UN-SPIDER successfully concluded the fifth annual meeting of its Regional Support Offices in the premises of the United Nations Office at Vienna. The meeting took place on 13 and 14 February 2014 and was conducted as a side-event to the 51st session of the Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). Representatives from thirteen of the sixteen Regional Support Offices, staff from the UN-SPIDER programme and from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) discussed lessons learnt regarding the activities carried out by these offices, technical advisory support, knowledge management and outreach activities.
The agenda of the meeting included a revision of activities conducted by these offices in 2013, the UN-SPIDER plan activities for 2014, the current status regarding the elaboration of recommended practices on the use of archived and up-to date imagery for a variety of purposes, the incorporation of geo-visualization tools, the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal and ways to improve the synergies among these offices worldwide.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Luc St-Pierre, UN-SPIDER's Programme Coordinator, highlighted the added value that the Regional Support Offices bring to the work of UN-SPIDER programme around the world. He also highlighted the aim of this annual meeting to contribute to the coordination of the technical advisory support that the programme provides to countries which have to face the unfortunate impacts of disasters triggered by natural hazards.
