European Association of Remote Sensing Companies and Réseau des Professionels Africains de la Géomatique Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on Earth Observation Capabilities and Capacity Building
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 12/04/2024 – The European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC) and the Réseau des Professionels Africains de la Géomatique (RPAG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish formal cooperation between the two associations. EARSC is a European trade association representing more than 130 companies registered in 25 European countries that promotes the use of Earth Observation (EO) technology, while RPAG represents over 1000 Geomatics professionals in 28 countries and 26 companies, promoting the use of geomatics to solve African countries’ challenges.
The MoU aligns with the objective of strengthening and deepening working relations between the two associations in areas of mutual interest related to Earth Observation capabilities and capacity building activities, with a focus on collaboration between Africa and Europe. The MoU entails regular exchange of information, cross-promotion of mutual opportunities and interests in collaborative export business, cooperation in the marketing of showcase applications of mutual interest, organisation of joint meetings/events, and exploration of collaborative research opportunities.
The main beneficiaries of this MoU will be African and European organisations and companies wanting to develop partnerships and joint projects, that are interested in benefiting from the sharing of best practices, exchange of expertise, information, and technologies linked to EO. This exchange will be supported and facilitated by EARSC and RPAG.
Additionally, the MoU will encourage collaboration opportunities through the following activities: mapping of actors and stakeholders; exploitation of Copernicus and Commercial data and services; and research and dissemination. The MoU is an important step towards promoting international collaboration within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., for the SDGs-EYES project) and developing new Earth Observation services for the benefit of African and European organisations and companies.
The MoU will also further encourage these different communities to make use of both associations’ existing tools and knowledge sharing platforms. For example, EARSC developed, with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA), the eoPAGES web platform, while RPAG developed a web platform to optimise the development of EO Business.
All in all, EARSC, via its vast experience and network of member companies, can provide useful assistance and transfer of technologies and know-how within the field of Earth Observation to RPAG members. Whereas, RPAG, which brings together EO professionals with a high level of expertise, can provide value-added services as part of the partnership.
For more information, please contact:
– EARSC: (info@earsc.org)
– RPAG: (contact@rpag.africa)
