As part of the launch of the Digital Alliance between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, RedCLARA and the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) signed an agreement to promote the adoption, training, deployment and promotion of the Earth Observation Strategy in the region.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to deploy the Earth Observation Strategy presented in November 2022 in Montevideo, Uruguay, which includes efforts of the European Union Earth Observation Programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the Earth Observation Framework for the Americas, AmeriGEO, and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

The agreement was signed by RedCLARA, and its member networks RNP (Brasil), CEDIA (Ecuador), REUNA (Chile), CUDI (México), RENATA (Colombia), RedCONARE (Costa Rica), RAGIE (Guatemala) y RAU (Uruguay). The entities form the Coordination Committee responsible for cooperation principles and conditions and strengthen RedCLARA and its members, promoting the participation of all of them. Furthermore, the Committe will approve the  incorporation of new academic networks from Latin American and Caribbean countries into the MoU.

“RedCLARA and the national networks beleive that earth observation is highly worth for all the institutions and for the countries", highlighted Laura Castellana, Coordinator of Academic Projects and responsible for this MoU on behalf of RedCLARA.

The agreement stipulates cooperation over the next two years related  sharing new innovation, science and technology knowledge from GEO, AmeriGEO and Copernicus to the NRENs and their institutions. At the same time, activities related to implementate the Regional Copernicus Academy and the coordination of training and capacity building in the region.

Other cooperations areas are support to learning communities, with the strengthening of the working group on earth observation, and the articulation for the design of innovation, science and technology curricula. Relevants activities also include capacities and needs surveys, the creation of curricula, the development of training programmes and the support the stregthening and outreach of the AmeriGEO Inter-American academy.

"This agreement is an example of the enormous potential of this regional collaboration to support the digital alliance Europe-Latin America goals. The agreement aims to Latin American national research and education networks contribute to identifying and articulate capacity building and training opportunities associated with earth monitoring, using Copernicus data and resources," concluded Luis Eliécer Cadenas, RedCLARA executive director.