Build a network To promote and develop planetary sciences in AfricaAnd strengthening relations between different countries of the continent. It’s the challenge of the project Research infrastructure for Europlanet 2024 and his program Global cooperation and integration developmentin coordination Barbara CavallaziProfessor Al Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna.
As part of the project, at Ethiopiato me Addis AbabaThe workshop was heldEarth satellite and data analysis“, coordinated by the University of Bologna and Addis Ababa University (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), sponsored by the Italian Space Agency and the National Institute of Astrophysics. An event witnessed 38 participants from all over EthiopiaSpecialists, researchers and PhD students from the Universities of Addis Ababa, Mizan Tebe, Semera, Wollo, Wolkit and Oda Boltum, also from the Ethiopian Institute of Space Science and Technology, the Institute of Space Sciences and Geography, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, from the Ethiopian Forestry Development Department and the Ethiopian Roads Administration.
The format we chose for this event was Provide high quality contentAnd the Application examples And the Practical workshops For using the software thanks to outstanding trainers such as Gabriele Bitelli and Francesca Trevisiol from the University of Bologna, Patrizia Sacco from the Italian Space Agency, Addisu Gezahegn from Addis Ababa University and Gemechu Fanta Garuma from the Institute of Space Sciences and Geography,” he explains. Cavalazzi. At the same time they were created Discussion moments and brainstorming sessions On research in the field of Earth observation, we stimulated interaction between participants by laying the foundations for training For a local community of subject matter professionals: goal achieved.
L’Earth Observation and use But not everyone gets their dreams fulfilled It was the leitmotif of the initiative. Space is in fact an objective of strategic importance also for African countries, as a virtuous tool For development, competitiveness and growth.
Earth observation via satellite imagery An essential tool for monitoring and managing the territoryThey say Gabriel Betelli and Francesca Trevisol. Through the workshop, whose training offer included theoretical lessons supported by practical sessions with open source software, it was possible to provide the students with the tools To use remote sensing imagery to support their research or professional activity. Among the possible applications, which emerged as priorities from the participants, there are monitoring of agriculture in the context of food security, prevention of natural disasters, monitoring of surface water and drought, along with other environmental issues for which climate change is considered. Which makes it more visible.”
The workshop ended on December 16, in conjunction with the second workshop National Space Dayduring which the exhibition of satellite images “Looking beyond / looking beyond’, curated by Filippo Maggia, was held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Addis Ababa. The day was also enriched by a series of workshops that included Almost 200 students from the Italian school “Galileo Galilei” in Addis Ababa. The initiative is entitledLet’s light up the towersLed by Federico Di Giacomo of the INAF Astronomical Observatory in Padua, and organized in collaboration with Maura Sandri of INAF and Barbara Cavalazzi.
“We were happy to welcome so many participants from all over Ethiopia, coinciding with the National Space Day celebrations,” he says. Cumorzi semenDirector of the Italian Cultural Institute. “The initiatives promoted are part of the strategy to relaunch our cultural and integrated promotion in this country, and represent an important moment of dialogue, above all With the younger generation of local scientists and researchers, which helps to promote the image of our country in Ethiopia in a modern and innovative way. This is an excellent example of interaction with the University of Bologna and other actors in the state system (Embassy of Italy, ASI, INAF) which I thank warmly. We hope that the results of these projects will lead to medium-term and long-term partnerships, so that we can support the development of space and planetary sciences in Ethiopia and Africa for years to come.”
For the University of Bologna, they took part in the initiative Barbara CavallaziProfessor in the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, who coordinated the workshop with Gabriel Betelli and Francesca Trevisol, Professor and PhD student in the field of Geomatics in the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering. The event was organized with the support of Europlanet 2024 RIwhich has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Program (grant no. 871149).
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