Eurisy Members’ Day 2021
And it is again that time of the year, the time to gather around a, yet again, virtual table with all our Members to look back together at all the exciting activities performed by the association throughout 2021, to collect feedback and suggestions, and to prospectively lay down the main drivers for a new thrilling year.
Considering its roles as facilitator, matchmaker, and advisor, Eurisy has kept on contributing to promoting a wider use of space solutions in 2021. Through projects such as Copernicus&Me, GIS4Schools, and Space Opportunities for Climate Challenges the association fulfils its mission to bridge space and society, raising awareness on the opportunities offered by space applications to tackle global challenges. The mentioned projects gave us the possibility to highlight how space data can easily be turned into actionable information for the benefits of policy and decision-makers in key professional sectors. For example, ten confirmed Copernicus early user cases and six video testimonials on uses of Copernicus data and services were developed within the context of Copernicus&Me project. Still in a makeover phase, two of the videos have been presented and a lot is yet to come. All interested entities can still contribute!
The year 2021 also marked a milestone year for GIS4Schools Project. The website, social channels as well as the full-fledged newsletter were created and eventually brought up to speed. Furthermore, the initial output, especially the handbook designed for high school teachers, has been included in the IAC conference paper on “Improving STEAM Education in Secondary Schools”. We traced back events such as Global Vision Webinar and Teachers Training Week inviting our Members to check, rewatch and use this material for their own purposes.
Concurrently to the launch of about 1B euro investments in research and innovation projects to respond to the climate crisis and help protect Europe’s unique ecosystems and biodiversity, Eurisy launched Space Opportunities for Climate Challenges (SO4CC). This webinar series aimed at demonstrating the value of space to for a sustainable green transition become month after month a reliable platform to access to knowledge, share know-how and to find partners. To wrap up the main takeaways a publication has been recently released and it is available on our website. If you are curious to know more and you missed one of our webinars go check the SO4CC!
This year, longstanding relations with more than twenty years between the ESA and the European Union have gained another dimension as demonstrated by the establishment of a new Directorate on European, Legal and International Matters led by Eric Morel de Westgaver. As a key milestone between the two organisations, the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement signed on the 22nd of June was mentioned by covering the cooperation activities of the organisations together with the European Commission in line with the ESA 2025 Agenda. Another point was made by underpinning the significance of working hand in hand for EU and ESA in order to provide stability and predictability, not only for the European Space Industry but also the user community. In order to provide benefit to users, the strengthening of the cooperation between the EU, ESA, and the EC was highlighted by Mr Morel, emphasising the important role of Eurisy in this setting.
The new Accelerators concept defined by the high-level group of advisors to ESA DG was also presented by Mr Morel. He stressed the need to increase the use of space for the common good of all European citizens to better respond to climate change and the challenges deriving from natural or man-made disasters, and to better protect European space assets in orbit. In this wake the Space Summit has been revamped to discuss essential elements such as secure connectivity, space traffic management, and the green transition at the highest possible level in a coordinated way.
To illustrate how we have been favouring exchanges between user communities and space service providers we gladly hosted Mr Emmanuel Pajot, secretary General of the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies EARSC, Eurisy’s partner in the EC flagship e-shape project. While previous events in fields ranging from agriculture to health were mentioned, future workshops such as EUROGI, European Maritime Days, and Solar Europe were presented in the context of the User Uptake Action Plan for 2022-2023. All members and partners are invited to volunteer to jointly organise one of those hands-on workshops in your country to get your relevant communities involved!
In line with ESA ambitions and Members priorities, Eurisy overhauls the partnership with NEREUS by providing to local and regional administrations some examples of commercial solutions for the monitoring and maintenance of critical infrastructure. Following the indication of the European Commission and with the support of experts, starting from 2022 a webinar series will be organised. More info can be found here.
Eurisy was recently appointed as Participating Organisation of the GEO Programme Board, an occasion that will allow us to encourage innovative technical and policy decisions for the benefit of society. With great interest we followed the talk of Steven Ramage, GEO External Relations Manager on the GEO work programme.
Finally, the Eurisy Members’ Day is of course a great occasion to hear from our members and their achievements. During the Members Roundtable we took note of some of the ongoing activities at The Netherlands Space Office, Électricité de France, and The Slovak Space Office.
The Eurisy team looks forward to continuing our collaborations throughout 2022 and wishes you an excellent end of the year!
