local and international experts
21 November 2007
South Africa's Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, will
host a special cocktail event to coincide with the Ministerial Summit of the
Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on 29 November 2007 in Cape
Town.
Date: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Time: 18h00 for 18h30 (programme begins at 18h30)
Venue: Strelitzia Conservatory, Cape Town International Convention Centre
The event will recognise the contributions made by the Committee on Earth
Observation Satellites (CEOS) and celebrate important milestones in the
international calendar for Earth observation, the launch of the South African
Earth Observation Strategy (SAEOS) as well as the Marine Offshore Node of the
South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON).
Key role players in the local and international earth observation landscape
have been invited to attend.
Reservations:
Zama Mthethwa
Tel: 012 843 6781
Cell: 082 808 3956
E-mail: zama.mthethwa@dst.gov.za
For media enquiries contact:
Celeste Tema
Deputy Director: Communication and Media Liaison
Cell: 083 399 0765
E-mail: celeste.tema@dst.gov.za
Mitzi Du Plessis
Communication Consultant
Cell: 083 258 8945
E-mail: mitzi@malachite-marketing.co.za
About Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)
South Africa plays a significant role in the Group on Earth Observations
processes of which the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites is one of the
main contributors.
The CEOS is an international co-ordinating mechanism charged with
co-ordinating international civil space borne missions designed to observe and
study planet Earth.
For South Africa and on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology
(DST), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) assumed the
chair of CEOS in Hawaii this month.
About SAEOS
SAEOS is South Africa's response to GEO's Global Earth Observation System of
System (GEOSS) 10 year implementation plan which aims to establish a
comprehensive, global monitoring system that will enable end-users to access a
vast quantity of near-real-time information on changes in the earth's land,
oceans, atmosphere and biosphere via a single web portal.
The Department of Science and Technology in consultation with relevant
stakeholders developed SAEOS, to co-ordinate the collection, assimilation and
dissemination of earth observation data, in order to support policy,
decision-making, economic growth and sustainable development in South
Africa.
The Department of Science and Technology has contracted the CSIR for the
implementation of SAEOS, which provides guidance on earth observation
infrastructure. The CSIR will provide an earth observation data centre with an
automated remote sensing supply chain and support the development of an earth
observation portal from which spatial information owned by a number of
custodians can be sourced.
About SAEON and the Egagasini Node
SAEON is an in situ environmental observation network, a special programme
of the Department of Science and Technology established in 2002 and managed by
the National Research Foundation.
SAEON establishes and maintains nodes linked by an information management
network to serve as observation, research and education platforms for long-term
studies of ecosystems and provide for incremental advances in our understanding
of ecosystems and our ability to detect, predict and react to environmental
change.
Researchers working at the SAEON Egagasini Node for marine-offshore systems
will use South Africa's geographical advantage with regard to the Southern
Oceans and will, among other research activities garner information to inform
climate change studies across the Globe and fisheries management locally.
About GEO
GEO is an intergovernmental organisation that is leading a worldwide effort
to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems over the next 10 years.
The GEOSS will work with and build upon existing national, regional, and
international systems to provide comprehensive, co-ordinated Earth Observations
from thousands of instruments worldwide and transforming the data they collect
into vital information for society.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
21 November 2007
