Location: Ponta Delgada | AÇORES
Dates: 2 | 3 October 2025
Venue: Teatro Micaelense
>> PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR REGISTRATION BY SEPTEMBER 18 USING THIS FORM
>> CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD LOGISTIC NOTES
08h30: Registration: Teatro Micaelense, Ponta Delgada
09h00: Welcome and Introduction
José Manuel Bolieiro | President of the Azores Government
David Pérez-Dionis Chinea | General Director for Organizational Coordination and Strategic Projects, Government of the Canary Islands
Thierry Cotelle | President of NEREUS09h30: Keynote
“New Space for multiple challenges: Resilience & Sustainability”
Miguel Bello | Chairman of the Board at OrbexSESSION 1 | CIVIL PROTECTION
09h50: Panel: CLIMATE CHANGE
Long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns, where satellite technologies play a key role in monitoring environmental changes, supporting risk assessment, and informing regional strategies for resilience and adaptation.
Moderator: Lorenzo Calabri | Project Manager, Area Research & Innovation ART-ER
“Heat Island Vulnerability in Urban Areas”
Mario Ancilli | Head of the Geographic and Environmental Information System Department, Environment, Energy and land Planning Directorate of Piemonte Region
Giorgio Pelassa | Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Environment, Energy and land Planning Directorate of Piemonte Region“Earth Observation for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation in Bavaria”
Tanja Kraus | German Aerospace Center – German Remote Sensing Data Center“Communicate the Climate Risk with Earth Observation Data”
Marco Folegani | Managing partner at MEEO – Meteorological Environmental Earth Observation (Emilia-Romagna)“Ensemble Drought-Impact Dashboard: Enhancing Regional Civil Protection through Satellite-Based Land Data Assimilation”
Luis Gustavo Gonçalves | CMCC – Emilia-Romagna Region10h40: Coffee Break
11h00: Panel: EXTREME EVENTS
Severe natural occurrences such as storms, floods, and heatwaves, where satellite technologies support early warning systems, real-time monitoring, and coordinated response efforts to minimize risks and enhance regional preparedness.
Moderator: TBD
“Enhancing Civil Protection through Satellite-based Digital Twins: SaferPlaces Experience in the Emilia-Romagna 2024 Flood Events”
Stefano Bagli | CEO at GECOsistema/Saferplaces“Satellite data and technologies to support the State Fire Service of Poland and firefighters of the Podkarpackie Region during the flood in Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie”
Mateusz Telesz | Deputy Head of the IT and Communications Department of the Regional Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Rzeszów“Lessons Learned from the “Satellite-Based Services for Disaster Risk Management” Workshop in Catalonia”
Estefania Blanch | Earth Observation project manager at Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya“Piloting the Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service in Catalonia: Improving Community Resilience through Satellite-Based Alerts”
Cristina Moreno Vicente | Head of Operations at the Civil Protection Directorate in the Catalan Government11h50: Panel: NATURAL HAZARDS
Threats like earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires, where satellite data is essential for hazard detection, risk mapping, and supporting timely response and recovery efforts at regional and local levels.
Moderator: Artur Gil | Vice-Rector for Science, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer – University of the Azores
“Changing firefighting strategies thanks to new early detection capabilities offered by Robust Satellite Techniques”
Valerio Tramutol | University of Basilicata – Department of Engineering (UNIBAS-DiING)
Nicola Pergola | National Research Council – Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analyses (CNR-IMAA)“The Role of NewSpace in Strengthening Disaster Risk Management: Catalonia’s Strategy and Use Cases”
Estefania Blanch | Earth Observation project manager at Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya“Remote sensing to assess drought effects on UNESCO World Heritage areas in Veneto Region: the case of Palladio’s Venetian Villas”
Carlo Masetto | Veneto Region, Spatial Planning Directorate – GIS & Remote Sensing Specialist
Umberto Trivelloni | Veneto Region, Spatial Planning Directorate – GIS & Cartography Technical Lead“No Net Land Take Observatory: A Decision-Support Tool for Urban Planning in Coastal Risk Areas”
TBC | CLS, Occitanie12h40: (Q&A)
13h00: LUNCH
14h00: Keynote
“EU-Space Package 2025 – what are the benefits for regions?”
Paul Flament | Head of the Unit “Satellite Navigation” in DG DEFIS – European CommissionSESSION 2 | BLUE ECONOMY
14h20: INTRODUCTION
“The Copernicus Space Component: current status and perspectives for maritime applications”
Alessandra Tassa | Copernicus User Expert in ESA’s Directorate of Earth Observation Programs
14h30: Panel: OCEAN GOVERNANCE & SAFETY
Ocean challenges and how satellite-based technologies can be used to manage marine resources, ensure maritime safety, monitor marine environments, and address challenges such as illegal fishing, pollution, and climate impacts on coastal infrastructure.
Moderator: TBD
”AIMOS – Azores Integrated Modeling for Ocean Sustainability”
Francisco Campuzano (TBC) | IICMar-OKEANOS, University of the Azores“PLOCAN Test Bank: Boosting the Blue Economy with Remote Sensing Technologies”
Jose Joaquin Hernandez Brito | CEO of PLOCAN – Plataforma Oceanica de Canarias“The Mid Atlantic Ocean challenges in the human and environmental risks prevention”
Óscar Bergasa López | Secretary of the Atlantic Association for Maritime Emergencies“Governance Challenges in the Largest MPA Network of the North Atlantic”
Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu | Blue Azores“Coastal Crete: A Digital Twin of the Ocean for Near Real-Time Oil Spill Detection and Early Warning of Maritime Pollution”
Marco Folegani | Owner, co-founder and managing partner at MEEO Slr and SISTEMA GmbH“Best Practices for Whale Detection from Satellites in the Blue Economy”
André Valente | Reseracher at the Atlantic Internacional Research Centre – AIR Centre15h60: Coffee Break
16h20: Panel: COASTAL MANAGEMENT & MARINE TOURISM
Sustainable tourism activities along coasts and in marine environments, supported by satellite technologies that help monitor environmental conditions, ensure safety, and manage the impacts of climate change and human activity.
Moderador: TBD
“Atlantic SENSE: Geospatial Information for Climate Resilience and Environmental Monitoring – the case for smart coastal management”
Pedro Almeida | Colab+ Atlantic, Portugal“Empowering Coastal Communities through Earth Observation and Local Knowledge”
Christos Kontopoulos | CTO – Geosystems Hellas“Preliminary results on Biodiversity indicators and Science-based tools to set conservation objectives in Macaronesia”
Débora Gutierrez | Researcher at the University of the Azores – Faculty of Science and Technology (Blue Connect project)“How whale-watching tourism in the Azores contributes to cetacean monitoring”
Laura González García | Researcher at Institute of Marine Sciences – OKEANOS (University of the Azores) and Scientific & Technical Coordinator at Futurismo Azores Adventures17h30: Panel: MARINE FISHERIES & AQUACULTURE
Sustainable harvesting and farming of marine species, with satellite technologies aiding in resource monitoring, detecting illegal activities, and supporting ecosystem-based management practices.
Moderator: TBD
“Madeira Coastal Insight Service”
Alexandra Rosa | ARDITI – Madeira Region«others TBC»
18h15: Q&A | Conclusion of Day 1
19h30: Social Dinner (Solar da Graça)
Welcome speech by the President of the Azores Government
Handover Ceremony
José Manuel Bolieiro | President of the Azores Government
Marina Silverii | Executive Director of the Innovation Agency – Emilia Romagna
Thierry Cotelle | President of NEREUS
08h30: Registration: Teatro Micaelense, Ponta Delgada
09h00: Welcome
Paulo Estêvão | Regional Secretary of Parliamentary Affairs and Communities – Azores Government
Vito Bardi | President of Basilicata Region and Vice-President of NEREUS
09h20: KEYNOTE
“Leveraging the potential of European remote and outermost regions for the New Space economy”
Ricardo Conde | President of the Portuguese Space AgencySESSION 3 | DEFENSE & SECURITY
09h40: Panel: DEFENSE
How do satellite technologies support real-time surveillance, secure communications, and strategic decision-making in the defence of regions against military and security threats.
Moderator: TBD
“Fighting organized crime through the use of satellite and pseudo-satellite systems”
José Manuel Colodras | Spanish National Police“The Role of Commercial EO in National Defence and Resilience”
João Bentes de Jesus | Head of Institutional Affairs at Geosat«others TBC»
10h50: Coffee Break
11h10: Panel: COMMUNICATIONS & CYBERSECURITY
Securing digital networks and communication systems, where satellite technologies help maintain reliable connections in remote or crisis areas and support the protection of critical data against cyber threats.
Moderator: Carlos Romero Moreno | ESA BIC Madrid Region Manager
“Basilicata Region’s Cybersecurity Measures for Digital Administration under Italy’s Recovery Plan”
Michele Busciolano | Director General of the Digital Administration Department, Basilicata Region“Free-space optical communications: The IAClink facility between the islands of La Palma and Tenerife in the Canary Islands”
Carlos Colodro-Conde | Space Engineering Department – Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)“Beyond GPS: Strengthening Synchronization Resilience of Critical Networks in Unstable Times”
João Beleza Vaz | Chairman of the Emergency Communications Planning Committee and Director of the National Communications Authority – Azores Delegation«others TBC»
11h50: Panel: CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES
Securing essential systems such as energy grids, transport networks, and communication systems, where satellite technologies assist in monitoring, protecting, and ensuring their resilience against physical and cyber threats.
Moderator: Tiago Peres | Portuguese Space Agency
“Application of persistent flights using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and high-altitude pseudo satellites (HAPS) for security and safety solutions”
Eduardo Pereira | CEO of Parque Tecnologico de Fuerteventura«others TBC»
12h40: Q&A
13h00: Closing session
13h15: Social Programme TBA, including lunch.
