UNIS/OS/300
18 February 2005
United Nations Holds Regional Workshop on Remote Sensing Education
VIENNA, 18 February (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), within the framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, is organizing a five-day Regional Workshop on “Evaluating the Impact of the 1990-2004 Series of the United Nations/Sweden International Training Course on Remote Sensing Education for Educators”. The Workshop is co-organized and co-sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the University of Stockholm, and is hosted by the Brazil Campus of the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, affiliated to the United Nations (CRECTEALC). It will be held in São José dos Campos, Brazil, from 21 to 25 February.
The Workshop aims at evaluating the local impact and discussing the future of the International Training Course on Remote Sensing Education for Educators, which has been organized annually since 1990 by OOSA and the Government of Sweden. It aims at enabling educators from developing countries to introduce or to enhance remote sensing courses in their respective academic institutions. The Regional Workshop specifically targets past participants from Latin America and the Caribbean region who have attended the International Training Course. The outcome of the Workshop will be used by the co-sponsors to determine the future direction of the Training Course.
The Workshop will be composed of a series of technical and evaluation presentations, and will include discussions. In order to refresh the knowledge of former participants of the Training Course and keep them abreast of the latest developments in remote sensing technology, morning sessions will be devoted to presentations and discussions on advanced topics related to applications of remote sensing to monitoring and protection of the environment, new remote sensing techniques and instruments, and new teaching methods. Afternoon sessions will be devoted to presentations by former participants of the Course and discussions on the experience that they have gained in the application of their knowledge at their respective institutions, the impact of the Training Course on the development of curricula, the needs of the educators and possible changes to the programme of the Training Course. The discussions will lead to the development of a set of recommendations regarding the future of the Training Course.
36 participants from the following countries are expected to attend the Regional Workshop: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Workshop will also be attended by representatives from CRECTEALC, the University of Stockholm and OOSA.
* *** *
The United Nations Programme on Space Applications is implemented by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and works to improve the use of space science and technology for the economic and social development of all nations, in particular developing countries. Under the Programme, the Office conducts training courses, workshops, seminars and other activities on applications and capacity building in subjects such as remote sensing, communications, satellite meteorology, search and rescue, basic space science, satellite navigation and space law. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology. Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at http://www.unoosa.org
