The preliminary programme of the 16th EUMETSAT User Forum in Africa (EUFA) includes an Opening Ceremony, an Introductory and eight technical sessions, and a Technical visit.

First, a Working group sessions will be organised on Monday morning and will feature presentations and open discussions on the new PUMA-2025 and Climate Stations, including their deployment. A second topic of this session will be the data access to EUMETSAT data and the training.

The Opening ceremony will include two keynote presentations on the progress of implementation of the GMES&Africa Marine and Coastal service and the Intra-ACP Climate Services and related applications programme (ClimSA) in Africa. The outcome of the high level meeting (upon invitation only) will be presented during the Opening Ceremony. 

This ceremony will be followed by the review of the recommendations from the 15-EUFA and also from the online Technical sessions (June, 2024) and the working group sessions of the Monday morning.

First session: the first session is dedicated to the presentation of the status of the various EUMETSAT programmes and activities: MSG, EPS, Jason, EPS-SG, SAFs. This session will also include a special emphasis on the transition to Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites as well as access to EUMETSAT data.

Second session: the second session will focus on the contribution of EUMETSAT satellite to Multi-Hazard Early Warning System in Africa. Discussion will include activities at regional or national level including the establishment of an African Meteorological Application Facility / Network (AMSAF/N). 

Third session: the third session will be organised in splinter sessions per region (REC) and will concentrate on discussions on the regional approach and priorities for implementing activities related to Space in support to Early Warning System (MTG-AMSAN). 

Fourth session: the fourth session will cover Earth Observation projects and initiatives, more specifically focussing on practical applications for agricultural (session #4a) as well as spatial hydrology for water management (session #4b).

Fifth session:the fifth session will focus on the use of EO data to monitor atmospheric composition (session #5a) and CO2 emissions (session #5b). 

Sixth session: the sixth session will be dedicated to Sciences, Education and Youth, providing an opportunity to further discuss link between universities and NMHS, between research and operational work. This session will also include the announcement of the Winner(s) of the “Eyes on Africa: Youth challenge”.

Seventh session: the seventh session will focus on Blue economy. This session will address satellite applications for Marine and Great Lake, focusing on the access and use of the Copernicus Sentinel-3, the OSI-SAF and the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service.

Eighth session: the eighth and final session will review and adopt the recommendations formulated during the Forum.

A technical visit will take place on Wednesday afternoon. Further details will be provided. 

Sessions #2, #4, #5, #6 and #7 are an opportunity for users in Africa to demonstrate the applications of satellite data in their daily activities, including those coming from continental initiatives (e.g GMES & Africa, ClimSA).  These sessions will be open for contributions.