EU joins Philippine Space Week 2026 with Earth observation training

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

MANILA — The European Union will take part in the Philippine Space Week for the third time this year, contributing a series of Earth observation training sessions and a public exhibit booth to the national celebration running from Aug. 8 to 14 under the theme “Navigating Tomorrow.”

The Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines announced its participation in a statement issued on Aug. 5.

The EU said its contribution draws on Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the bloc’s space program, which operates in the country through the National Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines, or CopPhil.

According to the delegation, the partnership established the first Copernicus Data Centre in Southeast Asia in the Philippines, a facility the EU said is now developing into a regional center.

Four technical activities make up the EU contribution.

Training on Earth observation land cover and forest mapping with the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority ran on Aug. 5 and 6 at the NAMRIA offices in Taguig City.

A session on ground motion monitoring with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology follows on Aug. 10 in Quezon City.

On Aug. 12, the EU will convene an interagency workshop at the University of the Philippines Diliman titled “Strengthening EU-Philippines Earth Observation Collaboration: Lessons from CopPhil Towards PhilSA’s Co-Development Framework,” alongside an information and planning session on the EU-Philippines Digital Economy Package jointly organized by the EU and Finland.

Crop mapping training with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management of the Department of Agriculture closes the series on Aug. 13 in Quezon City.

The public-facing component falls on Aug. 9, when the EU CopPhil booth opens at the Philippine Space Week Exhibit at Quantum Skyview, Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, in Quezon City.

The EU and the Philippine Space Agency will also host a careers panel that day from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., titled “Pathways in the Philippine Space Sector: Careers in Earth Observation,” organized with the Space Generation Advisory Council.

The delegation said the panel is intended to encourage students and young professionals to consider work in the Earth observation and space sectors.

The EU Copernicus Philippines program is funded by a grant of EUR 10 million, which the delegation valued at PHP 624 million, in partnership with PhilSA and the Department of Science and Technology.

Implementation is handled by the European Space Agency, with the engineering firm Stantec identified as a co-implementer in program materials, under the EU Global Gateway Strategy.

The delegation described the program as supporting the adoption of European Earth observation technology by local public administrations, institutions, and companies for disaster prevention, environmental protection, and natural resource management.

CopPhil consists of three elements: the Copernicus data centre itself; pilot Earth observation services covering ground motion monitoring, land cover, forest and crop mapping, and marine environment monitoring; and capacity-building and educational support.

Philippine Space Week is observed every Aug. 8 to 14 under Proclamation No. 302, series of 2023, which fixed the dates to coincide with the enactment of the Philippine Space Act on Aug. 8, 2019.

CopPhil was launched in April 2023 as a flagship initiative under the EU Global Gateway, and the Copernicus Data Centre was inaugurated at PhilSA headquarters in Quezon City in October 2024.

For Western Visayas, the technical themes carry direct application: ground motion monitoring bears on landslide and subsidence risk across Panay and Negros, while crop and land cover mapping feeds agricultural planning in a region where rice and sugar remain economic anchors.

Copernicus data is distributed free and openly, meaning provincial and municipal governments outside Metro Manila can in principle access the same satellite products used by national agencies, provided they have the technical staff to process them.

Media inquiries may be directed to the Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines at Delegation-Philippines-PPI@eeas.europa.eu.