Announcing a UN-SPIDER Workshop 29-31 October 2007

23 July 2007, 4:52pm

United Nations International UN-SPIDER Workshop: Space-based Information and Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response

Where: Langer Eugen UN Campus, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, D-53113 Bonn, Germany

When: 29 – 31 October 2007

Organized by: United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

With the support of: The Government of Germany

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its new programme, the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are organising the above United Nations International UN-SPIDER Workshop to promote the access and use of space-based technologies and solutions for disaster management and emergency response within the relevant communities. The following organisations are also contributing to organising this workshop: UNU-IEHS (United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), ISDR/PPEW (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning), GEO (Group on Earth Observations) and DKKV German Committee for Disaster Reduction).

In its resolution 61/110 of 14 December 2006 the United Nations General Assembly agreed to establish the “United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response – UN-SPIDER”, as a new programme of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, to provide universal access to all countries and all relevant international and regional organizations to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management to support the full disaster management cycle by being a gateway to space information for disaster management support, serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities and being a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening, in particular for developing countries.

As part of the UN-SPIDER outreach activities, workshops are being organized in 2007 to raise awareness within the user community of the benefits of using space-based information and solutions, to assess its needs and to contribute to specific activities of this new programme. In Bonn, UNOOSA and DLR are organising this international Workshop that will contribute directly to the activities of the UN-SPIDER Bonn office. The meeting is designed to help identify the conceptual requirements for the establishment of the communication and information platform (the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal) to be developed by the UN-SPIDER office in Bonn. This workshop will be a forum which will bring together decision-makers and experts from the disaster management and space communities, key politicians, international scientific organizations, knowledge transfer and educational institutions, as well as internationally active private companies with the intention of sharing their best practices and to introduce their knowledge, products and technologies for disaster management and humanitarian and emergency response.

Major topics to be discussed at the workshop will be:

• Identification of relevant space-based information for Disaster Management Support and Emergency Response including on-going and planned initiatives, case studies and best practices, archived data for disaster studies and capacity building opportunities.

• Definition of a Knowledge Portal to ensure that relevant information is easily accessible and disseminated to all interested end-users including the design of an appropriate information database system.

• Identification of existing and planned Communities of Practice that contribute to bringing together the space-based technology and disaster management communities

• Discussion and definition of a knowledge management and transfer framework and implementation of specific activities that will contribute to the transfer of knowledge.

• GEOSS Capacity Building Task CB-07-02 - Knowledge Sharing for Improved Disaster Management and Emergency Response.

• Harmonisation of the various existing initiatives that are contributing to helping developing countries access and use space-based technologies for disaster management and risk reduction.

If your institution/organisation is a provider of space-based information and/or solutions or a user of such technologies then you should consider participating. Further information will be made available shortly.

For further details please contact Dr. Jörg Szarzynski, Local Workshop Management, German
Aerospace Center (DLR), German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), Germany
e-mail: joerg.szarzynski@dlr.de
Tel:+49 (0) 8153-283721 or
Georg Magerl, UN-SPIDER, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Austria
e-mail: georg.magerl@unvienna.org
Tel: +43 (0) 1 26060 4472.

On behalf of the organisers.
Harald Mehl
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

David Stevens
UN-SPIDER
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Vienna, Austria

http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/unspider/inde…

Geo: International