In November 2019, Ministers from GEO’s 105 Member governments, business leaders, heads of international non-profits and passionate experts met in Canberra, Australia for GEO Week 2019 and the GEO Ministerial Summit.

Canberra means ‘meeting place’ in Ngunnawal, the local indigenous language. Recognizing the history of the land and its traditional custodians, GEO Week brought together diverse people and cultures to support and sustain our planet and communities.

Building on the 2015 Mexico City Declaration, GEO Week focused on accelerating the delivery of GEO’s Strategic Plan and brought the GEO community together to scale-up the impact of Earth observations.

The week’s events ensured that data about our planet becomes a core input to strategic decision making and key to day-to-day economic, environmental and development decisions.

An investment that delivers big returns

All economic and business decisions must now consider how the planet is changing, and Earth observation data can improve our economies from top to bottom. GEO Week 2019 and the GEO Ministerial Summit highlighted how investments in Earth observation make this possible, delivering major returns on investment to our economies and communities.

Global impact on global agendas

Participants explored how the integration of Earth observation data into our digital economies is key to driving progress on the big three global policy frameworks: the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.