EuroGEO Workshop 2025

Welcome to the EuroGEO Workshop 2025!

Join us at the World Forum The Hague for a day filled with exciting discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities.

The EuroGEO Workshop 2025 aims to accelerate the delivery of Earth Intelligence by strengthening Europe’s contributions to the GEO Work Programme, reinforcing the links to Copernicus, and aligning research, innovation, and national coordination with global and European priorities. The workshop will:

• Set a strategic vision for Earth Intelligence in Europe by connecting policy drivers, user needs, and operational capabilities — including outcomes from the 2025 GEO Forum.
• Showcase European contributions to GEO focus areas, highlighting best practices and gaps in the alignment between GEO, Copernicus, Horizon Europe, and national programmes.
• Advance research and innovation for the downstream Earth Observation (EO) sector through structured sessions on the Copernicus SRIA, fostering community input, identifying partnerships, and defining investment and operational pathways.
• Mobilise EuroGEO Action Groups to deliver actionable priorities and recommendations for their respective domains, including contributions to the evolution of Copernicus Services and future R&I activities.
• Engage youth and startups, showcasing next-generation EO innovation and identifying how EuroGEO can better support emerging actors in the EO ecosystem.
• Strengthen national coordination and governance, through exchange on national GEO strategies, Joint Action Plans, and synergies between Member States and European programmes.
• Co-design the EuroGEO Implementation Plan, drawing on the outputs of each session to define strategic directions, community contributions, and mechanisms for sustained European impact within GEO.

Recommended Hotels close to The World Forum:

1. Novotel The Hague World Forum
2. The Hague Marriot Hotel
3. Leonardo Royal Hotel den Haag Promenade
4. De Plesman Hotel

Other hotels

Hotels in the city center:

1. Voco hotel
2. Hotel Des Indes

Hotel on the beach:

Inntel Hotels Den Haag Marina Beach

Info: The workshop opens with high-level remarks and a strategic plenary on the future of Earth Intelligence in Europe. Speakers outline how policies, user needs, and operational capacities must come together to drive impact, building on the outcomes of the 2025 GEO Forum. In the afternoon, parallel thematic sessions explore Europe’s contributions to GEO focus areas—from agriculture and climate to biodiversity, One Health, water, and disaster resilience. Discussions focus on aligning efforts, identifying gaps, and shaping concrete recommendations. The day closes with side events and a social gathering at the World Forum.

Info: Keynote speeches by:
Harm van de Wetering, NSO Director;
Franz Immler, European Commission, DG RTD;
Michel Rixen, European Commission, DG DEFIS;
Sarah Venturini, GEO Secretariat;
Thierry Ranchin, EuroGEO Secretariat/ARMINES

Info: This session sets the strategic tone for the EuroGEO Workshop 2025 by presenting a shared vision of Earth Intelligence as a driver for policy design, implementation, and systemic change. It will explore how European initiatives align with global frameworks and national needs.

Info: What is needed to deliver Earth Intelligence in Europe and how can we best deliver it? These are the questions this session will aim to answer. Exploring the different drivers of demand for EO-based solutions – such as policy design and implementation – and the conditions needed to develop these solutions – including a better understanding of end-user needs, access to data and platforms, and collaboration between the academic and private sectors –, the panel will then delve into the different existing tools and initiatives supporting innovation in Europe. Speakers will come together to reflect on a “roadmap” and way forward for delivering Earth Intelligence in Europe. Speakers: European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); Evenflow; European Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA); European Space Agency (ESA / DestinE); European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC); ACRI ST; Space Climate observatory (SCO)

Info: A set of parallel sessions highlighting European leadership and contributions to GEO’s global focus areas, showcasing how EU and national initiatives are supporting the GEO Work Programme. Through parallel thematic discussions, participants will exchange best practices, identify synergies, and explore gaps in coordination or delivery. The session aims to collect concrete recommendations for better aligning Copernicus, Horizon Europe, and national GEO activities with GEO’s priorities, generating actionable inputs for the EuroGEO Implementation Plan to strengthen Europe’s global engagement.

