Stars and STEM Stories
2011 Europe & Eurasia GLOBE Annual Conference in Kiev, Ukraine
The Europe & Eurasia GLOBE Annual Conference and national training event was held from 1-6 June in the National Ecology and Nature Center in Kiev, Ukraine. Representatives from 20 countries including Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, U.K., U.S. and Ukraine attended to discuss future regional activities for GLOBE and exchange ideas.
The meeting was opened by Mr. Volodymyr Verbytskiy, GLOBE Ukraine Country Coordinator and Director of the Ukrainian National Ecology and Nature Center, with the help of his deputy Ms. Victoriia Taranenko and their assistant Ms. Kateryna Serednytska. Representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment expressed their thoughts on the importance of the GLOBE Program for science, education and international collaboration.
The GLOBE Europe-Eurasia leadership team discussed new plans for the region, including preparations for the GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign (SCRC). A training workshop also took place to prepare international participants as well as regional coordinators from almost every region across Ukraine to participate in GLOBE regional activities as well as in the international Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) associated with the SCRC. Another highlight of the meeting was a new website displaying Meteosat images together with GLOBE student measurements, showcased by a representative of the European Space Agency. This presentation demonstrated the unique ability to combine professional satellite data with GLOBE student measurements, which GLOBE Europe hopes to expand in the future by collaborating with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) partners in the region.
During the meeting Dr. Andy Tasker stepped down as United Kingdom Country Coordinator and Chairman of the European Regional Board GLOBE International Advisory Committee, and formally announced acceptance of his new position as Director of the GLOBE Program Office. The audience thanked him with a standing ovation and enthusiastic round of applause for his years of dedication to the development of GLOBE in the Europe-Eurasia region. Estonia Country Coordinator Dr. Kaido Reivelt was elected as a new board member. An overview of the new board can be found on the GLOBE Europe & Eurasia regional page on the GLOBE website.
Many thanks to the GLOBE Ukraine team and GLOBE Europe and Eurasia Regional Help Desk Office for organizing this gathering and employing initiatives for the future success of GLOBE in the region!
The program of the meeting as well as a very interesting report with GLOBE activities in all participating countries can be downloaded from the GLOBE Europe website.
Read about past GLOBE Europe and Eurasia Regional Meetings:
- GLOBE Europe-Eurasia Region Plans for Climate Research Campaign
- GLOBE Europe Country Coordinators Meeting in Warsaw, Poland
- GLOBE Europe Meeting in Hungary
17 June 2011