The Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) team would first like to send our thoughts and best wishes to everyone in these difficult times, no matter where you are in the world the global COVID-19 situation has impacted us all and we hope you and your families are safe and healthy.
As with all projects, businesses and agencies, we’re working to adapt to this new challenge where travel restrictions and the cancellation of events has made it difficult to plan engagement activities. We wanted to share how we will continue to move the program forward.
Last month we welcomed Edward Boamah to the Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) Establishment team. Edward is our Technical Manager based in Ghana and brings a wealth of knowledge in GIS and remote sensing. He shares his experience in the field, the challenges he faces and the impact he sees DE Africa having on the continent.
Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) had the pleasure of hosting 150 stakeholders for a day of innovative discussions on the importance of Earth observation (EO) for addressing key issues across Africa.
With a full agenda and over 30 speakers, the event demonstrated the immense potential of spatial information in shaping the future of Africa. Attendees received an introduction into the capabilities of data cube technology, analysis-ready data and the challenges and opportunities in using EO for the African continent.
A Governance Framework for Digital Earth Africa is now available, which shares the vision for the program and the key guiding principles to achieving it.
The Governance Framework also outlines the core functions, relationships, terms of reference and process for the Governing Board, the Technical Advisory Committee, and the Stakeholder Community Group. The Board will provide advice and oversight, while the TAC will set priorities.
The governance of DE Africa will be guided by several key principles:
A Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) prototype map has been developed to provide easy access to spatial information on the African continent. The DE Africa map aims to help increase an understanding of using spatial data for better decisions.
Developed in collaboration with the Australian Government’s Data61 CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, the DE Africa map: