The SCO at the GEO Symposium 2026: Earth Intelligence and the 17th Steering Committee

Published on 04/06/2026

As part of an ever-stronger partnership, the SCO honored GEO at its GEO Symposium from 26 to 28 May 2026. On the agenda: a community event on the challenges and benefits of Earth Intelligence and the 17th International Steering Committee.

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Many fruitful discussions throughout the GEO Symposium. © SCO

27 May: Earth Intelligence, a response to climate challenges

A community event co-organized by the SCO and SatCen (European Union Satellite Centre), this session focused on the links between security, climate change and societal resilience, viewed through a very specific lens: Earth Intelligence, which aims to transform data into actionable intelligence (see box).

Moderated by the SCO and SatCen, the session began with a strategic framework presented by Sergio Albani (SatCen). To shed light on the issues at stake, Ines Mendes (SatCen) presented the space-security vision, whilst Frédéric Bretar (SCO/CNES) illustrated the SCO’s operational solutions.

Earth Intelligence transforms raw data into actionable insights by integrating Earth and social sciences, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and local and indigenous knowledge. It thus ensures that data is accessible, understandable and useful to decision-makers at all levels.

👉 Read more on the GEO website

A panel of experts then explored the practical applications of Earth Intelligence from a variety of perspectives:

Thibault Valentin (European Commission) provided a political and programmatic perspective,
Pascal Peduzzi (UNEP) shared his expertise in environmental analysis and data management,
Dimitris Mentis (World Resources Institute) explained how research can inform decision-making,
Hugo Avilés (Instituto Geográfico Militar, Ecuador) spoke about his experience as an end-user.

28 May: 17th International Steering Committee

Chaired by GISTDA (Thailand), demonstrating the Thai space agency’s active engagement within the SCO, some twenty member organizations and partners gathered in Geneva, either in person or via videoconference, to review the alliance’s progress and map out the next steps. This meeting provided an opportunity to review the actions undertaken since the adoption of the 2025–2027 Work Programme, whilst preparing for major upcoming events.

👉 A busy start to 2026

Since the approval of its Work Programme last November, the SCO has stepped up its initiatives to consolidate its impact:

Boosting visibility: the Global Awareness working group has continued to work on a series of initiatives (webinars, annual report, communication campaigns) to raise awareness of the SCO’s activities and results.
Growth in accredited projects: A new wave of projects has been approved, with a notable increase in contributions from international partners, confirming the network’s growing appeal.
An unmissable event: The SCO World Virtual Congress is the SCO’s new international event. It will take place during the second week of COP31 (16-20 November 2026) and will highlight various regional climate challenges, featuring presentations by SCO members and their network, as well as demonstrations of SCO projects. More information to follow, so stay tuned!
A summit not to be missed: The Space Summit, scheduled for September 2026, promises to be a highlight for the SCO.

👉 Next stop: Antalya

Steering Committee members will meet in Antalya (Turkey) in October 2026 during the IAC to continue discussions.