1. Brent Smith, NOAA, and CEOS rep to GEO Ministerial WG SIT-30 Agenda Item # 5 30 th CEOS SIT Meeting CNES Headquarters, Paris, France 31 st March – 1 st April 2015 Committee on Earth Observation Satellites GEO Ministerial Planning and Related Topics

2. SIT-30 CNES Headquarters, Paris, France 31 st March – 1 st April 2015 2 First meeting of the GEO Ministerial WG, took place, January 20-21, in Geneva. Brent Smith represented CEOS. This WG is tasked to organize the 2015 GEO Ministerial to immediately follow the 2015 GEO Plenary. Mexico in absence of other bidders had indicated its interest in hosting Plenary/Ministerial, with “GEO Week” November 9-13. The host agency will be Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia (INEGI). The November 11-12 Plenary, Exhibition and side events will be in a Hilton Hotel and the November 13 Ministerial will be in the auditorium of the nearby Foreign Ministry. The Ministerial WG will have its second meeting, April 8-10, on site at the venue in Mexico City and will meet again in Washington, DC in mid-September with many virtual interactions also already underway.

3. SIT-30 CNES Headquarters, Paris, France 31 st March – 1 st April 2015 3 Ministerial WG has initially focused on development of: --an Information Note inviting Ministers to attend November GEO Ministerial; --the Ministerial Declaration; --a Preliminary Communications Plan for the Ministerial and GEO Week; and --an Update from the Ministerial WG to the March 19-20 ExCom. The UN Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) Forum, originally planned for Mexico City in September, is being moved to coincide with the GEO Plenary/Ministerial, earlier in the week at the same venue as the Plenary. The Latin American Geospatial Forum will similarly be held at the same venue on Tuesday, November 10. Having all these meetings together should enhance prospects for attracting exhibitors for the Exhibition but might present challenges in scheduling GEO Board/other side meetings early in the week. There should be great opportunities for CEOS-related side events in connection with GEO Week, November 9-13, in Mexico City.

4. SIT-30 CNES Headquarters, Paris, France 31 st March – 1 st April 2015 4 Suggest that a concerted internal CEOS strategy is required in preparation for the 2015 GEO Plenary and Ministerial, and that SIT-30 call upon CEOS Agencies and their Principals to engage as needed. In connection with organizing the November GEO Ministerial, with information to be shared to prospective invitees (Ministers) in the April time frame, helpful if a SIT Action can request CEOS Principals to identify by 10 April Ministers in their respective countries who might specifically be considered to receive the Information Note that the Mexican Government/GEO Secretariat will be sending in advance of formal invitations. CEOS Principals should of course consult with respective National GEO Principals in identifying candidate Ministers and thereafter ensure that they become conversant with GEO and with the merits of space-based Earth observation.