Regional Marine Centre

On May 1, 2024, the Edenway Foundation, a Partner of the Marine and Coastal Areas Management in North and West Africa (MarCNoWA) consortium, officially launched the GAIAthon ’24. This virtual launch, under the umbrella of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa (GMES & Africa) programme, signifies a major stride in integrating digital literacy into environmental sustainability efforts across Africa. Image generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI. Under the theme "Empowering Innovation through Digital Literacy", GAIAthon ’24 seeks to harness the skills of university students across the continent in Earth Observation (EO) and the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This initiative, while promoting technological education, also aligns with the African Union's declaration of 2024 as the year of education, highlighting the critical role of educational endeavours in this transformative era. The event was marked by the unveiling of the new GAIA website and a k...

The Observatory for Biodiversity and Protected Areas in West Africa (OBAPAO) has organized a five (05) day workshop in Geographic information system (GIS) for protected area managers in West Africa. The training which took place from 18th to 22nd May 2022 in Dakar, Senegal, drew 16 participants from five (5) West African countries (The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria). The participants included officers from environment protection agencies and protected area authorities. This training was a follow up to the first session was held in Conakry (Republic of Guinea) earlier this year (12th to 15th April 2022), which brought together representatives from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. Group photograph of training participants In his opening remarks, Oumar Sarr, Director of Administration and Finance (Centre de Suivi Ecologique) urged the participants to take advantage of the training to increase their knowledge in GIS and its applications. Mr. Oumar Sar...

ByteForce emerged as the 1st runner up at the final of the #OceanChallenge4Africa Hackathon organized by the Copernicus Marine Service and Mercator Ocean International in April 2022. Over 90 teams across Africa offered technological and innovative solutions to challenges that the continent is facing within the maritime domain. The challenge engaged in several pre-events, evaluating and perusing ideas from the teams and eventually selecting 35 teams for the final event. The ByteForce team tendered a solution in the topic area of "A productive ocean" leveraging data from the Copernicus Marine Service, an API of the Global Fishing Watch, EMODnet-biology and a virtual computing platform of the Copernicus access hub. Home page ByteForce application to monitor illegal fishing The mobile application detects and maps potential fishing zones and as well the activity and location of fishing vessels providing statistical information on the effort of each vessel off the coasts of Africa ...

The GMES and Africa Project at the University of Ghana's newest endeavour aims to provide mentorship and an enabling environment for Women in Technology (WIT). The campaign was launched with a visit to the Mfantsiman Girls' Senior High School, which won the second edition of the Senior High Schools' Renewable Energy Challenge 2021 for the southern zone. Prof. George Wiafe, engaging some Mfantsiman Girls To close the gender gap in technology, it is critical to educate the youth, particularly young girls and women, about the value of technology and how the Internet of Things (IoT) may be integrated into their academic, research, and future careers. “ Women are sometimes disadvantaged as they advance in their careers when they are unable to: use IoT, Big Data, and Open Sources tools, have access to mentorship or work in an enabling environment ,” says Prof. George Wiafe, Director of the Regional Marine Centre at the University of Ghana. The goal of UG-GMES' WIT program is ...

Le concours du GMES et l'Afrique "Incubation Challenge" 2021 cible les équipes ou individus ayant un grand intérêt pour la conception de solutions environnementales durables grâce à l'intelligence artificielle (IA), l'Internet des objets (IoT) et le Big Data qui pourraient avoir un impact sur les espaces marins et côtiers. Le Challenge vise à développer une culture d'innovation positive dans le domaine maritime et côtier, ainsi qu'à établir des partenariats avec des startups innovantes et des passionnés individuels. Ce concours est la plus récente innovante initiative du projet regional de GMES et l'Afrique dirigé par le consortium de l'Université du Ghana basé en Afrique de l'Ouest. Il s'agit également du 4ème concours organisé par l'Université du Ghana et ses partenaires depuis 2019. Le programme continental de "GMES et l'Afrique" est cofinancé par la Commission de l'Union africaine et la Commission européenne.  Pour...

The GMES and Africa Incubation Challenge 2021 competition targets teams or individuals with a keen interest in building sustainable environmental solutions using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data that could impact the marine and coastal spaces. The Challenge is directed at developing a positive innovation culture in the maritime and coastal domain as well as building partnerships with innovative startups and individual enthusiasts. The competition is the latest innovative initiative of the continental programme "GMES and Africa" co-funded by the African Union Commission and the European Commission and led by the University of Ghana's consortium based in West Africa. It is also the 4th competition organised by the University of Ghana and its partners since 2019.  The Challenge is open to citizens of any African country  or anyone residing in any African country. Applying teams or individuals are invited to focus their solutions on domain...

