13th SCO International Steering Committee

Published on 07/06/2024

Held on May 28, 2024, the 13th SCO Steering Committee confirmed the effectiveness of the Charter in structuring and coordinating the Observatory's international activities. Among new members, working groups and new projects, a highlight was the presentation of the SCO partnership with GEO.

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The Committee was chaired by NOAA, which presented the 3 SCO-accredited projects it is supporting, 2 of which are dedicated to fighting the fires ravaging the West, including Alaska, here seen by the Landsat 9 satellite on August 28, 2023. © NASA

Organized under the aegis of NOAA, the 13th Steering Committee opened with words of welcome from Charles Wooldridge, Director of the International Affairs and Interagency Relations Division.

New members

Three public bodies have been approved by the Steering Committee to join the SCO: the International Space University (ISU, France), the National Space Science Agency of Bahrain (NSSA), and the Djibouti Study and Research Centre (Centre d'Étude et de Recherche de Djibouti, CERD).

In the wake of this vote, the last three signatory members (South African (SANSA) and Philippine (PhilSA) space agencies, EUMETSAT) gave a brief presentation of their objectives and ambitions with regard to the SCO.

Finally, members adopted the due diligence process for private organizations wishing to join the alliance and sign the SCO Charter. Conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme, the process is now open to all interested companies.

Activities & certifications

Decided and set up at the previous committee meeting in October 2023, the Global Awareness working group presented its strategy for promoting the SCO and its approach, strengthening its action and its community.

Presenting the 17 projects selected following the first international call for projects, representatives from Gabon and Slovakia shared their experiences as reviewers, praising the quality of the application review process and the relevance of the proposed projects. China, the United Kingdom and the United States also took the opportunity to briefly present the projects approved in their respective countries.

🚨The next call for projects will open on September 1st, 2024.

SCO & GEO: strengthening synergies and enhancing knowledge fairness

A unique collaboration of experts from around the world, the Group on Earth Observations GEO's ambition is to make Earth observation data accessible to all and to unify efforts in the search for solutions to climate challenges, in line with its Beyond 2025 Earth Intelligence for All strategy.

👉Result of intense exchanges that began in January 2024, SCO is the first GEO participating organization to engage in close cooperation with its Secretariat to fully exploit the potential of the GEO Knowledge Hub (GKH) for disseminating the results of its activities. This partnership adds value not only to the SCO approach and tools, which are thus credited with international technical and scientific recognition, but also to the GKH itself, which is thus enriched with numerous services. 33 open tools and services from SCO projects are already available on the GKH. Currently being finalized, the GKH Marketplace will be able to host solutions involving a commercial element by the end of 2024.
🖱️ Discover the SCO community area on the GKH

Agenda at a glance

In the second half of the year, SCO will be taking part in a number of major international events, including IGARSS 2024, UN/Austria Symposium 2024, One Water Summit, ODOK and IAC 2024 in Milan, where the 14th Steering Committee meeting will be held.