Info: Agriculture & Food Security (GEOGLAM)(Room: Kilimandjaro); Climate, Energy and Urbanisation (GEOCRI, HUMAN-PLANET, ARCTIC-GEOSS, GHRS, TEMBO-Africa, GEONICE)(Room: Everest 1); Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Carbon Management (THE ATLAS, GEO-MOUNTAINS)(Room: Amazon)

Info: One Health (GEOS4M)(Room: Kilimandjaro); Water and Land Sustainability (GEO-LDN, AQUAWATCH, GEOMIN)(Room: Everest 1); Weather, Hazards, and Disaster Resilience (GWIS, SPACE-SECURITY) (Room: Amazon)

Info: The session brings together eight Horizon Europe projects that focus on developing new technologies and covering gaps in-situ data. It will address the progress and challenges in optimizing technologies and adapting them to specific environments or extreme condition and hard to reach/under sampled areas. The session will then address how these in-situ sensors and integrated systems are combined with other data (e.g. Copernicus services) towards operational monitoring and share challenges linked to validation, interoperability and synchronisation between in-situ and other networks. A roundtable will follow, dedicated to users ‘needs and future exploitation, including commercialisation and sustainability after the EU Horizon funding. Speakers: Research Executive Agency; VITO/ScaleAGData; EULIAA [TBC]; Fondazione Edmund Mach/REMOTREES; ISARDSAT/UAWOS; MISO; TU Delft/TEMBO Africa; FMI/SYLVA; FMACH; Cirocco. [See more on in situ DAY 2 11:30 - 13:00, Room Kilimandjaro]

Info: European regional engagement and coordination in the field of Earth Observation. Speakers: National Observatory of Athens; European Commission DG INTPA; GEO Secretariat; Digital Green Innovation project (TBC)

Info: Bridging the Grand Distance between EO experts and potential users is a major challenge in the Earth Observation (EO) sector. This gap has long limited both the commercial exploitation of EO services and their societal impact across Europe.
This side event will introduce the co-design methods for Earth Intelligence, to demonstrate their value for the EO community, and to reflect on six years of development and application of these methods. Speakers: MINES Paris PSL; EvenFlow; European Space Agency; National Observatory of Athens.

Info: Combining efforts to address the challenges Ukraine currently faces. Post-war recovery in Ukraine. Discussions on the establishment of “European Working Group UKRAINE” under the umbrella of EuroGEO. Speakers: Ukraine GEO Office; State Space Agency of Ukraine; Analytical Center of National Space Facilities Control and Test Center; European Commission, JRC-ISPRA.

Info: This session will explore how Earth Observation (EO) data can support sustainable development and protect citizens from climate-related risks such as wildfires and heatwaves. An event sponsored by the SDGs-EYES project and hosted by EuroGEO.
SDGs-EYES has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme for research and innovation under GA number 101082311.

Info: This day focuses on the innovation pipeline for Earth observation. Starting with the role of research in scaling EO solutions, followed by four thematic tracks discussing priorities of the Copernicus Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda: AI, in situ data, infrastructure and standards, and socio-economic data integration. A plenary session focuses on youth and startup initiatives, exploring how EuroGEO can better support new actors in the EO ecosystem. The afternoon is dedicated to recommendations from the Action Groups, discussing thematic R&I. These inputs will directly shape the EuroGEO Implementation Plan. The day ends with informal side meetings and networking.

Info: It will outline how research and innovation can accelerate the uptake of Earth observation across sectors, bridge the gap between pilot projects and operational services, and support European priorities. The session will introduce the core themes of the day — from enabling technologies and user empowerment to data governance and entrepreneurial scaling — and explain how these discussions feed into the EuroGEO Implementation Plan. Speakers: Evenflow; European Commission’s Joint Research Center; European Commission, DG DEFIS; National Observatory of Athens.

Info: To explore how young professionals, early-stage entrepreneurs, and innovation networks can contribute to mainstreaming Earth Observation into policy and society — and how EuroGEO can better support, attract, and empower this next generation. Note: competitiveness aspect.
How can EuroGEO help mobilise the community to scale startup and youth-led EO solutions beyond pilots and prototypes?
What training, mentoring or mobility schemes are missing?
How can youth and startups be better represented in EuroGEO and GEO?
What should be included in the EuroGEO Implementation Plan to support the next generation?
Speakers: Eurisy; Spheer; DotSpace; Space Research Centre of The Polish Academy of Sciences
; Space Generation Advisory Council ; Guests from the education sector.

