The Ivorian Minister of High Education and Scientific Research, HE Professor Adama Diawara, has announced that Côte d’Ivoire is setting up its national space agency. He made this known during the second GMES and Africa Continental Forum. According to him, the agency will be under the Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research. It will be a safety and training programme and strategically partner AUC and the EU to properly set up the agency.
The minister also discussed the country’s national computing centre. According to him, the centre can receive satellite data and is a vision of the Nation’s President, Alassane Ouattara. It also has the capacity to archive and analyse imagery and assist in the implementation of the analysed data in the decision making. However, there is a need for more investment in this area as more capacity is necessary to analyse the imagery and raw data.
HE, Professor Adama Diawara speaking during the GMES and Africa forum
The second GMES and Africa Continental Forum is holding in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. It will run from 6 to 9 December 2021. The program has various aims, including
- Discussing achievements and lessons from the 1st phase of GMES and Africa, and the way forward to the GMES and Africa’s 2nd phase;
- Providing an avenue for different partners to utilise new and innovative EO technologies for Africa’s sustainable environments and socio-economic development. The various partners include academia partners, NGOs, public sector, the private sector, and end-users; and
- Building on success stories in EO, map out potential partnerships and engage stakeholders to ensure sustainable and robust ownership and link with existing relevant initiatives.
The GMES and Africa Forum is a platform for diverse participants to enhance and integrate EO services for socio-economic development. In addition, it is a congregation of policymakers, scientists, academicians, user communities, etc., to contribute to enriching the EO services. The African Union Commission (AUC) will sponsor some delegates, while consortia will support the participation of partners and associates. These include the students that have benefitted from the scholarships. Furthermore, AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities and the African Union Commission are participants. Likewise, the European Commission, regional and international institutions, Non-governmental organisations and the United Nations system are participants.
