On December 12-13 2023, as part of the GMES & Africa project and in partnership with ESA, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) will hold a hybrid-mode Hackathon on Earth Observation for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Africa - for start-ups, students and developers.
The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES & Africa) is a joint programme co-financed by the European Commission and the African Union Commission. It intends to adapt and use the Copernicus Programme data and services in the African context.
GMES and Africa is designed to respond specifically to African needs with respect to the development of services for water, natural resources, marine and coastal areas, and to address the global needs to manage the environment and ensure civil security.
The hackathon will be hosted on Dunia—the all-in-one, easy-to-use platform for processing and disseminating Earth observation data over Africa.
Based on the research conducted and exchanges with end-users regarding their needs in terms of EO-derived products, and services in support to land and water sustainable management, the participants will be tasked with developing an innovative solution that leverages Earth observation data, remote sensing technologies and data analytics, to tackle one of the considered thematic applications.
Access to the Dunia platform will be granted for registered participants to showcase their skills, creativity and problem-solving abilities, while addressing real-world challenges related to agriculture and irrigation, land degradation and food production.
They will have access to a wealth of remote sensing data, including multi-temporal satellite imagery (Sentinel, Landsat etc.) and climate data. The participants will have the opportunity to explore advanced data processing techniques, develop robust models and employ cutting-edge algorithms to achieve their development. A set of training materials and technical guides will be provided as part of the hackathon to assist participants as they work on their products and solutions.
General topics include food security, coastline monitoring, land degradation monitoring and assessment, and irrigation scheduling.
Stay tuned - the results of the Hackathon winners will be published on Dunia soon.