By: Robert
Kwaku Annor
The 10th AfriGEO Symposium
has officially opened in Abuja, Nigeria, bringing together Africa’s Earth
observation community to mark a decade since the first AfriGEO Symposium was
held in Victoria Falls in 2016.
The symposium opened at the
NACCAS Main Auditorium with remarks from Prof. Matthew Olumide Adepoju,
Director General of NASRDA; the Chief of the Defence Space Administration; Dr
Lisa Rebelo, Managing Director of Digital Earth Africa; Dr Emmanuel Nkurunziza,
AfriGEO Secretariat; Madeeha Bajwa, GEO Secretariat; and Dr Kenny Tenza,
AfriGEO Caucus Lead Co-Chair.
The opening ceremony was
officially declared open by Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science &
Technology.
Keynote sessions focused on
Earth observation for resilience, the African space economy and climate finance
mechanisms for Africa and in Africa. Speakers included Theresia Bilola of ICOS
ERIC and former KADI Project Manager, Temidayo Oniosun of Space in Africa, and
Sheila Kiconco of CBIT-GSP.
Omo Oaiya, Chief Strategy
Officer at the West and Central African Research and Education Network
(WACREN), delivered an insight talk titled “From Observations to Climate
Action: Building CLIMET, a Digital Research Infrastructure for Climate
Resilience.”
Mahdi Ibrahim from the
Defence Space Administration, Nigeria, also delivered an insight talk on
“Dual-use Earth observation for Africa: Enhancing Development and National
Security in Africa.”
The AfriGEO Community also
received national GEO updates from South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya and
Madagascar, highlighting ongoing national initiatives and discussions on how
National GEOs can enhance collaboration.
The day concluded with
AfriGEO Communities of Practice presenting their 2027 plans and discussing what
they need from the wider AfriGEO Community to support implementation of these
actions in line with the AfriGEO Strategic Implementation Plan 2026-2036 and
the GEO Post 2025 Strategy.
The Youth CoP showcased products
developed during the GeoShapers Mission 1 challenge on “Tools for Urban Heat
Resilience,” in partnership with Esri, and celebrated and awarded certificates
to the winners while providing highlights of the launch of GeoShapers Mission
2.
The 10th AfriGEO Symposium
marks a decade of collaboration among Africa’s Earth observation community,
with discussions focused on using Earth observation, digital research
infrastructure and space technologies to address resilience, climate and
development challenges across the continent.
