11th GEO Plenary to Take Place in Geneva

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Notifying the Earth observations community of the upcoming conference and Osha’s coverage of the event.

WMO seat in Geneva. Image Credit: Raso Mk, Wikimedia Commons

WMO seat in Geneva. Image Credit: Raso Mk, Wikimedia Commons

The 11th Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is fast approaching.åÊ The Plenary will take place on Nov. 13 and 14, with the preceding days of the week being devoted to GEO board meetings and side conferences on key topics in Earth observation.

As a global organization, GEO’s purpose is to promote understanding of Earth systems to support ecological and human health and wellbeing. GEO is comprised of 77 participating organizations and 94 member states. GEO’s plenaries play an important role in the organization’s operation, creating an opportunity for countries to come together and discuss timely issues in Earth observation. Plenaries also serve as an opportunity for decision-making within the organization.

The November 2014 GEO Plenary Session was originally scheduled to held in Gabon, but as a consequence of concern over potentially low attendance in that location, the event will now be held at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

The side events on Nov. 12 will include sessions on capacity building, the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI) Focus on Africa, sustainable development goals for water, and China’s recent achievements in Earth observation. åÊEarthzine’s Osha Gray Davidson will be providing liveåÊcoverage of the GEO-XI Plenary from Geneva. Stay tuned for a blog on the events.