Local network, big impact: DestinE in Germany
In mid-November, the German Space Agency at DLR and the German Federal Ministry for Transport held the third national Destination Earth (DestinE) workshop in its series of local events in Germany. The full-day session, run in German, brought around 50 participants together to explore how DestinE could grow its footprint at national level.
The workshop updated the community on the current status of DestinE, showed how users can apply its capabilities through various DestinE use cases and opened a space for discussions on its use in Germany. Unlike most DestinE events, this workshop was conducted in the local language, allowing participants to express themselves and ask questions more confidently.
Many of DestinE’s community members are based in Germany
This edition drew participants from DG CNECT, ESAEuropean Space Agency, EUMETSATEuropean Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological and ECMWFEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts More, as well as experts from federal authorities such as the German Weather ServiceRegular provision of technological capabilities, resources, More and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy. Several small to medium companies and multiple research institutions participated in the workshop too, presenting projects that either contribute directly to or complement DestinE. The presence of a small municipality from Rhineland-Palatinate, a southwestern German state, also added a fresh local angle and enriched the dialogue.
“These workshops help us inform German stakeholders about recent developments in DestinE and current use cases,” said lead organiser Dr. Andreas Preußer, from the German Space Agency at DLR. “We also take these opportunities to brief our community about programmes such as ESA Digital Twin Earth (DTE) and other national projects.”
Germany has been one of the first countries to create DestinE national events and thus open space for region-specific conversations. Germany’s federal system, for example, influences and shapes how public institutions adopt tools like DestinE. The group explored this topic in depth, while also looking at challenges such as the ongoing technical development of DestinE and the vague long-term framework conditions beyond 2028.
The workshop updated the community on the current status of DestinE and created a space for discussions on its potential use in Germany. Credit: Annika Heisler /DLR
Outreach and approaching established national networks surfaced as other key points. The only representative of a local municipality shared plans to pass insights from the event to other cities across Rhineland-Palatinate. Yet at national level, the room agreed that Germany still needs stronger engagement efforts to reach potential users across the country.
“When people meet, they start to see more clearly what DestinE can currently offer them – and what it cannot” concluded Andreas Preußer. “These workshops enable us to establish and maintain a national community with a keen interest in using the unique DestinE infrastructure and data, while simultaneously working on ideas how to overcome certain challenging aspects.”
If you live in or near Germany and would like to join DestinE’s German community, you can reach out to Andreas Preußer (contact: d-destineatdlr.de) and register for the German national newsletter. If you’re based elsewhere and would like to help host a national event in your own country, the DestinE team would be happy to support you.
Get in touch (contact: destination_earthatesa.int) and help make DestinE impactful in your own community.