Earth Observations for the Social Benefits of Balkan Areas, Post-GEO Workshop

The projects  OBSERVE, BalkanGEONet and  EGIDA are funded by the European Union within the Framework Programme 7. Specific information can be obtained through the projects’ WEB-sites: www.observe-fp7.eu, www.BalkanGEO.Net and www.egida-project.eu.

Their major aim is to create a comprehensive overview of Earth Observation (EO) shareholders and activities in the wider Balkan region, as well as to provide valuable information needed for the development of strategies in the field of EO and for the future capacity building in the region. Along these lines, we decided to organise a Workshop (back-to-back after the GEO Plenary) in Istanbul, Turkey, November 18-19, 2011 at the ITU (Istanbul Technical University) Foundation Building, very close to the GEO Plenary Conference venue.

The aims of the Workshop are to inform participants on EO activities with focus on EU and GEO, exchange views on how the above relates or can relate to EO activities in the Balkans, inform speakers and leading EO institutions on needs regarding EO in the Balkans and build-up networks and co-operations, with focus on capacity building and more extensive use of EO.

The speakers in the Workshop are all by invitation and are highly esteemed experts and officials from European and international organizations. The focus is on speakers that will already attend the GEO Plenary in Istanbul, but several other colleagues will be invited. The Workshop is expected to have about 150 participants.

Balkan countries do not have a coherent and continuous approach towards the challenge of implementing integrated Earth Observation (EO) applications in environmental monitoring and management. The defect in the implementation of EO applications and their use in the environmental decision making are manifested through the limited synergies among national and regional institutions, ineffective technological means and discontinuous record of participation to international organizations and committees. On the other hand, the increasing importance of a common approach towards effective environmental monitoring practices, for the benefit of the societal web of the broader Balkan region, calls for immediate action, setting as a starting point the built up of regional institutional capacity and spillage of technology transfer.

Brief description of Workshop Aims:

• Inform audience on EO activities with focus on European institutions (aims, actions, near-term future plans).
• Exchange views on how the above relate to EO activities in Southeastern Europe.
• Inform speakers and leading EO institutions on needs regarding EO in Southeastern Europe.
• Build-up acquaintances, networks and co-operations, with focus on Capacity Building and more extensive use of EO in Southeastern Europe, incl. possible contributions of related EU projects in European activities.