The Space Weather Seminar will bring industry, academia, and high-level policy and decision makers together in order to engage in a lively dialog about space weather. The Seminar will address the truly variant effects of space weather on today’s technologies. It will highlight space weather’s potential impacts on several crucial sectors, including communications, navigations, spacecraft operations, aviation, and electric power. The presentations and debate at the Space Weather Seminar will also focus on identifying the highest priority needs for operational services that can inform future research and identify new value-added capabilities which can be transitioned into effective applications. The conference will promote communication among researchers, space weather service providers, and users of space weather services. Pursuant to this, the ES:GC2 Space Weather Seminar will focus on the challenges of ensuring that the EU can meet its Horizon 2020 objectives for space, with a specific focus on securing the integrity of the vital services provided by orbital equipment and technologies.
This workshop will discuss the rationale for using astronomy as a tool for development and the lessons that may be relevant to other disciplines.
In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on science and technology as a tool for global development and capacity building. Astronomy has been in the forefront of such efforts, particularly in Africa. This workshop will discuss the rationale for using astronomy as a development aid and the lessons from astronomy that may be relevant to other disciplines.
09h30 Welcome Speech by Bill Newton Dunn
09h45 Rationale for astronomy as a development tool by Prof. George Miley
10h05 The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development by Kevin Govender
10h25 Astronomy for technological capacity building by Anita Loots (tbc)
10h45 Coffee Break
11h00 Astronomy and Industry by Harry Van Dorenmalen
11h20 Astronomy for human capacity building – universities and research by Jean Pierre de Greve
11h40 Astronomy for human capacity building – schools and children by Pedro Russo
12h00 Experiences from the CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory by Niall Smith
12h10 Discussion
The 100 Year Starship initiative aims at making interstellar travel a reality in the next 100 years. What are some challenges in space travel to a star beyond our solar system? During this plenary, the focus of the discussion will be centred around the importance of the grand challenge of interstellar travel to push both R&D and societal benefits. The format of the plenary will be broken up into two sessions on the following topics:
Time, distance and destinations. The first half of this theme will examine some of the challenges of getting a spaceship to another star system such as propulsion, navigation, and communication as well as how it pushes physics, astronomy, and planetology to a new level. The second half will look at some of the social science, health, and environmental aspects such as sociology, behavioural sciences, and some of the living structures in other systems.
Life, environment and habitats. In the first half of the session, the panel will address how interstellar travel enhances life on earth by examining some topics such as systems engineering, data management, remote sensing, and the application of space technology to developing countries. The second half of the session will ask what some of the fundamentals to becoming an interstellar civilization are with regards to access to Earth orbit, education, international cooperation, and legal considerations. This second half will also address how interstellar travel pushes humans’ imaginations by looking at the importance of
storytelling and global aspirations of space travel.
Researchers, engineers, industry and funders will discuss priority actions for the future of African-European radio astronomy cooperation.
The African-European Radio Astronomy Platform (AERAP) is a stakeholder forum convened to define research action plans across the wide range of technological areas that will be essential for the future of radio astronomy. The “Draft AERAP Framework Programme for Cooperation” will be the first of these action plans. It will include strategic objectives, specific actions and suitable funding opportunities for each of the priority areas for African-European radio astronomy cooperation (e.g.: ICT, renewable energies, African VLBI, human capital development and training). The “Draft AERAP Framework Programme for Cooperation” will be presented during this workshop and researchers, engineers, industry and funders will discuss in further detail the priority actions identified in this document.
The workshop will start with a video-streamed "Radio Astronomy Concert". Children from England and Ghana will perform a song that demonstrates the basic principles of radio astronomy. Thus, this amazing scientific discipline will be made accessible for non-scientists.
Please find the provisional agenda here: http://www.aerap.org/archivos_subidos/provisional_agenda_aerap_events_at_esgc2_21feb.pdf
The session wishes to highlight with practical examples by FP-7 funded projects and other initiatives the significance of Europe’s space systems for EU-science, research and innovation dynamics. Representatives of the European Network NEREUS1 and representatives of relevant European institutions are going to debate how European space systems can contribute as a vital tool to advance in the different societal challenges of Horizon2020 and thus serve European society. The emphasis of the NEREUS-network is on the use of space technologies and provides its members with a dynamic platform to mobilize projects, share experience and knowledge and raise awareness for the regional dimension of space applications. Several EU-projects have been mobilized on the NEREUS-platform and speak for themselves.
In numerous ways satellite data and services bring an added value to all six societal challenges2
and pave the way to more knowledge and a wider insight. To quote just a few examples, Galileo
is fundamental to develop innovative transport solutions, Earth Observation/Copernicus-data brings an immense treasure of information to research activities in areas such as climate change, health, agriculture, marine and maritime, raw materials, energy. A recent study on the economic benefits of Copernicus showed that 1 Euro invested in the system brings up to 10 Euros back to the European society in terms of economic benefits, in addition to strategic advantages which cannot be accounted for. The science community is a key beneficiary of space-based information. The session wishes to call for a close linkage between the different columns of the Horizon2020, in particular of bringing the dimension of space into the topics of the societal challenges. In particular with both space systems growing increasingly mature, establishing synergies to societal challenges are crucial to ensure an optimal exploitation and capitalization of these systems for Europe’s research endeavors.
