EU Space’s Post

Dear UK Space Agency & Paul Bate, I have seen the below partnership with the Space Generation Advisory Council where UK gov. funding is being used to offer scholarships to students & young professionals to attend this summit on space sustainability which is absolutely fantastic. I've no doubt it will be of great benefit to the lucky successful applicants. What is slightly less exciting is the arbitrary definition of who qualifies as a "student" with an age limit of 35. This explicitly excludes more mature full & part time students from a range of backgrounds who have often faced serious social, cultural, or economic disadvantage that prevented them following a more "traditional" academic route at a younger age. As a full time mature student in exactly this position, I have found this type of age barrier to be endemic within the space sector & often see opportunities that are available to every one of my peers (& at times even my supervisors under the terms of "young professional") but that I am routinely excluded from. This isn't only an individual issue affecting just me or a very small number of people. As the founder and former chair of the The Open University Space Society that now has around 1200 student members who are often coming to academic study later in life, I have spoken to a large number of people trying to move into the sector whilst older but still very much in the "early career" stage facing the same challenges. That seems to me to be in opposition to the identified sector skills shortage responses as demonstrated by the fantastic Space Skills Alliance report. I do of course understand that the SGAC defines itself as a youth organisation as is of course their prerogative, but in this context & as far as I can see there is absolutely no reason for an age bounded definition of who is a student or early career professional who will be in receipt of UK public funds. I find the UK Space Agency acceptance of these limits & indirect support of this discriminatory practice wholly inappropriate & would like to politely challenge you at this point to explain why this path has been chosen. I of course do not wish to prevent any opportunities being offered to the early careers cohort & strongly support the work you are doing to promote this type of activity. But without engagement with this endemic issue at the highest level it will only continue. I am of course willing to engage & discuss this matter and formally represent my own view & informally the wider experiences of people facing these barriers should you wish to do so. I only post this publicly in the hope of gaining a response as I found that private emails on the topic are often ignored or dismissed. Thank you in advance for your engagement & please do know that I greatly appreciate everything the agency is doing in this area. I only wish to help you improve access to the full early careers cohort to the benefit of all. Clear Skies, Ian Muirhead

Dear UK Space Agency & Paul Bate, I'm sure you'll remember that I raised the issue of an arbitrary age restriction on the definition of a student on the publicly funded scholarship to enable a few lucky applicants to attend the Secure World Foundation #SpaceSustainability summit in Tokyo. At the time the UKSA central LinkedIn account and Paul both responded positively which was really great to see and I passed my details through expecting to "hear from the appropriate team" and that it will be "worked through". Sadly that was over two weeks ago and as the deadline for scholarship applications has now passed it's clear that there has been no response, amendment of the rules, or attempt to explain or justify why this was the case. Having challenged this type of discrimination many times across the space sector I have become quite used to organisations making an offer of engagement to prevent public criticism but then never actually following up or enacting a real response. Unfortunately it does feel that this is again the case and I find that rather disappointing from my own national space agency. As an aside, I also found it quite telling that the Secure World Foundation chose to delete a polite comment I made on their own LinkedIn promotion posts for this scholarship rather than respond to the challenge. Which does seem to contradict the quite high minded claims on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility made in their "Who We Are" statement including a "...plan to maintain and enhance evaluation and feedback mechanisms for continued improvement..." and that "...bringing diverse voices to the table yields better solutions". Clearly it's too late to open up the applications to mature and non-traditional students and the scholarship has now passed, but I do hope that all organisations involved reflect on this and consider expanding beyond an age limited discriminatory definition of students in the future early careers opportunities. #DeedsNotWords

What's green 🍀, digital 📲, and resilient ☔? ➡ This is not the set-up for a joke, but a clever angle to show how the HEROES Alliance's strategic orientations and those of the European Commission's #HorizonEU's plans for 2025-2027 go hand-in-hand. "The strategic plan for the last 3 years of Horizon Europe makes sure that our R&I funding underpins our climate, biodiversity and digital ambitions, while also maintaining the flexibility we need to respond to any emerging needs," said Commissioner Iliana Ivanova. In the face of today's dynamic realities, we need heroes to leverage digital innovations to help ensure resilience in all EU’s regions. #WeAreHEROES and ready to support the EU in realising our shared goals by transforming the talents of a generation of Europeans into superpowers that benefit their communities and advance the 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 of people, businesses and nature. Find out how in our Joint Mission Statement 🔗 https://lnkd.in/euj5-hVq EU Science, Research and Innovation Margrethe Vestager Sofie Mols

📢 The Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025-2027 just announced. It steers research and innovation funding 2025-2027, addressing the key global challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, the digital transition and an ageing population.💯 The strategic plan sets out 3 strategic orientations for research and innovation investment under Horizon Europe for the years 2025-2027: ➡️ Green transition ➡️ Digital transition ➡️ A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe Open strategic autonomy and securing Europe’s leading role in developing and deploying critical technologies are overarching principles that apply across all 3 key strategic orientations. The strategic plan raises the ambition of Horizon Europe on biodiversity and commits to a target of 10% of Horizon Europe’s total budget 2025-2027 being dedicated to biodiversity-related topics. This new commitment complements existing targets for climate expenditure (35% over the lifetime of Horizon Europe) and main digital activities (€13 billion over the same period). Key elements: ➡️ 3 key strategic orientations for Horizon Europe research and innovation activities in 2025-2027 ➡️ 32 expected impacts distributed across clusters ➡️ 9 new co-programmed and co-funded European Partnerships ➡️ EU Missions and an overview on their achievements of the first years ➡️ New European Bauhaus Facility European Commission #HorizonEurope More info at: https://lnkd.in/dyyJY-ue

