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Background

The United Nations Programme on Space Applications was established in 1971 to assist Member States with building capacity in the use and benefits of space technology and its applications and to promote international space cooperation. Since its inception, the Programme has organized more than 300 training courses, workshops, seminars and conferences and has provided funding support for more than 12,000 participants, mainly from developing countries. It has coordinated the establishment of five Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education, affiliated to the United Nations and cooperates with academic institutions around the World to offer long-term fellowship programmes.

When it was recognized that building capacity in space science was often a pre-requirement for developing and sustaining space technology and space application capabilities, the Basic Space Science Initiative (BSSI) was launched under the Programme on Space Applications in 1991. Initially the BSSI considered astronomy and astrophysics.

Over the last few decades a wide range of scientific programmes and international initiatives have been conducted to study space weather, increasing our understanding of space weather-related events and effects. Thus increasingly research activities and cooperation opportunities in the space weather domain came into the focus of the BSSI.

The International Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY) drew scientists and engineers from around the globe in a coordinated observation campaign of the heliosphere and its effects on planet Earth. Building on these activities, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space launched the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) in 2009.

ISWI was a program of international cooperation to advance space weather science by a combination of instrument deployment, analysis and interpretation of space weather data from these instruments in conjunction with space data, and the communication of the results to the public. While the ISWI was formally concluded in 2012, most of the activities continued beyond the formal end of the initiative. They contribute to the discussion under a new agenda item on Space Weather in the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

The key function of the present Workshop is to follow-up on ISWI recommendations and to maintain the capacity building momentum established by IHY and ISWI.

The Workshop will be hosted by the International Center for Space Weather Science and Education ( ICSWSE, pronounced iku-sei) of Kyushu University, on behalf of the Government of Japan, and is supported by the following organizations:

  1. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
  2. National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
  3. Tohoku University
  4. Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STEL) of Nagoya University
  5. Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau (FCVB)
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA)
  7. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

Workshop Objectives

The objective of the Workshop is to provide a global forum for participants to discuss capacity building, global observation, and science/education on space weather, building on the achievements of the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI).

Concrete objectives of the 2015 Workshop will be to:

  • Review the status of space weather instruments (in-situ, space-borne), data access, availability and collection and modeling efforts to advance space weather research and improve space weather forecasting.
  • Support the continued deployment of ground-based ISWI instrument arrays and data exploitation.
  • Continue efforts in space weather education, especially also for students from developing nations. IHY and ISWI have contributed to significant progress in the development of space science schools that encourage students to consider a career in space science.
  • Review the role of international cooperation in addressing space weather-related issues, such as possible further cooperation towards truly global space-weather monitoring capabilities.
  • Consider opportunities for international cooperation in the standardization, sharing and wider and timely use of data, including for operational purposes.

The observations and recommendations emanating from the Workshop will be disseminated in form of report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to the United Nations General Assembly.

Workshop Programme

The Workshop Programme will consist of a series of Sessions with technical presentations, panel discussions and working group meetings. Sessions will cover the following topics:

  • Space weather instrumentation: (a) Space-based, (b) Ground-based (ISWI)
  • Solar weather
  • Solar wind and inter-planetary medium
  • Magnetosphere
  • Ionosphere
  • Atmosphere
  • Coupling processes
  • Sun-to-Earth space weather modelling
  • Space weather impact or awareness

The Workshop will also discuss topics such as the future of ISWI activities and the ISWI instrument network, international cooperation and capacity building in space weather science and the role of the United Nations.

Oral Presentations

Unless otherwise indicated, the time set aside for oral presentations (including introduction and time for questions/answers) will be approximately 15 minutes. Speakers are therefore advised to plan for a 10 minute presentation.

Please bring with you a .ppt and/pr .pdf version of your presentation and provide it to the LOC prior to your scheduled presentation session. The file(s) will be copied to the LOC computer and the .pdf version will be loaded into the "Master USB Memory Device" that will be given to each participant at the close of the Workshop. Accordingly, please be sure the file size does not exceed 50 MB.

Poster Presentations

Participants that have been assigned a poster presentation are kindly requested to bring their printed poster to the Workshop. The local organizers will provide poster panels and time will be set aside for viewing and discussing the posters. Please note that the size of the poster panels will be 180 cm (high) x 90 cm (wide). You are free to choose any poster size compatible with this poster panel size.

