GEO Global Forum</a> plenary, a panel of five youth, moderated by Samuel Amos of the GEO Secretariat, made the case for why engaging young people is critical to achieve Earth Intelligence for All."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"ZEYvFM7zuD","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In her keynote speech, Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://www.ramsar.org//">Ramsar Convention on Wetlands</a>, emphasised that youth empowerment is essential to navigate a challenging, complex world."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"B9XXJzzNB8","type":"button","data":{"buttons":[{"text":"Watch the session","url":"https://youtube.com/live/OSYB5qZpwnI"}]},"tunes":{"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"CEICXolIXQ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Here are some key takeaways from the session:"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"bNI95bYw8n","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"<b>Youth are already implementing positive change </b>"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"U7RS4MMRmi","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For years, young people have been driving Earth Intelligence and informed decision-making across the GEO community."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"Cl3lsJ35kb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Felipe Carlos, a full stack developer for the GEO Knowledge Hub, explained that early-career researchers are contributing to the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://data.inpe.br/bdc/web/en/about-brazil-data-cube-2/%22/">Brazil Data Cube project</a> so decision-makers can better support families facing natural disasters. "},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"54A0e5-CGu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Young scientists in South Africa are developing tools in the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://africultures.eu//">AfriCultuReS platform for decision-makers to monitor rangeland health and understand impacts on food prices, said Nasiphi Ngcoliso, a junior remote sensing scientist at the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://www.sansa.org.za//">South African National Space Agency (SANSA</a>)."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"FXPQiEMWF2","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"<b>Participation alone is not enough </b>"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"BGJLC-8msU","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"While youth engagement is gaining momentum, equal access remains a challenge, especially for those from communities most affected by environmental risks."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"qnhS0azC_I","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"As Felipe Carlos noted, complex visa processes can be a barrier, preventing qualified applicants from benefiting from many opportunities for growth and networking."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"2ddlTZw4yr","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Yipei Gong, a programme officer at the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"http://english.aircas.cas.cn//">Chinese Academy of Sciences Aerospace Information Research Institution (AIRCAS)</a>, shared a similar perspective. Although AIRCAS has trained over 2,000 young professionals in disaster risk reduction, many youth still face financial and logistical hurdles that limit their ability to attend in-person workshops."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"Yu_XSJFC_K","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"These examples highlight the broader need for sustained investment and systemic support to ensure youth participation is both meaningful and accessible for all."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"ubRbcq5swn","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Supporting youth-led and youth-developed Earth observations solutions is also crucial."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"A_1HHsGllN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Nasiphi Ngcoliso highlighted the lack of mentorship and financial support as major barriers for young entrepreneurs. “One of the biggest challenges we face as young people is the limited access to mentorship and incubator programmes,” she said. “We’re not mentoring young, promising professionals with their innovative ideas and helping them change those ideas into practical solutions.”"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"DG6FI08SLd","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Felipe Carlos added, “If you want to empower the young generation to be able to develop their own solutions, we need more. We need to teach them how to code, to not be dependent on a specific tool.”"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"Uh_AQrX30F","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"<b>Youth are an essential part of Earth Intelligence for All </b>"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"E7EaZ9OgUB","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://earthobservations.org/storage/documents/Events/GEO-Week-2023/Cape Town Youth Declaration.pdf/">2023 GEO Youth Declaration</a> called on GEO to institutionalise youth representation and support and build global youth communities."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"7H2fI9qDnu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Accordingly, youth have a dedicated goal in <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://earthobservations.org/storage/documents/Key-Documents/GEO Post 2025 Strategy Full Document.pdf/">GEO's Post-2025 Strategy</a>: Increase the participation of young people in the development of Earth Intelligence, or Goal 4."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"KLryu97w0A","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Created with the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://earthobservations.org/groups/geo-youth-community-of-practice/">GEO Youth Community of Practice</a> and part of <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://earthobservations.org/storage/events/GEO-Global-Forum/geo-20/GEO-20-3.2(Rev1)_Draft GEO Post-2025 Strategy Implementation Plan.pdf/">GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy Implementation Plan</a>, the approach for Goal 4 addresses these demands using feedback from young people across the GEO community."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"yS7TOchQjr","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The plan is to leverage GEO’s global community to make sure Earth Intelligence and innovation are available to all youth, including Indigenous youth and those from underrepresented regions. Goal 4 will support GEO’s other goals to increase accessibility and deliver innovative Earth Intelligence solutions."