Info: This session invites participants to engage in parallel discussions aligned with the Copernicus Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). Each Parallel session will explore how the EuroGEO community can contribute to advancing R&I priorities. The objective is to identify concrete community contributions, strategic partnerships, and synergies with EU and national initiatives. Outcomes should feed into the EuroGEO Implementation Plan, guiding future coordination, investment, and operational efforts across the EO value chain.
What concrete contributions can the EuroGEO community make to support the Copernicus SRIA priorities?
What partnerships, initiatives, or projects should be mobilised or created?
What synergies are possible between national, European, and global efforts?
What operational and governance mechanisms are needed to scale and mainstream innovations?

Info: The session will be on the topic of AI for Earth Intelligence and will bring together four speakers working in Earth Observation and AI, with a slant towards Earth system and climate modelling as examples of front-runner application domains. The speakers will cover international organisations, the private sector, NGOs and research, and link to European projects and programmes such as Horizon Europe and Destination Earth. Speakers: Eur. Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF); International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI, under the auspices of UNESCO); Space4Good; Open Earth Monitor project.

Info: This session will explore the pivotal role of in-situ data in enhancing Europe’s competitiveness, with a focus on its strategic application across research, innovation, and operational Earth observation (EO) programmes such as Copernicus. Following an introduction by the European Environment Agency (EEA), three key dimensions will be presented: an overview of research and innovation projects developing in-situ technologies for hard-to-reach or under-sampled areas; the long-term perspective of Research Infrastructures (RIs); and the implementation of the EU High-Value Datasets Regulation by the European public sectors. Speakers: European Environment Agency (EEA); Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI); Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI);Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS); HCP International; Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO); ICEYE Oy

Info: Topics: cloud-native EO, FAIR principles, standards for exchange and orchestration
Challenges: fragmentation, lack of common APIs, duplications
Goal: promote interoperability layers enabling cross-border and cross-sector reuse of EO assets. Speakers: OEMC; AD4GD ; B3; FAIRCUBE ; USAGE [TBC]

Info: The value of Earth Intelligence is not created with Earth Observation data alone. In order to provide the actionable insights that end users need to address global challenges, it has to be combined with different data sources, such as socio-economic data, analytics, statistics, etc. On the other hand, proving the (socio-economic) benefits and value of a project or initiative is a not-necessarily obvious, but crucial, step to ensure continuity of Earth Intelligence solutions. This session will showcase the added value of Earth Observation when combined with non-EO datasets through concrete use cases and existing GEO initiatives. It will also explore a set of tools designed to provide evidence that supports the sustained and expanded uptake of these solutions. Speakers: European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC for GEO VALUE); United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); European Commission’s Joint Research Center for GEO Human Planet

Info: To present and discuss the key R&I priorities for the downstream EO sector within each Action Group's domain, based on preparatory work done in advance. Each group will contribute directly to the EuroGEO Implementation Plan through a structured 2-pager.
It is recommended for the Action Groups to be co-chaired with the corresponding Copernicus Service. The session should include a presentation from the Copernicus Service and a feedback / discussion on the evolution of Copernicus Services.

Info: Agriculture (Room: Kilimandjaro); Biodiversity, ecosystems and geodiversity (Room: Everest 1);
Climate (Room: Everest 2); Urban (Room: Amazon)

Info: Disaster Resilience and Health (Room: Everest 1); Energy (Room: Everest 2); Green Deal Data Space (Room: Kilimandjaro); Land Intelligence for monitoring and enforcement of policy (Room: Amazon)

