The African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) invites expression of interest from national institutional members and/or other organizations/agencies in Africa for the hosting/organization of the 15th edition (2026) of the AARSE Conference. The conference is usually held in the month of October (of every even-number year).

The expression of interest should clearly indicate the following points:

• Name of championing organization including history of the organization and statement of previous hosting of international conference(s) of similar magnitude;
• Names, affiliations and contact details of the lead person and members of team making the proposal;
• Names of supporting government organizations, universities, national geospatial associations, UN agencies, NGO/Civil society organizations and other organizations in the country supported by letters of intent from such organizations;
• Suggested main theme of the conference;
• Indication of city and proposed venue(s) for the conference, including capacities of main hall, breakout rooms and exhibition space and internet access capability. Where available, academic institutions are the preferred venue;
• Name(s) of nearest airport and airlines plying the route;
• Availability and types of hotels and tourism locations; Indication of ease of visa processing (presence of embassies in most African countries);
• Indication of the strength of AARSE membership and potential for membership growth, as well as geo-information activities in the country;
• Other useful information, such as strength of the commercial geospatial sector, number of
  universities offering geospatial training, geospatial infrastructure such as satellite receiving
  stations.

For the 2026 edition, first preference will be given to applicants from the southern Africa sub-region in line with the AARSE principle of rotational hosting. It should be noted that AARSE does not provide funds for the hosting organization but the Association can and will solicit for international funding on behalf of the organization towards a successful hosting of the conference, and provide guidance to the Local Organizing Committee on soliciting sponsorships and commercial exhibitors within the host country.

You are encouraged to address any further inquiries to either Tesfamichael Solomon or Kamal Labbassi (see contact details below) regarding a possible bid. This solicitation of a conference host is an open process, and may be discussed with any of the AARSE Council members. We plan to reach a decision on a host country and organization at the AARSE 2024 conference taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 26th to 30th November 2024, therefore each applicant will be expected to attend and make a presentation to the AARSE Executive Council during the conference. However, discussions will be ongoing until suitable hosting arrangements have been finalized.

The expression of interest should be sent latest by November 26, 2024 to:

Tesfamichael Solomon
AARSE Secretary General
Email: secretary-general@africanremotesensing.org
Alt Email: sgtesfamichael@uj.ac.za

With a copy to:

Prof. Kamal LABBASSI
AARSE President
Email: kamal.labbassi@africanremotesensing.org
Alt Email: labbassi@ucd.ac.ma

Previous AARSE Conferences:
To achieve its objectives, AARSE conducts a biennial (once every two years) international conference in Africa in addition to other awareness, research and capacity building activities. Up to 2014, AARSE, with the support of local and international organizations, has organized ten (12) of such conferences in Harare (Zimbabwe) in 1996, Abidjan (Cote D’Ivoire) in 1998, Cape Town (South Africa) in 2000, Abuja (Nigeria) in 2002, Nairobi (Kenya) in 2004, Cairo (Egypt) in 2006, Accra (Ghana) in 2008, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2010, El Jadida (Morocco) in 2012, Johannesburg (South Africa) in 2014, Kampala (Uganda) in 2016, Alexandria (Egypt) in 2018 and Kigali (Rwanda) in 2022. The next one will be in
Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).

The conference usually takes place in the last week of October, except the next one which takes place in November. The attendance at each of these conferences is in the order of 300 international participants and exhibitors. The 14th conference will take place from 26th to 30th November 2024 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (see https://www.aarse2024.org/) on the theme “Earth Observations and Geospatial Science in service of Sustainable Development Goals”.

About AARSE:
The African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) was founded in 1992 and was incorporated as an international NGO under Section 21 of the South African Companies Act (Act 61 of 1973). AARSE is a partner of many international organizations such as the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and the IEEE Geosciences and Remote Sensing Society
(GRSS), and a participating organization of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). As a member of the erstwhile UN-ECA’s Executive Working Group on Geoinformation, AARSE also participated in, and contributed to the activities of the UN-ECA Committee on Development Information, Science and Technology (CODIST), sub-Committee on Geoinformation. AARSE is actively participating in the UN-GGIM: Africa and AfriGEOSS activities.

The goal of AARSE is to promote socio-economic development through increased awareness of African governments and their institutions, the private sector and the society at large, about the empowering and enhancing benefits of developing, applying and utilizing responsibly, the products and services of Earth Observation Systems and Geo-information Technology.