World Space Week is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week will be held each year from October 4-10. These dates commemorate two events:
This is event is available for participation on an ongoing basis
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development are co-organizing, in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland and Space and Global Health Network hosted by the Geneva Digital Hub, the International Conference on Space and Global Health to raise awareness, build capacity and increase collaboration between the space domain and the global health domain, by inviting decision-makers and practitioners from both domains to share their experiences.
This is event is available for participation on an ongoing basis
Droughts have deep, widespread, and often underestimated impacts on societies, ecosystems and economies. While drought is a recurring and natural climatic phenomenon, climate change is increasing temperatures and evaporation as well as disrupting rainfall patterns, increasing the frequency, severity and duration of droughts in many regions.
A proactive, integrated approach to drought management is essential. Three pillars need to be considered to ensure a successful drought policy and implementation:
The course is open to participants representing various stakeholder groups working with drought management who are interested in taking the course and completing all modules. This includes:
Meteorological and hydrological experts from climate departments, climate service providers, environmental and disaster risk reduction agencies, agriculture experts and policy-oriented professionals
Stakeholders and professionals forming part of water management, civil society, river basin or international organizations; development programmes and members of UN organizations; and representatives of the private sector
Sustainable Development Goals focal points and facilitators within national governments
Decision-makers, policymakers, resource managers and high-level professionals and managers active in governmental bodies
Capacity developers active in the fields of Drought Management, Integrated Water Resources Management, Climate Action, among others.
Gender balance is very important for all course partners; we especially encourage women to participate in this course.
A new Early Warnings for All Action Plan for Africa is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive initiatives ever launched to save lives and livelihoods on a continent which is regularly exposed to extreme weather and which bears a disproportionate socio-economic cost of climate change.
Floods, triggered by intense rainfall, affect many communities worldwide. The extremely large floods in Pakistan in 2022, as well as other very large floods in Nigeria, Mozambique, and other countries, impacted many communities, affected their livelihoods, and triggered major losses. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change will lead to increased precipitation in many regions, worsening the impacts of floods triggered by such precipitation.
Space-based information has been used extensively to contribute to disaster response efforts since several decades ago. To enhance the use of such space-based information, since the year 2001, national space agencies from many countries have joined forces over the years to integrate the International Charter Space and Major Disasters as a mechanism to provide space-based information free of charge to national disaster management agencies and first responders in case of devastating disasters in all regions of the world.
Heatwaves, which can last for several days, impact societies and their livelihoods in many regions of the world. In August of the year 2003, a severe heatwave impacted Europe. According to the Meteorological Office of the United Kingdom (UK MetOffice), this particular heatwave was the worst one in the last 500 years (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/case-studies/heatwave).
