News - Earth Networks
Virtual 2025 Regional Meeting of the Asia and Pacific GLOBE Community
Image from Annual Report of the Maldives
On 5–7 May, over 34 participants, including 12 country coordinators, assistant country coordinators, scientists, and Working Group members from 12 Asia and Pacific countries, joined the virtual 2025 Asia and Pacific Regional Meeting. Under the theme “Global Impact: Advancing Earth System Science and STEM Education,” participants engaged in 3 days of interactive sessions designed to share progress, build capacity, and co create a roadmap for the next year.
Highlights included:
- Country Status Updates: Country coordinators delivered concise reports on countries’ GLOBE activities and achievements from May 2024 to April 2025.
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GPO, GIO, and A&P RCO:
- Dr. Amy P. Chen, GLOBE program manager, Earth Science Division, NASA, and GLOBE Program Office (GPO) shared GLOBE’s status and role in gathering surface-based Earth observations powered by citizen scientists.
- Rebecca Lewis, director of Community Engagement and Support (CES), GLOBE Implementation Office (GIO), shared highlights from her presentation 2024–2025, New GIO Leadership and GIO Goal to Advance Earth System Science (ESS).
- Dr. Desh Bandhu, Asia and Pacific Regional Coordination Office (A&P RCO), presented key initiatives and achievements from 2024–25 Preview of next year’s regional ESS and soil moisture initiatives, followed by a live demonstration from GLOBE International STEM Network scientist Yashraj Patil.
- Working Group Reports and Website Training: Members of the Education, Science, and Evaluation Working Groups shared best practices, while Cornell Lewis (GLOBE Data Information Systems [DIS]) shared details on the revamped GLOBE website.
- Interactive Alignment Sessions: Dr. Anup K. Das, co-lead, NISAR Science Space Applications Centre (ISRO), guided participants in aligning GLOBE protocols with Earth system science priorities and NASA and ISRO’s NISAR mission.
- Collaborative Planning Workshops: Country coordinators drafted country level action plans integrating GLOBE data with ESS themes, producing a shared regional roadmap.
- Network and Fundraising Strategies: Day 3 focused on strengthening the GLOBE Alumni Network, exploring partnerships with ESS agencies, and developing fundraising approaches to sustain future activities.
The A&P RCO also unveiled plans for a regional campaign and data sprint on soil moisture and a Soil Moisture Ambassadors program for innovative student and teacher research. Coordinators were encouraged to submit poems for “GLOBE Poets for Science”—for GLOBE’s 30th Anniversary celebration.
Organized by the A&P RCO in collaboration with the GIO, DIS, and country coordinators across the region, the 2025 virtual meeting laid a strong foundation for advancing ESS and STEM education through the GLOBE Program.
Country annual reports are available on the GLOBE Asia and Pacific Regional page.
News origin: GLOBE Implementation Office