On Friday, 24 January 2024, NEREUS led a high-level delegation to ESA/ESRIN in Frascati, Italy, to meet and exchange with ESA-Director Simonetta Cheli (Earth Observation Programmes) and her team as part of the network’s ongoing political dialogue with the agency. This significant visit served to deepen the partnership between NEREUS and ESA and to give it a new impulse with view to the coming five years. The idea was to explore common interests and paths of cooperations.
Agenda Overview
The visit took place from 09:30 to approximately 16:30 and included:
· Morning Session (09:30 – 13:30):
A formal meeting with Simonetta Cheli, featuring presentations and discussions on joint initiatives.
· 13:30: A networking lunch, fostering connections and collaboration among delegates.
· Afternoon Session (15:00 – 16:30): A guided tour of ESA’s facilities, providing insights into its cutting-edge work and future prospects.
Delegation Highlights
The NEREUS delegation comprised regional politicians, senior regional representatives, and key stakeholders, reflecting the triple helix structure of NEREUS partner regions (Apulia Region, Azores Region, Baden-Württemberg Region, Basilicata Region, Brittany Region, Catalunya Region, Emilia Romagna Region, Hesse Region, Occitania Region, Podkarpackie Region, Guest Regions (Observer): Campania and Sardinia). Attendees included:
· Thierry Cotelle, President of NEREUS and Member of the Regional Council of Occitanie.
· Vito Bardi, President of Basilicata and Vice President of NEREUS.
Additionally, senior managers from regional public administrations, representatives from research organizations, and members of regional space clusters participated, bringing perspectives from across the vibrant space ecosystems of partner regions.
Key Topics and Discussions
The visit aligned with NEREUS’s mission to promote the regional dimension of space uses and feature regional needs and capabilities with respect to Earth Observation. Discussions focused on:
Strengthening the ESA/NEREUS partnership
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- Exchange on common interests with respect to public policy implementation and regional priorities
- Developing pilot initiatives to capture regional capabilities and needs
· Reflecting on joint political dialogue with the European Parliament in the legislative period, stressing the socio-economic value of Earth Observation (EO) and Copernicus systems to policymakers
· Supporting the Copernicus4Regions initiative, including upcoming events with the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.
Thematic discussions illustrated through tangible Copernicus use cases from partner regions framed the exchange. Representatives from NEREUS introduced case studies and user experiences on Water Management (Catalonia and Basilicata), Urban Sustainability (Brittany), and Resilience to Natural Disasters, while with ESA reacted with its expertise on the subject and offered its insights in response.
With respect to the development of the EO/Copernicus sector, the participants discussed innovation, and commercialization strategies from a regional perspective. Introductory presentations from Apulia, Baden-Württemberg, Catalonia, and Emilia-Romagna set the stage, followed by a roundtable discussion, where representatives from Basilicata, Brittany, Occitanie, Podkarpackie, and the Azores introduced their respective regional ecosystems.
The visit underscored NEREUS’s commitment to advancing the interests of its partner regions by engaging with key stakeholders in the space sector. By bringing together regional politicians, public administrators, researchers, and industry representatives, NEREUS brought different regional ecosystems and their needs and capabilities to the attention of the European Space Agency.
This meeting marked another step in strengthening European space collaboration, with outcomes that will contribute to a more inclusive, resilient, and innovative space sector and extend the uptake of satellite-based technologies for public policy objectives.
