The first GMES and Africa Women workshop was convened by the African Union Commission (AUC) at the kick-off and award ceremony of the second phase of the GMES & Africa Programme in Cotonou, Benin. The workshop held between 15-18 March 2022 gathered 31 African women representatives working in Earth observation and other space-related fields to highlight their needs in terms of inclusivity. In addition, the workshop was borne out of the set implementing requirements of the GMES & Africa phase 2, a decision to include 30% of women specialised in EO-related fields as part of the eight Awarded consortia’s teams.

In addition, the workshop brought together women to share knowledge and best practices for their full involvement in the second phase of the GMES & Africa Programme and all Earth observation initiatives and projects on the continent.

During the event, the AUC created the “Women in GMES & Africa,” group, and the roadmap of their activities towards gender equality in education and career in the EO related fields in Africa was drafted. Also, an election was carried out to select the bureau/governing council of the group.

The election process was conducted in line with AUC’s election guidelines. A bureau of 12 women (two per region according to AUC’s six regions definition) were elected to ensure that each African region is duly represented. Within the AUC, there are six regions: North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and the Sixth Region, which constitutes the “African Diaspora”. The working group will be led by Viola Otieno, EO Expert for Early Warning at IGAD-Climate Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC). Below is the complete list of the governing council of the Women in GMES & Africa group. 

Table: Governing board of the Women in GMES & Africa group