Space Technologies for Humanity
The Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) of Kenya, with the support of UN-SPIDER and the Centre for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL) of the University of Bonn will convene a Regional Symposium on Space Technologies for Humanity from 16 - 17 February in Nairobi, Kenya. The High-Level Symposium aims to bring together policy makers, practitioners, development partners, private sector representatives, researchers, UN agencies, and civil society to explore strategic pathways for mainstreaming space technologies into national and regional development agendas.
The event will also be held with contributions and financial support from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Africa (UNDRR-Africa) and Esri.
A three‑day Training Event will follow the Symposium, offering practical, hands‑on sessions for project managers, value‑adding providers, early‑warning specialists and remote‑sensing analysts who wish to deepen operational skills.
Objectives and Expected Outcomes of the Symposium
The Symposium aims to accelerate the strategic uptake of space‑based information across sectors that intersect with aspects of high socio-economic relevance - including food security, health, agriculture, water resources, climate resilience, and disaster risk reduction and management - by convening policy makers, development partners, private‑sector innovators, researchers, UN agencies, and civil society to discuss governance, data‑access models and partnership pathways. It seeks to raise awareness of the value of Earth observation and related space technologies, showcase commercial and public‑sector use cases, and identify scalable approaches for integrating satellite‑derived insights into national planning, early‑warning architectures and sectoral decision‑making.
The Symposium will also promote public‑private collaboration and will signal priority areas for follow‑up capacity building and operational pilots.
Participants and Requirements for participation
The Regional Symposium will convene high‑level delegates, from East Africa and beyond, including senior representatives from national disaster management agencies, space and meteorological agencies, ministries (agriculture, health, environment), development partners, private‑sector providers, research institutions, UN agencies, civil‑society organisations and investors.
- Participants are preferably nominated by national authorities, partner organisations or sponsoring institutions.
- Target participants are senior‑level decision makers, policy advisers, programme managers and private‑sector executives who influence strategy, investment or partnerships in the use of space information.
- Participants should have a professional remit related to one or more Symposium themes (disaster risk, food security, health, agriculture, water resources, urban resilience, climate services, or space‑data commercialization).
A detailed agenda will follow.
With the support of
