On 22 April 2025, an engaging virtual session was held to discuss the role of Regional and National Research and Education Networks (RRENs and NRENs) in supporting Earth Observation (EO) research. The session brought together representatives from the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), RedCLARA, ASREN and GÉANT. This event was part of the Infoshare Series on Earth Observation Support Through NRENs and highlighted the policy framework, infrastructure support and collaborative efforts of RRENs and NRENs in enabling Earth Observation research around the world.
The session emphasised the relevance of Earth Observation research and the valuable support of NRENs in enabling massive data exchange and access, and the role of RRENs in the international support to these research activities. These networks facilitate the high-speed, secure transmission of data between instruments, satellites, research institutions, and application partners across borders. They have also been actively engaged in promoting the field and advancing EO capacity development through trainings, knowledge sharing and hackathons in the field.
Introducing the Group on Earth Observations
Paola De Salvo (GEO), introduced the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), a global initiative working since 2005 to promote open data and open knowledge in Earth Observation. In the presentation, she emphasised the need for democratising access to EO data and illustrated how collaborative infrastructures and services are key to achieving GEO’s mission of delivering Earth intelligence for all. Additionally, she highlighted the value of the GEO Knowledge Hub, a digital library supporting global reuse of EO data and solutions.
GEO fosters collaboration across governments, academia, and civil society to tackle environmental challenges like climate change and food security. GEO’s evolving infrastructure prioritises accessibility, reuse, and impact, guided by open licenses. The challenges for the community include the alignment of national and global EO services and the promotion of harmonised access for different types of data services, where GÉANT is providing support through trust and identity solutions.
Katowice Declaration
Chris Atherton (GÉANT) discussed the Katowice Declaration, a significant step taken by regional RENs to formally acknowledge and align their efforts toward enhancing Earth Observation research. The declaration emphasises the collective responsibility that National and Regional Research and Education Networks have in supporting EO science through cooperation. The presentation also covered GÉANT’s work to support the EO community by delivering international and intercontinental connectivity, specialised support and trust and identity services.
ASREN
Yousef Torman (ASREN), representing the Arab States Research and Education Networks, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to advancing Earth Observation through regional collaboration and infrastructure development in the Arab region. He emphasised ASREN’s early involvement in GEO and its role in catalysing cooperation across African networks via projects like AfricaConnect3. Highlighting the importance for NRENs to evolve beyond connectivity into active engagement with scientific communities, he outlined the idea of establishment of an ArabGEO group in the context of the Group on Earth Observations and the need for a regional open science cloud. Particular emphasis was also placed on the importance of key initiatives such as Medusa and the AfricaConnect projects, and on boosting high-speed connectivity and service development to better serve scientific and research needs across the region.
RedCLARA
Mark Urban (RedCLARA), highlighted the efforts to strengthen Earth Observation across Latin America by aligning NRENs with global initiatives like GEO and Copernicus, promoting open knowledge, and supporting innovation through promoting events like a hackathon to drive sustainable development solutions in the region. The presentation highlighted the importance of infrastructure and capacity development in EO in Latin America, and the importance of the project BELLA II on enhancing data access and connectivity between South America and Europe. RedCLARA’s role in fostering open access knowledge and international collaborations on EO was also covered, particularly through the Copernicus Academy and the participation on GEO through the AmeriGEO regional initiatives. The speaker also invited participation in AmeriGEO Week to be held in Bogotá, Colombia in August 2025 (Check the AmeriGEO website for details).
The event concluded with an open panel discussion, where speakers and attendees explored Earth Observation collaboration opportunities. Paola emphasised potential synergies between GEO and the NREN community, particularly when it comes to supporting the National GEO Knowledge Hubs in enabling national EO data sharing and training resource access. Yousef underlined the need for unity and cooperation among African clusters on EO, and highlighted the need for more regional symposiums in order to promote and foster collaboration. Participants raised questions on accessing EO capacity-building materials (links to the GEO Knowledge Hub and RedCLARA initiatives were pointed out), the GEO engagement with Asian countries, innovation competitions, and the need for more EO engagement in secondary education.
A Collaborative Path Forward for RRENs and NRENs on Earth Observations
The session demonstrated that the role of NRENs and RRENs when it comes to supporting Earth Observations research is evolving. As EO research grows in complexity and scope with international collaborations, so does the need for a well-coordinated and federated digital infrastructure. GEO’s role in uniting research efforts in Earth Observations is immensely valuable. The organisation provides a collaborative, multilateral platform that fosters data sharing, policy alignment, and joint innovation across regions.
NRENs play a vital role in providing high-capacity, reliable connectivity and digital services within countries, in this context particularly for universities and research institutions with earth observations contributions. However, in an international community like this one, the impact of the NRENs’ services is significantly amplified when regional RENs are empowered to interconnect and facilitate seamless cross-border collaboration. NRENs and RRENs are not only the providers of the technical backbone of global research collaboration but also key players in enabling the Earth Observations research community.
The Infoshare Series on Earth Observation Support Through NRENs is being coordinated by the GÉANT Research Engagement Team and the EU Liaison Team, in collaboration with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the GÉANT Special Interest Group on Research Engagement and Development (SIG-RED).
More information about the first session, including presentation slides, is available on: GÉANT Events.
