The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES & Africa) initiative crystallises the long-standing cooperation between Africa and Europe in space science and technology, one of the critical priorities of the long-term European Union (EU)- Africa Joint Strategy.

The GMES and Africa Support Programme phase 1 was signed between African Union Commission (AUC) and European Commission (EC) in December 2016 and ended in December 2021 for a total budget of EUR 30 million (USD 34 million) for four years. 

The GMES and Africa Phase 2 has started in January 2022 and will end in December 2025. To this end, the kick-off ceremony will run from 28 February to 4 March 2022 in Cotonou, Benin Republic. The total investment of the European Commission to GMES and Africa phase 2 is EUR 24,650,000 (USD 28 million). To this end, GMES and Africa is organising an award ceremony and capacity building workshop for the eight consortia that have been selected to implement the second phase. 

Read: Progress Report on GMES and Africa’s Regional Workshops: Setting the Stage for the 2nd Continental GMES and Africa Forum

The grant award ceremony will recognise the achievements from the previous GMES phase. It will also officially announce the eight selected consortia for the second phase. The capacity-building workshop for the awarded consortia will subsequently be employed to enable them to perform their responsibilities effectively. The workshop will take place simultaneously during the Africa week of the AU-EU summit, and it has the following objectives: 

• Recognise the efforts of selected consortia for the implementation of the GMES Phase 2 Programme;
• Describe the GMES and Africa Phase 2 Action, and review its Implementation Plan;
• Provide visibility and strengthen the GMES and Africa brand;
• Enable the awarded consortia to discharge their contractual obligations effectively and efficiently through understanding GMES & Africa Description of action, finance, procurement, grant management in line with
• AUC policies, rules, and principles;
• Alleviate potential drawbacks in implementing the Grants that could arise as a result of limited understanding of the grants management system on the part of consortia.

The workshop has the following expected outcomes:

• GMES and Africa Phase 2 award ceremony is extensively promoted and advertised;
• Institutional representatives are informed and empowered about the GMES and Africa Phase 2 Action. They also learn about AUC finance, procurement, and grants management rules and procedures;
• GMES and Africa Phase 2 Consortia and stakeholders are engaged.

The workshop will see also see the following participants:

• Benin, Regional Economic Communities, AUC, and EC, officials, GMES and Africa Team, Selected Consortia for the phase 2, and stakeholders;
• Private Sector, service providers, scientists, and academic institutions;
• Journalists and media, non-governmental organisations, and civil society.