Researchers, engineers, industry and funders will discuss priority actions for the future of African- European radio astronomy cooperation.
The African-European Radio Astronomy Platform (AERAP) is a stakeholder forum convened to define research action plans across the wide range of technological areas that will be essential for the future of radio astronomy. The “Draft AERAP Framework Programme for Cooperation” will be the first of these action plans. It will include strategic objectives, specific actions and suitable funding opportunities for each of the priority areas for African-European radio astronomy cooperation (e.g.: ICT, renewable energies, African VLBI, human capital development and training). The “Draft AERAP Framework Programme for Cooperation” will be presented during the first part of this workshop on 6 March. In this second part, AERAP stakeholders and other participants will have the occasion to discuss their ideas for implementing the Framework Programme and initiate the process of consortium building.
Please find the provisional agenda for the AERAP workshop here: http://www.aerap.org/archivos_subidos/provisional_agenda_aerap_events_at_esgc2_21feb.pdf
The Intergroup Sky and Space, in the framework of the International Women's Day 2013 and the 50th anniversary of the first women in space (Valentina Tereshkova) will launch the Brussels chapter of Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E).
Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E) was founded in June 2009 as an international association dedicated to expanding leadership opportunities and increasing the visibility of women in the aerospace sector. It is open to both women and man, in Europe and across the globe, who share an interest in a broad spectrum of aerospace activities including: human space flight and exploration, aviation, remote sensing, satellite communications, robotic missions, commercial space, space tourism, education and related policy challenges.
This two day event will bring together the science community, industry and policy-makers to present project deliverables, discuss major recommendations on how to facilitate Africa- Europe STI cooperation and research infrastructure partnership and celebrate the project’s achievements.
One of the most important objectives of Horizon2020 is strengthening international cooperation with third countries. Horizon2020 sets the goal of increasing the Union’s excellence and attractiveness in research to tackle global challenges in collaboration with international partners, which in turn supports the European Union’s external policies and contributes to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
The Promoting African-European Research Infrastructure Partnerships (PAERIP) project is an initiative aimed at informing the organisation of policy dialogue and promoting research collaboration between the two continents. Funded under the EU’s FP7 Capacities Programme (INFRA-2010-3.2), the PAERIP project represents an example of an initiative that could result from Horizon2020 and discussions taking part at the ES: GC2 Conference.
The first day of the conference will be dedicated to a high-level opening session with the participation of senior representatives from the European Commission and the African Union Commission, and will include a keynote speech from South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Minister Derek Hanekom. The discussion on the first day will also be focused on the PAERIP analysis and recommendations on:
• Interventions to enhance African and European researchers’ transnational access to African and European researcher infrastructures;
• Opportunities for Africa and Europe to collaborate in developing new large-scale research infrastructures ; and
• The merit of investment from development and economic cooperation instruments in Africa-EU research infrastructure partnerships, due to their socio-economic benefit.
The conference will provide a platform for meeting with key decision-makers to discuss future perspectives for increasing Africa-Europe RI cooperation and exchanging experiences with international experts. This event is expected to confirm the significance of PAERIP as one of the first dedicated support actions for international research infrastructure cooperation with a specific geographic focus and the first FP7 project on RI coordinated from outside Europe.
The conference agenda and the registration form are now available on the PAERIP website (www.paerip.org).
This two day event will bring together the science community, industry and policy-makers to present project deliverables, discuss major recommendations on how to facilitate Africa- Europe STI cooperation and research infrastructure partnership and celebrate the project’s achievements.
One of the most important objectives of Horizon2020 is strengthening international cooperation with third countries. Horizon2020 sets the goal of increasing the Union’s excellence and attractiveness in research to tackle global challenges in collaboration with international partners, which in turn supports the European Union’s external policies and contributes to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
The Promoting African-European Research Infrastructure Partnerships (PAERIP) project is an initiative aimed at informing the organisation of policy dialogue and promoting research collaboration between the two continents. Funded under the EU’s FP7 Capacities Programme (INFRA-2010-3.2), the PAERIP project represents an example of an initiative that could result from Horizon2020 and discussions taking part at the ES: GC2 Conference.
The first day of the conference will be dedicated to a high-level opening session with the participation of senior representatives from the European Commission and the African Union Commission, and will include a keynote speech from South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Minister Derek Hanekom. The discussion on the first day will also be focused on the PAERIP analysis and recommendations on:
• Interventions to enhance African and European researchers’ transnational access to African and European researcher infrastructures;
• Opportunities for Africa and Europe to collaborate in developing new large-scale research infrastructures ; and
• The merit of investment from development and economic cooperation instruments in Africa-EU research infrastructure partnerships, due to their socio-economic benefit.
The conference will provide a platform for meeting with key decision-makers to discuss future perspectives for increasing Africa-Europe RI cooperation and exchanging experiences with international experts. This event is expected to confirm the significance of PAERIP as one of the first dedicated support actions for international research infrastructure cooperation with a specific geographic focus and the first FP7 project on RI coordinated from outside Europe.
The conference agenda and the registration form are now available on the PAERIP website (www.paerip.org).
