The African Union Commission calls upon the thirteen consortia of African institutions to align their services to the Regional Economic Communities regional priorities. It was made during at the beginning of an information exchange and technical workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, from the 23rd to the 27th of April, 2018. The workshop brings together a delegation of the African Union Commission, representatives of the Regional Economic Communities, the GMES & Africa Technical Assistance Team, and the thirteen consortia. 

The workshop analyzes the specific details of the proposals submitted by consortia and identifies various needs such as data, infrastructure, and technical support. During the workshop, the GMES and Africa's Communication and Engagement Strategy, Training Strategy and Logical Framework were tabled for discussion. 

The GMES and Africa Support Programme Coordinator and Space Science expert at the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology, Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, entreated representatives of various consortia to align their log-frames, training as well as communication and engagement strategies with those of the GMES & Africa Support Programme. 

Participants also paid a technical visit to the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, a Kenya-based institution leading one of the East African consortia.

The GMES & Africa Support Programme is a 30 million Euro joint programme co-financed by the European Commission and the African Union Commission. The Programme will use and adapt the Copernicus Programme data and services to the African context. It is designed to specifically respond to African needs with respect to services related to water, natural resources, marine and coastal areas and to address the global needs to manage the environment, and ensure civil security. 

The programme is to enable the implementation of the African Space Policy and Strategy, formulated to harness the continent’s capabilities in utilizing space science and technology for economic growth and sustainable development. In the implementation agreement, the African Union Commission is the ‘delegated authority’ responsible for the management of the programme.

GMES and Africa Support Programme aims to improve African policy-makers’, planners’, scientists’, business and private sector and citizens’ capacities to design, implement, and monitor national, regional and continental policies and to promote sustainable management of natural resources through the use of Earth Observation data and derived information.