Info: Communication is not just a support function — it is a catalyst for connection, collaboration, and impact. At its core, the Earth Observation community is a diverse and multidisciplinary network, encompassing scientists, data providers, technologists, policymakers, private sector innovators, educators, media and civil society. However, this diversity can also lead to fragmentation: different actors may operate separately, speak different "languages" (scientific, technical, policy), or be unaware of each other's efforts and breakthroughs.
This session aims to explore the central role of strategic communication in building a vibrant, inclusive and collaborative EO community by uniting this ecosystem and creating shared understanding, common goals, and a sense of collective identity and purpose. Speakers: European Commission DG RTD; Netherlands Space Office (NSO); iClimateAction Project; PCP-WISE project; SPACE4Cities; VALORADA

;

Info: EuroGEO as a platform to bridge scientific and EO private sector communities, ensuring that EO private sector data and services are accessible to and support European research, and that research outcomes are transformed into operational solutions supporting European and global policy priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Speakers: European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); European Space Imaging (ESI).

Info: The final day turns to national coordination and implementation. Starting with an official segment from the Netherlands, the sessions explore how EuroGEO can support countries in organizing their contributions to GEO and increasing the uptake of Earth Intelligence, through enhance coordination, governance structures, joint action plans, and stakeholder engagement. Examples from across Europe shed light on best practices and potential improvements. The National GEO session features national space capabilities in the Netherlands, strong partnerships and real-world applications. In the afternoon, a closing session brings together insights from Action Groups and Member States, helping shape the next steps of the EuroGEO Implementation Plan and reaffirming Europe’s role in the global GEO community.

Info: This two-part session explores how national initiatives are shaping the coordination and uptake of Earth Observation first within the EuroGEO framework and then in the broader context of GEO: Strengthening national contributions to EuroGEO ; Advancing National GEOs in a Global Context. Speakers: European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF); National Research Council of Italy (CNR); Netherland Space Office (NSO)

Info: The objective of this session is to help formulate how GEO for the Netherlands (GEO Netherlands) can support the goals of GEO, making use of specific Dutch expertise and also addressing issues that are of particular relevance to the Netherlands. The theme of this session is “how to get from research to operations”, as this is considered one of the main gaps in Earth observation applications that can be bridged with the help of GEO Netherlands. Speakers: HCP international; Ministry of Infrastructure & Water; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature; TerraSphere; Netherlands Space Office

Info: Presentations by researchers, industry and end user organisations around the themes water, agriculture, atmosphere, safety & security and infrastructure.

Info: There are many challenges pertaining to water management, including increasing demand, climate change, deteriorating environmental conditions, decreasing water availability, decreasing water quality and increased risks, such as floods, droughts and salinisation. The Netherlands has always been strong in knowledge and innovation in relation to water resources management. This session focuses on how Earth observation, ranging from in situ measurements to satellite data, helps improve water management, with examples from the Netherlands. Speakers: Delft University of Technology; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; WaterInsight; University Twente; FutureWater; HydroLogic; Rijkswaterstaat

Info: Earth Observation is playing an increasingly important role for the monitoring of soil degradation, soil health, planning better soil management but also for monitoring soil ecosystem services including soil carbon sequestration. The speakers are world leaders in producing and distributing soil information and making sure soil information is used across borders. The discussion panel will focus on how to turn EO products into operational soil management monitoring systems. Speakers: OpenGeoHub; German Aerospace Center (DLR); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); Rijkswaterstaat.

Info: This session explores how Earth Observation (EO) applications are contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security, addressing the dual challenge of feeding a growing population while adapting to climate change. It brings together national and international perspectives to demonstrate the value of coordinated GEO initiatives and EO-based services.
University of Twente; German Aerospace Center (DLR); University of Twente/GEOGLAM; European Environment Agency (EEA) / Copernicus Land Monitoring ; BMV, Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Germany; Hoefsloot Spatial Solutions; eLeaf; Future Water.

Info: Earth observation is widely used for urban management in the form of mapping, establishing data infrastructures and digital twins. In addition to this, the monitoring, forecasting and improving of air quality (e.g. pollutants, aeroallergens) are very important. Similarly the issue of urban heat stress is getting more attention. An integrated approach, which leads to an improved understanding of processes (including climate change) that affect human health, is important. The latest developments in Earth observation applications for air quality and heat stress, including the use of TROPOMI, AI and citizens observations are discussed in this session. Panel: TBC.

Host or Publisher EuroGEO