South Africa: Deputy Minister Buti Manamela Addresses Group On Earth Observations Week, 8 Nov

7 November 2023
Government of South Africa (Pretoria)
press release

The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela, will address a plenary session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) gathering in Cape Town on 8 November.

GEO is a global network with over 100 national governments and institutions. Its aim is to improve the availability and use of intelligence, insights and observations data about the earth to ensure there is a sustainable future for our planet and the people who depend on it. The gathering seeks to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, environmental disasters and more through the use of data and intelligence that can be trusted.

The theme for the GEO Week and Ministerial Summit is "The Earth Talks". The focus is on the sharing and use of data and intelligence based on the observation of the earth from various perspectives, also known in short as Earth Observation, to tackle the growing impact of climate change and loss of biodiversity worldwide.

South Africa is currently a co-chair of GEO. The Deputy Minister will be joined by the Director of the GEO Secretariat, Yana Gevorgyan and representatives of the other co GEO co-chairs, namely, Jing Zhao from China, Joanna Drake of the European Commission and Richard Spinrad from the United States of America.

South Africa has been an active member of GEO since its inception in 2005, and was instrumental in the establishment of AfriGEO, which was set up to provide a coordination framework and platform for Africa's participation in GEO, as well as to strengthen connections with global partners and expand regional engagements.

The GEO Week include exhibitions, flash talks, plenary sessions and technical meetings. The flash talks will cover topics like global seasonal crop maps, early warning systems for malaria, sustainability in space, capacity development opportunities agriculture and food security interventions, and driving collaboration on the GEO Global Heat Resilience Service.

For the full programme visit https://www.earthobservations.org/geoweek2023.php?t=programme.

The event will take place as follows:

Date:8 November 2023

Venue:Cape Town International Convention Centre 2, Cape Town

Time:09:30 to 10:30

The media are invited to attend, but must please submit details for accreditation to Thabang.Setlhare@dst.gov.za to register.

Read the original article on Govt of SA.

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