Introduction/Background
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its UN-SPIDER Programme (United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) through its ICT and disaster risk reduction programme and the Regional Space Applications Programme, and the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) are organising the above regional workshop to contribute to helping countries within the Pacific region learn how to access and use space technology for disaster management and emergency response.

In its resolution 61/110 of 14th December 2006 the United Nations General Assembly agreed to establish the “United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response – UN-SPIDER”, as a new programme of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, to provide universal access to all countries and all relevant international and regional organizations to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management to support the full disaster management cycle by being a gateway to space information for disaster management support, serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities and being a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening, in particular for developing countries.

As part of the planned outreach activities in 2008, UN-SPIDER is organising several workshops to raise awareness within the user community, to assess its needs and to contribute to specific activities of this new programme. The workshop to be held in Fiji will bring together decision makers and senior experts mainly from disaster management community from within the Pacific region, to discuss regional space-based solutions for disaster management and emergency response.

Language of the Workshop
The working languages of all planned activities will be English.

Financial support
Within the limited financial resources available, a number of selected regional participants will be offered financial support to attend the Workshop. This financial support will defray the cost of travel (a round trip ticket – most economic fare – between the airport of international departure in their home country and Suva, Fiji) and/or the room and board expenses during the duration of the event.

Deadline for Submission of Applications
The completed application form, properly endorsed by applicant’s government/institution, should be submitted either by e-mail (scanned copy) or by fax directly to the Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations Office at Vienna no later than Friday, 15th August 2008.