📢 New ‘Regions and cities shaping the European Green Deal 2.0’ Report by the European Committee of the Regions! 📕 The report calls for a renewed Green Deal 2.0 agenda that aims at fostering sustainable competitiveness and strategic autonomy, eradicating social inequalities and further exploiting the potential of #greeninnovation. This new agenda should place #regions and #cities, and their specific contexts and needs, at its centre. It should ensure that regions and cities have the necessary tools and resources to meet ambitious objectives and are empowered to design and govern their own #transitionpathways. 🎯 Similarly, BUILDSPACE project places cities at the centre of its objectives. By developing innovative applications and technologies, the project supports stakeholders to make informed decisions towards energy-efficient buildings and climate resilient cities, contributing to mitigating the impacts of climate change 👉 Read the CoR report: https://lnkd.in/gtRsPfCP 💡 Read more on BUILDSPACE: https://lnkd.in/eH8kVzxh EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme SingularLogic  SPACE HELLAS S.A. DSS Lab, EPU-NTUA CARTIF  Technical University of Madrid European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts  nazka mapps Mobics S.A.  alda* - European Association for Local Democracy  Mostostal Warszawa S.A.  Municipality of Piraeus  IMZI Blue-green Infrastructure Institute Riga Planning Region  University of Cambridge #BUILDSPACEProject #HorizonEU #SustainabilityofCities

EU Green Week 2024 - Smart Communities: path for transition Brussels, June 13th, 10:00 to 16:00 CEST Venue: Portuguese Permanent Representation to the European Union Topics: 1. Use of wideband interconnectivity, under a 5G/6G perspective, for smart networks and services integration in rural areas; 2. Governance solutions for integrated intelligent territorial management for energy, soil and water; 3. Ecological approaches to engage civil society and strengthen smart communities; 4. Investment and joint procurement mechanisms for strengthening smart transition and reduce innovation divides; 5. Literacy and competences critical environment for territorial resilience. Actuality topic: mass destruction ecocide as weapon. Registration: kamila.olchowicz@irradiare.com Don't miss it! CoEER - Congress of European Emerging Regions

♻️ Just sustainability transitions — From concept to practice 🌱 This report from the European Environment Agency considers how justice is tackled in the policies which are currently in place to deliver the European Green Deal. It summarises the lessons learned for policy-makers seeking to achieve a fair green transition, by moving from the concept of justice to the practice of embedding fairness in the design and implementation of policies. 📝 Do you want to know more? Read the report below, or visit this link: https://lnkd.in/ekEhb3w8. ✍🏼 The report features contributions from Utrecht University Copernicus Institute and Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning researchers Flor Avelino 🟥, Kristina Bogner 🟥 , Katinka Wijsman, PhD, Clara Uría Weis, Alex Myerson, Sanne Akerboom, Niki Frantzeskaki, Agni Kalfagianni, Esther F. Jansen, Toon Meelen, Elena Fumagalli, Nikolett Puskas and Arianna Paterino.

Speakers: -Hugo André Costa — Executive Board Member, Portuguese Space Agency. -Mark Dickinson — Deputy CTO & Vice President, Space Segment, Viasat.-Walter Everetts — Vice President, Space and Ground Services, Iridium. -Rebecca Evernden — Director for Space, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. - Valda Vikmanis Keller — Director of the Office of Space Affairs, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US Department of State Moderator: Dr. Peter Martinez — Executive Director, Secure World Foundation replay juin 2023 "There is a growing focus on the importance of sustainability for resolving global challenges, and this has given rise to many different initiatives from governments, the private sector and civil society. Space is critical to addressing these challenges, but space activities themselves now face increasing sustainability challenges as well. This session highlighted both the value of space capabilities for global sustainability and the challenges of space sustainability. The session also addressed the space component of the upcoming UN “Summit of the Future” from a sustainability perspective." https://lnkd.in/e8-E-32A

As we dive into 2024, I’m thrilled to share some exciting updates from my work at Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij (Flanders Environment Agency): 🌍 EU-Funded Projects: - VMM is now actively involved in 20 ongoing projects supported by EU funding. 80% of these initiatives already stem from the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2020-2027. 💡 Recent Achievements: - Over the past six months, ALL 10 initiatives submitted for evaluation with VMM as a (lead) partner received approval. This success translates to an additional €2.9 million in EU subsidies, empowering us to invest in impactful actions that enhance Flanders’ climate resilience. 🌊 Weerbaar Dommelland: - A standout project in our portfolio is the new Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland project "Weerbaar Dommelland". As project lead, VMM collaborates with regional and local water managers, businesses, and stakeholders. Together, we are implementing a comprehensive package of climate adaptation measures along the cross-border Dommel river basin - from Peer (VL) to Eindhoven (NL). 🌧️ 📈 Driving Positive Change: - Let’s connect if you share similar interests or want to explore collaboration opportunities ...and remember: a pretty face next to yours never hurts! 😎

🌍💧 Want to know how different biogeographical regions are adapting to the changing climate, especially to water scarcity? Join us for EU Green Week and dive into the latest insights! 🌿 Don't miss the chance to listen to our experts from IMPETUS as they share innovative solutions and strategies. Let's make a difference together! 🌱✨ #EUGreenWeek #ClimateChange #WaterScarcity #Sustainability #WaterWiseEU