Also, bring with you a .pdf version of your poster. Please present this file at the Help Desk on the second day of the Workshop (Tuesday, 3 March). It will be loaded into the "Master USB Memory Device" that will be given to each participant at the close of the Workshop. Accordingly, please be sure the file size does not exceed 50 MB.

Publication Plan

The papers to be presented at the UN/Japan Workshop on Space Weather: Science and Data Products from ISWI Instruments will be published in "Sun and Geosphere" as a special issue. The papers will undergo the usual peer-refereeing process and published in Volume 10, Number 2 of the Journal.

The submission deadline is June 30, 2015. Since we are planning to have the issue brought out within 2015, please adhere to the deadline. There is no page limit. On-line submission can be made starting June 1, 2015 at the web site: http://sungeosphere.org/. Detailed information on the manuscript preparation and submission can be found on this web site.

Kindly note that /Sun and Geosphere/ has published papers from previous ISWI workshops.

Workshop Participants

Applicants must generally have a university degree and well-established professional working experience in a field related to the theme of the Workshop. Applicants should be involved in space weather research activities in national or international organizations, research centres, academic institutions or industry. Applications from qualified female applicants are particularly encouraged. The co-sponsors of the Workshop will jointly select participants on a competitive basis. Successful applicants will be notified in January 2015.

Information Note

Application Form

Applications to participate in the Workshop will be accepted until 7 December 2014.

On a competitive basis limited support (e.g. air-ticket, accommodation) will be available for qualified applicants from developing countries to attend the Workshop.

  • Online application (Online application is now closed. Selected applicants will be informed by mid January 2015.)

Host City and Workshop Venue

Local Arrangements

Accommodation

Participants receiving funding support will be provided with accommodation. The local organizers will provide participants with details of the accommodation arrangements made for them.

Meals

Meal services will be arranged for lunch (March 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and for dinner (March 3, 6). Each lunch ticket will be 800 JPY, each dinner ticket will be 1800 JPY.
An ice breaker party will be arranged on March 2 and a banquet on March 6 (no cost to Workshop participants).
Participants will be offered the opportunity to join an excursion in the afternoon of March 5 (no dinner arrangements).

Programme Committees

Honorary Committee

  • Prof. Ciharu Kubo - President, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Ms. Simonetta Di Pippo - Director, Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations
  • Dr. Takao Doi - United Nations Expert on Space Applications, Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations

Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC)

  • Dr. Nat Gopalswamy - NASA, ISWI, SCOSTEP (SOC Chair)
  • Dr. Akimasa Yoshikawa - Kyushu University, Japan (SOC Co-Chair)
  • Dr. Werner Balogh - Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations (SOC Co-Chair)
  • Dr. Christine Amory - LPP/Polytechnique/UPMC/CNRS, France
  • Dr. Fairos Asillam - ANGKASA, Malaysia
  • Dr. Vafi Doumbia - l'Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d'Ivoire
  • Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta - NASA HQ
  • Dr. Mamoru Ishii - NICT, Japan
  • Dr. Jose Ishitsuka - IGP, Peru
  • Dr. Kanya Kusano - Nagoya University, Japan
  • Dr. Ian Mann - University of Alberta, Canada
  • Dr. P. K. Manoharan - NCRA, India
  • Dr. Christian Monstein - ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  • Dr. Takahiro Obara - Tohoku University, Japan
  • Dr. Young-deuk Park - KASI, Republic of Korea
  • Dr. Babatunde Rabiu - NASRDA, Nigeria
  • Dr. Kazuo Shiokawa - Nagoya University, Japan
  • Dr. Manuela Temmer - University of Graz, Austria
  • Dr. Satoru Ueno - Kyoto University, Japan
  • Dr. Rami Vainio - University of Turku, Finland

Local Organizing Committee

  • Dr. Tsutomu Nagatsuma - NICT, Japan
  • Dr. Satoru Ueno - Kyoto University, Japan
  • Dr. Akimasa Yoshikawa (Chair) - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Shuji Abe - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Maria Gracita Cardinal - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Akiko Fujimoto - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Ms. Chieko Furukawa - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Ms. Kayo Goto - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Hideaki Kawano - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Huixin Liu - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Mr. George Maeda - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Teiji Uozumi - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan
  • Dr. Masakazu Watanabe - ICSWSE, Kyushu University, Japan

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