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Vice-Presidency of the Government promotes Europe Day celebrations on Santa Maria Island
Nota de Imprensa
May 2, 2024
Vice-Presidency of the Government promotes Europe Day celebrations on Santa Maria Island
The Vice-Presidency of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for European Affairs and External Cooperation, promotes the regional celebrations of Europe Day in Vila do Porto on the island of Santa Maria on 9 May, with various educational, cultural and recreational initiatives. The celebration programme, which is the result of a partnership with the Azores Mission Structure for Space (EMA-Espaço)/Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, the Vila do Porto Town Council and the EUROPE DIRECT Azores centre, is being held under the Space theme. The celebration aims to raise awareness and stimulate the interest and participation of the entire community in activities related to the European Union, contributing to greater and better dissemination and knowledge of matters concerning the European Union in general and the Outermost Regions (ORs), such as the Azores. This year's celebrations will focus on space, bringing this theme into line with the regional and national ambition to make the Azores a European Atlantic hub for space, leveraging the privileged conditions of the Region for the consolidation and growth of its space ecosystem. This will make a decisive contribution to implementing national and European space programmes. The programme kicks off on the morning of May 8 with the "Back to School" initiative at the Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School, which will be attended by Vera Pinto Gomes, a member of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS). The opening conference "Europe and Space: the role of the Azores and Portugal in the European space programme" is scheduled for 8:30 pm at the Vila do Porto Municipal Library and will feature Vera Pinto Gomes from the European Commission's DG DEFIS and Hugo Costa, director of the Portuguese Space Agency (AEP). The "Us, Europe and Space" exhibition, created by students from the European Club of the Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School, will also be open to the public in the Library until May 10 from 9 am to 6 pm. From May 13, the exhibition will be displayed at the Basic Education and Secondary School. The solemn session will take place on May 9 at the Vila do Porto Municipal Garden at 9:30 am, with the hoisting of the flags and the performance of the European Anthem by the Recreio Espirituense Philharmonic Band, followed by speeches from representatives of the Regional Government, the Vila do Porto Municipality and the Europe Direct Azores Information Centre.
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Affiliation of Portugal and Spain to International Geodesy Assembly approved
Nota de Imprensa
April 20, 2024
Affiliation of Portugal and Spain to International Geodesy Assembly approved
After presenting the project for the creation of affiliates to the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) in 2022, a meeting this week approved the creation of IberAtlantic, given that Spain and Portugal form a region of great geodetic interest, with already consolidated infrastructures and common geographical areas - and with excellent collaboration in the geodetic field with the Regional Government of the Azores. The RAEGE project is an example of this. It has a radio telescope at Santa Maria Station that is already fitted out to use the VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) technique, being fundamental to the field of geodesy and the only VLBI installation in Portugal. GGOS is the Global Geodetic Observation System of the International Assembly of Geodesy (IAG), whose scope of study is planet Earth, more precisely the record of changes occurring over time, whether due to the natural dynamics of the planet (i.e. tectonic plates, seismicity, volcanism) or due to other sources such as climate change. GGOS is ultimately the metrological basis for the assessment of planet Earth. It finds answers on global deformations and mass exchanges, providing the reference system for all location-dependent observations and measurements of temporal and spatial changes in the Earth's shape, gravity and rotation. Affiliates provide a forum for discussions of space geodetic multitechniques, work to improve the quality of space geodetic observations and encourage the different entities in that country or region to collaborate in implementing and maintaining local space geodetic infrastructures.
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