Posted on: November 28, 2013

The aim of the competition is to promote the use of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in agriculture and its benefits to farmers, consumers, food security and geo-traceability, remote sensing technologies, sustainable land management, and the environment.

If you are based in Europe or Africa and if you have innovative ideas for the more extensive use of satellite technologies (in particular related to EGNOS and GALILEO) in agriculture to improve production, efficiency, profitability and to reduce environmental impact, you are invited to subscribe to this competition. Entries can be about any type of agriculture in any part of Europe or Africa. You don’t need to be a satellite specialist to take part and you don’t have to be a farmer! But the idea you come up with must apply to agriculture, food production or land use, and it must use satellite services to provide benefits

The prize for 2013 / 2014 is of  €5,000, €3,000 and €1,000 for the respective first, second and third placed teams/individuals. Furthermore a special prize of €4.000 is dedicated to Africa. The last date for the submission of entries is fixed to the 14th April 2014, 17:00 CET.

For subscription and for any further details on this competition, please see the farming by satellite website.

Posted on: November 04, 2013

Participants to the event, chaired by Prof. Refaat Chaabouni, Professor Emeritus at the National School of Engineering of Tunis (front row, centre)

ASECNA in conjunction with the European Commission (EC) organised on October 1st, 2013, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, an event in order to initiate and boost the process towards an appropriate financing scheme structure for the pan-African satellite navigation infrastructure deployment.

The Africa-European Union (EU) cooperation on satellite navigation has been expedited in the last few years, and the first step towards the provision of satellite navigation services in Africa has been undertaken. This was built upon the adoption of the Second Action Plan (2011-2013) to implement the joint Africa-EU Strategy, several 2010 political declarations, and the 2011-12 funding decisions by the European Commission (DG DEVCO) and the Africa-EU Infrastructure Trust Fund (ITF). In particular, under the auspices of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Secretariat and of the EC, a Joint Programme Office (JPO) is currently being set up in Dakar with the mission to manage the future activities of the pan-African satellite navigation infrastructure deployment (cf. former news).

Indeed, from 2014 on, the next phase of the programme is to be undertaken with the deployment of the actual system infrastructure, its certification and exploitation. In order to face these next challenges, funding has to be sought out and a proper financial structuring to be prepared.
The event took place in this context and gathered African and European financing institutions and institutional stakeholders among which, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD), Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale (BDEAC), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), Commission Africaine de l’Aviation Civile (CAFAC), Communauté Economique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC), Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), South African National Space Agency (SANSA).

Through several work sessions, the event has been an opportunity for the participants to get information about the initiative of the satellite navigation infrastructure deployment in Africa and on its expected benefits, to be informed of the related financing requirements, to make their own contribution to the discussions on the financing scheme in the light of its pan-African dimension, and to agree on the way forward.

Last but not least, the participants expressed their interest and willingness to further support the initiative through a joint Declaration of Intent and agreed on the need to push forward the works thus initiated. A follow-up event is already planned to take place in Africa, first trimester 2014.

Posted on: October 09, 2013

The SAFIR[1] (Satellite navigation services for AFrIcan Region) project under the EU-Africa Common Strategy as well as the Joint EU-Africa Partnership is pleased to announce that:

1. The receipt deadline of the applications for the following posts has been extended of two weeks:

• 2 GNSS[2] Experts
• 1 Aviation Application Expert
• 1 Operation Expert
• 1 Other Applications Expert

Applications must now be submitted by 14 October 2013 (6:00 pm UT) at the latest and sent simultaneously by e-mail to the 3 Experts of the SAFIR Project Implementation Team (PIT): oturcas@orange.fr; anne-laure.vogel@egis.fr; ayinahug@asecna.org

2. Experts from African ACP countries (including South Africa) are eligible and can apply for the 5 open posts of the JPO.

The 5 vacancy notices with the application form are posted on the following websites:

• http://www.acpsec.org/
• http://www.asecna.aero/rh_offres.php

The missions of the EGNOS-Africa Joint Programme Office are to define the baseline and to oversee the subsequent implementation phase for the specification and procurement of the development and deployment of GNSS/EGNOS in Africa.
The personnel of the JPO will include ten staff members after the two phases of recruitment.

All the JPO staffs are trained in Trieste (Italy) before their entry on duty by the sister Project TREGA (TRaining for EGnos in Africa) led by UNESCO/ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics).

Download the full announcement by SAPHIR here, in English and in French.

[1] The SAFIR project is funded by the European Union and awarded by the ACP Group of States to an International Consortium led by ASECNA (Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar) with Egis, Pildo Labs and ESSP

[2] Global Navigation Satellite System

Posted on: August 26, 2013

Applications have already been received for the first five positions of the EGNOS-Africa Joint Programme Office (JPO):

• JPO Director,
• JPO Deputy Director,
• GNSS Programme Manager,
• Certification/ Safety Expert
• Legal/Economic Expert

The SAFIR PIT (Project Implementation Team) has selected 10 candidates who are attending the 1st training session in Trieste (Italy) delivered by the sister project TREGA led by UNESCO/ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics).

This training has started on 15 July 2013 for 3 weeks and addresses managerial issues. At the conclusion of the training, a second evaluation process will take place in September 2013 in order to finalise the selection procedure of the first five positions of the JPO for an entry in duty on October 2013.

Download the SAPHIR news here, in English and in French.

Posted on: April 17, 2013

The SAFIR (Satellite navigation services for AFrIcan Region) project under the EU-Africa Common Strategy as well as the Joint EU-Africa Partnership is holding its first Working Session in Dakar (Senegal) on 22/23/24 May 2013. The 3-day workshop dedicated to EGNOS2 awareness and technical aspects will focus on:

• The EGNOS initiatives in Africa,
• The set-up of the EGNOS-Africa Joint Programme Office (JPO) by SAFIR,
• The other Working Sessions organised by SAFIR in 2013 and 2014,
• EGNOS V3 system performances (system requirements).

SAFIR will cover the costs (air transport, meals and accommodation) of twenty attendees including:

• Representatives of African stakeholders concerned with GNSS applications invited directly by the SAFIR Project Implementation Team (PIT),
• Other African experts who may apply directly in e-mailing before 28 April (6 pm UT) a motivation letter plus a CV to the 3 Key Experts of the PIT: oturcas@orange.fr; anne-laure.vogel@egis.fr; ayinahug@asecna.org

Logistic Information and detailed agenda will be given in due time to the participants selected by the PIT and approved by the ACP Secretariat and the European Commission.

For further information, please contact: Olivier TURCAS SAFIR Team Leader oturcas@orange.fr Mob: +221 77 528 69 63 +33607 045217

Download the full press release here, in English and in French.