Date: 12 January 2025
Location: Bridgetown, Barbados
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, processed by the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre
Description:
The CopernicusLAC Panama Centre is hosting an in-person training course in Barbados, titled “Earth observation: principles and tools”, from 19 to 23 May 2025, bringing together representatives of key institutions in the Caribbean.
Through the course, participants explore the use of Earth observation (EO) data for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency management, with a specific focus on the benefits of Copernicus free and open data. The course also features a practical module which introduces participants to open-source satellite imaging processing products and tools.
Registered users of the Centre’s Digital Campus will have free and open access to the lectures and resources from this training course.
The image above, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 12 January 2025, shows Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. Located on the island’s southwest coast, it serves as both a commercial and cultural hub.
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Background Information
The Copernicus LAC Panama Centre’s activities take place within the overall context of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, which is a strategic framework for promoting cooperation between the EU and the LAC region on digital and space issues under the EU Global Gateway umbrella. Within this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) is coordinating the Centre’s implementation on the basis of a Contribution Agreement with the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission, and in close collaboration with Panama’s government, MIRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Government Innovation Authority (AIG), and SENACYT (National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation).
The CopernicusLAC Panama Centre will serve as a hub for innovation in the Latin America and Caribbean region, supporting national and local entities in leveraging Copernicus data and information to boost socio-economic benefits and resilience. In addition to providing engagement opportunities, the Centre is developing geospatial Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Pilot Services (addressing hydrometeorological hazards, geological hazards, and hazard exposure) in close collaboration with local users and stakeholders, to whom they will be handed over to ensure that the unique needs of the region are addressed in the long term.
In addition, knowledge and skills transfer is a key element of the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre, which hosts a Digital Campus with access to training modules and educational resources for technical users and citizens alike. The Centre will also organise community-building events, policy dialogues and industry matchmaking, as well as hackathons and other Earth Observation (EO) data challenges to stimulate user adoption of Copernicus data and innovation. These events will also foster cross-collaboration among EO, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and other relevant ecosystems.
Finally, the Centre will support the development of a high-power computing and data storage cloud infrastructure for the LAC region. One of the final objectives of the Centre is to promote the development of communities of practice and to strengthen the knowledge and use of tools for DRR and other application areas in the public sector, academia, the private sector, and social organisations.