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"DpmczSstfq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“If we achieve [Goal] 4, that means achieving all the other [goals],” said Lena Moral Waldmeier, a stakeholder engagement specialist at Apacheta."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"KrtzWMBeo6","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Yipei Gong also highlighted the potential of regional and local Youth Communities of Practice. “By equipping young scientists with Earth Intelligence skills, they directly contribute back to their communities with local solutions…This is how we build Earth Intelligence for All from the ground up.”"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"vavzbTv6et","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"<b>Fulfilling GEO’s promise to youth </b>"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"9wk-FDCBrY","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The GEO Global Forum was a rallying cry to drive innovation, inform decision-making, and increase global equity with Earth Intelligence."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"21_Xz-GRkX","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"These ambitious efforts will not succeed without young people. At the <a href=https://earthobservations.org/"https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325496466708336641/">GEO Youth Ideathon</a>, 12 young changemakers learned technical and communicative skills before being challenged to create Earth observations-based solutions for Italian small business owners."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"F5z7B8Dmks","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“We looked people in the eye and answered their needs. We prototyped, we failed, we adapted,” said Ideathon participant Giorgio Bagolan, a researcher at La Sapenzia University of Rome."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"1F5k5MlsRE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"With the implementation of GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy, the GEO community must now come together to realise the potential of young people to make historic contributions to Earth Intelligence for All."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"PP8Tm0U11e","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“When we say we’re keeping a promise, we stick to the promise. And when we say we’re offering a seat at the table, it is an element of inclusivity, it is the aspect of humility to listen to some even seemingly unpopular ideas,” said Dr Musonda Mumba."},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"tm5FzoJH_o","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Samuel Amos closed the session with a reminder:"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}},{"id":"qQGbEx09RT","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"<b>“By keeping our promises to young people, we don’t just support their future... we shape the future of GEO itself.” </b>"},"tunes":{"textVariant":null,"documentationLink":[]}}],"version":"2.29.1"},"created_at":"2025-05-21T15:08:06.000000Z","updated_at":"2025-05-22T09:32:51.000000Z","is_hidden":false,"image_caption":null,"tags":[{"id":4,"name":"Youth","short_name":"Youth","slug":"youth","description":"NULL","sort_order":1,"created_at":null,"updated_at":"2025-07-01T09:19:00.000000Z","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":125,"tag_id":4}}]},{"id":17,"title":"Cape Town Ministerial Declaration and Youth Declaration","slug":"cape-town-ministerial-declaration-and-youth-declaration","image":"/storage/news/2023/GEO-0008.jpg","published_at":"2023-11-10 18:28:43","content":{"time":1744995380000,"blocks":[{"id":"6802843447991","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Ministers and ministerial representatives today adopted the Group on Earth Observations 2023 Cape Town Ministerial Declaration."}},{"id":"6802843447998","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The Declaration endorses the GEO Post-2025 Strategy <em>Earth Intelligence for All</em>, charges GEO with developing an implementation plan to guide execution of the Strategy, and reaffirms the integral role of young people as catalysts for fsustainable development, among other statements."}},{"id":"680284344799a","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"As a first step in giving young people a greater role, GEO youth presented the first ever GEO Youth Declaration at the Summit and joined a panel discussion during the Summit."}},{"id":"680284344799b","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The two documents can be read on the Summit website"}},{"id":"68028434479f2","type":"button","data":{"buttons":[{"text":"Cape Town Ministerial Declaration","url":"https://earthobservations.org/storage/documents/Events/GEO-Week-2023/Cape%20Town%20Ministerial%20Declaration.pdf"},{"text":"Cape Town Youth Declaration","url":"https://earthobservations.org/storage/documents/Events/GEO-Week-2023/Cape%20Town%20Youth%20Declaration.pdf"}]}}],"version":"2.29.1"},"created_at":"2023-11-10T19:30:39.000000Z","updated_at":"2023-11-20T17:41:06.000000Z","is_hidden":false,"image_caption":null,"tags":[{"id":4,"name":"Youth","short_name":"Youth","slug":"youth","description":"NULL","sort_order":1,"created_at":null,"updated_at":"2025-07-01T09:19:00.000000Z","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":17,"tag_id":4}}]}],"first_page_url":"https://earthobservations.org/index.php/about-us/news?tag=Youth&page=1","from":1,"last_page":1,"last_page_url":"https://earthobservations.org/index.php/about-us/news?tag=Youth&page=1","links":[{"url":null,"label":"« Previous","active":false},{"url":"https://earthobservations.org/index.php/about-us/news?tag=Youth&page=1","label":"1","active":true},{"url":null,"label":"Next »","active":false}],"next_page_url":null,"path":"https://earthobservations.org/index.php/about-us/news","per_page":8,"prev_page_url":null,"to":2,"total":2},"filters":{"years":["2025","2024","2023","2022","2021","2020","2019"],"tags":[{"id":3,"name":"Impact","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":4,"tag_id":3}},{"id":2,"name":"Blog","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":130,"tag_id":2}},{"id":4,"name":"Youth","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":17,"tag_id":4}},{"id":1,"name":"News","pivot":{"taggable_type":"App\\Models\\Post","taggable_id":132,"tag_id":1}}]},"checked":{"year":null,"tag":"Youth"}},"url":"/index.php/about-us/news?tag=Youth","version":"d29a61d83d8f3885d71ed43c36a5789b","encryptHistory":false,"clearHistory":false}">
