The 31st Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-31), held from 18 to 21 November in Cebu City, and organised by JAXA and PHILSA brought together space agencies, national institutions, space industry, researchers, youth representatives and development partners to discuss the region’s evolving space ecosystem.
ESA’s delegation, Benjamin Koetz (Head of Long-Term Action section), Casper Fibaek (Project Manager), Jean-Charles Bigot (ESA representative in Japan at the newly established ESA Tokyo Office) and Yves Barthelemy (ESA Focal Point to the Asian Development Bank), participated throughout the week, contributing to discussions on the growing role of Earth Observation (EO) in sustainable development and cooperation across Southeast Asia.
From the outset, APRSAF-31 made clear that the Asia-Pacific space landscape is evolving quickly. Institutions across the region are increasingly looking to Earth Observation (EO) to support climate resilience, disaster preparedness, food security, and environmental management. These priorities closely echo the Forum’s official Joint Statement, which underscores the role of space applications in sustainable development, regional cooperation, and climate adaptation.
For ESA’s GDA programme, whose mission is to demonstrate EO’s impact and co-design operational EO services with international financial institutions, the alignment of interests was evident, particularly in emerging collaborations with the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and regional institutions across the ASEAN region.
Youth perspectives set the tone
The week opened on Sunday with the 11th Asia Pacific Space Generation Workshop (AP SGW), where students and early career professionals examined how space technologies could address national and regional priorities. Their discussions showed a strong appetite for practical Earth Observation applications, which an ideathon illustrated by challenging participants to design and pitch satellite data solutions that could improve lives in South-East Asia. ESA and the Space Generation Advisory Council organised the ideathon under CopPhil. CopPhil, is funded by the EU under the Global Gateway strategy and is implemented by ESA.
This year’s workshop also recognised three young professionals as winners of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Space Leaders Award: Namrishka Mendonca, Pranjal Mhatre, and Dr. Sackdavong Mangkhasuom; each selected for their contributions to space science, engineering and community engagement across the region. Their perspectives, combining technical expertise with a strong focus on societal impact, reinforced how the next generation views EO as a tool to support real decision-making challenges.
Expanding regional EO partnerships: SCOPE Digital side event (17 November)
On Monday 17 November, ESA co-organized the side event “Earth Observation partnerships in action: Europe and Southeast Asia expand geospatial services together”.
The event marked the launch of SCOPE Digital, an initiative, funded by the EC Global Gateway initiative and implemented by ESA, designed to extend the Copernicus programme’s support to Indonesia and Thailand following the earlier CopPhil cooperation with the Philippines. The agenda featured contributions from the European Commission, ESA and national partner agencies, reflecting growing interest in establishing more structured EO partnerships across
A central discussion focused on “From national strategies to regional uptake: the role of cooperation in expanding the use of Copernicus data across institutions in ASEAN.” Panellists from ADB, BRIN, DOST, JAXA, ASEAN-SCOSA, ESA and the EU Delegations explored how Copernicus can support environmental monitoring, hazards management and climate-related decision-making at institutional level.
The side event also highlighted the importance of ensuring that regional and national institutions have both the capacity and the practical frameworks needed to integrate EO into their workflows, an ongoing theme within ongoing GDA partnership engagements in Asia.
Main sessions reflect shared priorities
During the main APRSAF-31 conference, ESA participated in the Space Agencies Panel on regional strategies, collaboration and identity, moderated by PHILSA. Discussions touched on how space is increasingly embedded in national strategies, supporting both long-term planning and immediate response needs. These exchanges echoed themes from the Joint Statement, including Sentinel Asia’s disaster-monitoring activities and the use of satellite data for agricultural and environmental applications.
A notable moment of the Regional Forum was the intervention of the President of the Philippines, who pointed to the establishment of the Copernicus Data Centre, developed with the European Commission, ESA, and PhilSA, as a concrete example of strengthening EO infrastructure in the region:
His remarks illustrated a broader trend across APRSAF-31: countries are making targeted investments to ensure that EO becomes more accessible, more localised and more directly linked to policymaking.
A week that signals growing momentum for EO cooperation
Taken together, the discussions, workshops and side events at APRSAF-31 reflected a region that is steadily increasing its space-related activities and use of EO and actively looking for partnerships that can help turn satellite data into operational services. For ESA and the GDA programme, the Forum provided an opportunity to strengthen existing collaborations with national agencies and development banks, explore new areas for co-designing EO services and continue supporting Southeast Asian partners as they expand their use of satellite information for climate resilience, environmental management and sustainable development.
