Image Source: GEO Tasks
The second Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Science and Technology Stakeholder Workshop will be held in Bonn, Germany, from Aug. 28-31.
This workshop, titled ÛÏGEOSS: Supporting Science for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Beyond,Û will address the Earth observation needs of global sustainability research for the eight Millennium Development Goals.
The goals are: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empower women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
These MDGs are a blueprint agreed to by world leaders and leading development institutions. The workshop will highlight the importance of getting the necessary science support for the MDGs and specifically focus on Earth observation needs for this research. The objective of the workshop is to review the science questions and research topics that need to be addressed in order to fulfill each of the eight goals and to meet the Belmont Challenge and ICSU’s Grand Challenges.
The intended outcome of the workshop is a goal document of research needs and potential challenges related to Earth observations.
ÛÏThe workshop will provide a voice to the international global sustainability research community in the discussion of the GEOSS in the second implementation phase, which will begin in 2015,Û says Hans-Peter Plag, one of the two co-chairs of the GEOSS Science and Technology Stakeholder Network.
The workshop is jointly organized by the GEOSS Science and Technology Stakeholder Network and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), sponsored by the EGIDA Project, and co-sponsored by a variety of international science organizations and projects engaged in sustainability research.
The first workshop, Connecting GEOSS and its Stakeholders in Science and Technology, took place May 9-11, 2011, at the University of Bonn.
For more information on this year’s workshop, see www.geo-tasks.org/workshops/2012_Bonn/.