. Section Two: CoP Co-Chairs gave overviews, objectives and workplans for their respective communities, followed by collaborative discussions on coordination and joint initiatives across Agriculture, Natural Resources Management, Human Settlements and Spatial Planning, Satellite Communications and Navigations, Data Governance, and EO Infrastructure. Session Themes Include: National coordination and South Africa's role in GEO Food security monitoring through EO (GEOGLAM) EO for development impact in Africa (AUDA-NEPAD) Climate resilience and WEF nexus approaches AfriGEO national coordination mechanisms NEOSS Communities of Practice engagement Cross-Community of Practice collaboration The workshop succeeded in bolstering the cohesion and strategic vision of the South African EO community by strengthening the country's commitment for national preparations in advance of the GEO Ministerial Summit and advancing the country's commitment to further the application of Earth observations for sustainable development.