WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Note: All plenary presentations were video-taped and these videos will be made available through the workshop web page.

Program Overview: During the first day, the opening session set the stage for the workshop, and in a plenary session the MDGs were introduced together with the urgent science questions related to the MDGs and global sustainability. During the morning of the second day, two plenary sessions reviewed ongoing research related to the MDGs, the grand challenges, and the Future Earth initiative, and considered to what extent Earth observation provide support for the research needed to reach these goals. The two plenary sessions during the afternoon focused on GEO and GEOSS by considering the alignment of the GEOSS Strategic Targets with the MDGs and global sustainability research, and by demonstrating how GEOSS supports research for the MDGs and the Future Earth Initiative. On the third day, breakout sessions developed actions towards reaching the MDGs and addressing the grand challenges now and post-2015 in four broad areas: environmental sustainability and poverty, biodiversity, food and water security, and health. A fifth breakout session addressed issues related to the science-policy and science-public interfaces. The remaining plenary sessions of the third day reviewed the outcome of the breakout sessions, and developed a draft workshop statement. Finally, on Friday morning, two sessions developed drafts for an action plan for the next three years and a draft paper providing input for the Post-2015 GEO discussion.