The ocean state early-warning service developed by the University of Ghana consortium offers artisanal fishermen and coastal residents three-day predictions  of ocean conditions. The service provides information and ocean state maps  in order to protect lives and property at sea from bad weather.  Ocean state forecast alert for Ghana The early warning alert is accessible via USSD shortcodes in Ghana (*920*88#) and Nigeria (*347*87#), as well as the GMES-UG mobile application available on android and iOS phones. In Ghana, the  code works on all networks and it is free to access. On the other hand, the GMES-UG app provides all beneficiary countries ocean states forecasts and maps among other products. Ocean State Map from the GMES-UG mobile App In order to promote the early warning alerts developed, consultants for the University of Ghana consortium of the GMES & Africa programme paid a courtesy call on the Director General (DG) of the Ghana Meteorological Agency (...

Capacity building and strengthening within the maritime domains in Africa is a must for efficient and economical defensive and protective operations. The call was made by Prof. George Wiafe during the 2nd International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (IMDEC), which took place on 7-8 July 2021 in Accra, Ghana. Prof. George Wiafe, 2nd from the right, during the panel discussion  The conference hosted by the Ghana Navy was attended by over 15 Chiefs of Navies and Air Staff from across Africa together with about 300 national and international senior officials from Navies, Air Forces, Coast Guards and Marine Police. Piracy, illegal fishing, armed robberies, governance, regional cooperation, blue economy and capacity building are the major issues discussed. IMDEC participants during the panel discussion The GMES and Africa project was represented by the University of Ghana, the lead of the marine consortium in West Africa. The Director, Prof. George Wiafe, during the panel...

Participants in the 5-day capacity building workshop for National Focal Points of the Observatory for Biodiversity and Protected Areas of West Africa (OBAPAO) was a successful event. The participants were drawn from the 16 West African countries members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) or the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Stating her view on the workshop, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria, Mrs Ebunoluwa Ajagun, said: "The goal and the objectives of the workshop were well achieved. I am leaving as a different person, in that I have gained more knowledge on OBAPAO and will definitely go back and share the knowledge and strive to make all the necessary corrections to the World Database on Protected Areas (WPDA) data for Nigeria." Mrs Ebunoluwa Ajagun, Federal Dapartment of Forestry,  Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria The purpose of the OBAPAO National Focal Points capacity building workshop...

Start-ups in the Earth observation (EO), Internet of Things (IoT) and Open Source Technology (OST) industry were called upon to turn the challenges faced within the industry into opportunities to solve problems and become money-making businesses. This call was made at a meeting organised at the University of Ghana from 12 -14 May 2021. Prof. George Wiafe, Director of the Regional Marine Centre, University of Ghana Indeed, the Regional Marine Centre in partnership with the Department of Computer Engineering of the University of Ghana (UG) has organised three days meeting to assess technological needs within the region to enable the creation of Earth Observation businesses in the marine and coastal environment. The meeting brought together representatives from industry, government institutions, academia and the private sector from Ghana and Nigeria. Group photograph of a section of participants at the meeting To successfully engage the EO, IoT and OST start-ups, there was a need to list...

The hint of the Incubation Programme 2021 was released in the 3rd edition of the "Regional Marine Observer". This edition summarises the GMES and Africa (marine) Project in west Africa's engagement with the youth interested in coastal and marine environment preservation and sustainability over the past three years.  Through the Action, more than 500 youth had the opportunity to apply for fellowships; become members of a club designed to promote the usage of open source tools; compete for Innovation Challenges and Online contests; attend relevant regional training and seminars on the application of Earth observation in the management of the marine and coastal areas, among others. The Newsletter highlights an upcoming event dubbed the "UG-GMES Incubation Programme".  The activity seeks to support the innovation of start-ups or individuals with interest in using Earth observation technologies to address coastal and marine issues in West Africa. The programme will f...

Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology Department at  the African Union Commission says that Africans have to work for themselves towards achieving sustainable development. This statement was made during a working visit to the University of Ghana on the 24th of February 2020. The Director, together with a team from the Management Unit of the GMES and Africa Programme, paid a courtesy call to the Provost of the College of Basic Applied Science, Professor Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu. The use of science and technology, and Earth observation tools by academia to attain sustainable development were discussed among other subjects.  During the three-day working visit, the visiting team had series of meetings with key national and regional stakeholders based in the country. At the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre Zone F, the Director of the Centre, Commander Yussif Benning, received the delegation led by Dr. Ouedraego. The Centre was established by the ECOWAS with its ...