As readers of this Newsletter will know, AEGOS is a geoscience contribution to the intra- Governmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its ongoing challenge to build the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). It is important that this contribution has visibility within GEO and this aim was achieved in November with great success during the 2010 GEO Exhibition, Plenary and Ministerial Summit. Hosted in Beijing by China as one of the four permanent GEO    Co-Chairs, this week-long event brought together around 400 GEO people, to discuss progress and agree the next steps in the remaining 5 years of the GEO 10-year Implementation Plan.

AEGOS made a strong contribution to the Exhibition, in particular, with its presence on the booths run by the European Commission, EuroGeoSurveys and the GEO Capacity Building Committee (CBC). The latter booth was the main part of the CBC showcase on Capacity Building within GEO. These showcases were used to inform the Ministers about implementation progress in selected key areas of GEOSS. The AEGOS project was explained in detail to these important visitors, particularly the Ministers from China and South Africa. Also in the Exhibition area, was a booth dedicated to GEONETCast. This is a direct broadcast system for transmitting satellite data into areas of poor internet bandwidth. The AEGOS project is currently trialling this system, by using it to transmit various geoscience datasets into Burkina Faso for receipt and use by the local geological survey. These data include mineral maps, elevation models and vegetation indices. Initial results were ready for Beijing and BGS took the opportunity to discuss the trial with the staff who operate GEONETCast, to iron out some technical details and ensure that the rest of the trial runs smoothly during the Northern winter.

The profile of AEGOS within GEO was raised further during the Ministerial itself, with the project featuring in several of the Ministerial speeches. EuroGeoSurveys noted the start of the AEGOS GEONETCast Trial and invited the Ministers to learn more by visiting the Capacity Building Showcase. Other speeches that mentioned AEGOS in positive light included those of France and the European Commission's Deputy President.

The key issue addressed during the Ministerial was the adoption of the Data Sharing Action Plan, implementing the GEO Data Sharing Principles agreed at previous meetings. These commit GEO Members to full and open exchange of data, whilst still recognizing the relevant international instruments and national policies and legislation in this area. The data within GEOSS should be made available at minimum time delay and minimum cost, preferably free or at the cost of reproduction for research and education purposes. The Plan establishes several tiers of GEOSS data, from GEOSS Data CORE that meets the criteria of the Data Sharing Action Plan in full, through several others, of equal importance, for which some conditions of use will be set, including charges for access. The aspiration is that, over time, more and more datasets will meet the criteria to become part of the GEOSS Data CORE. But the Plan is inclusive and will accommodate a range of data with various access conditions.

The conclusion of the Beijing week was that GEO is well on track to deliver its aim of a global, coordinated, comprehensive and sustained system of observing systems by 2015, supporting informed decision making by the global community on a range of environmental challenges facing the World over the coming years. We can also conclude that AEGOS is well on track to deliver the scoping phase of the GEOSS component for African georesources information that the project is designed to put in place by 2011, and that this is recognised by a range of important players in the GEO community.

S. MARSH and T. DUFFY (BGS, United Kingdom) Work package 7 Co-leaders