The SATSDIFACTION Kick-Off meeting took place in Venice on the 28th and 29th of June 2023 aiming at showcasing the project itself, best practices and establish collaboration amongst the partners. Veneto Region through the Territorial Planning Directorate is the Lead Partner of the project, and the organiser of this first project meeting. The overall goal of the project is to promote the exchange and transfer of best practices related to the use of Satellite Data in local and regional Spatial Data Infrastructures as a mean to improve the performance of regional policy instruments. SATSDIFACTION is also a NEREUS flagship project that was mobilised on the platform and comprised mainly of NEREUS-partners. All 8 partners (out of which 6 regions are NEREUS members) had the chance to showcase their policy instrument (Podkarpackie Region (PL), Regional Government of the Azores (PT), Sviluppo Basilicata SPA (IT), ISSeP – Institut Scientifique de Service Public (BE), Riga City Council (LV) and Occitanie Region (FR)) as well as highlighting the value of interregional cooperation, communication/dissemination by NEREUS (Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies) (BE), the Advisory partner.
On the inaugural day of the conference, various local and regional figures, including Cristiano Corazzari, the Regional Minister for Land Management in the Veneto Region, and Salvina Sist, the Director of the Territorial Planning Directorate in the Veneto Region, along with notable EU representatives like Isabella Poldrugo from the DG DEFIS at the European Commission and Giulio Barbolani di Montauto from the European Space Agency’s Brussels Office, provided their perspectives on how the project could enhance regional policies.
Furthermore, it was emphasized that integrating satellite data into local spatial data infrastructures is strategically important to provide policy makers with accurate, high-quality, and continuously updated information. “Satellite data, especially for the territorial dimension, have an increasingly important role, and can also allow positive and useful repercussions on daily life, as well as allowing the adoption of suitable development policies.” Cristiano Corazzari stated. Rita Bertocco, Director of the Territorial Cooperation and European Macrostrategies Unit – The Interreg Programme added that “working in synergy with other European regions that face or have already faced the same challenge, allows you to acquire knowledge to enrich the skills of your administration and therefore be able to implement policies more effectively thanks to Interreg.” Last but not least, two more interesting activities were organised in parallel this first day: a) the video-shooting for the first interview video of the project organised by NEREUS, and b) a study visit to the Saint Mark’s Basilica organised by the region.
On the second day, the consortium discussed and approved contractual/legal matters (approval of Regulations regarding the Steering Committee and the Project Management Unit, communication/dissemination strategy, Baseline context analysis), financial/management reporting and agree on the next steps and timeline. Additionally, on the second (29th ) and the third day (30th of June), the best practices from the Veneto region were analysed through the first Deep Learning dive (learning experiences) contributing to the discussion with partners and sharing key messages on the board. These practices focused on the following thematics :
- Integration of Satellite data in regional and local SDIs as a reference for territorial planning
- Mapping and monitoring Urban Environment through Sentinel-1 SAR data
- Land deformation monitoring with integrated geomatic technique in the Veneto Region
During these learning deep dives, key experts from the academia and the regional administration presented their tools and applications, and underlined what the challenges, and opportunities are. The two-days panel discussions were moderated by the Veneto region and NEREUS.
Next, the first Capacity Building Bootcamp will take place on November 22, 23 and 24 in Treviso, Italy, to provide individual and organizational competences to the project partners.
