By Eratus Ndueh
Bishops in Cameroon have urged the population of Maroua in the Far North Region to work towards ensuring that peace reigns in the country while deploring all forms of violence.
The President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, NECC, in his opening address at the 47th Annual Seminar of the Bishops in Maroua, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea decried the protracted violence in the North West, South West, and Far North regions of Cameroon, and cautioned against desperation with the growing yawning poverty among the citizens amid security challenges.
Cameroon’s English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for a country they call, the Republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.
In the Far North, attacks by Nigeria’s Boko Haram fundamentalist sect have reportedly caused more than 320 thousand people, to flee the region.
Reflect
ing on the theme of the seminar, which was ‘A synodal church on Mission,’ Archbishop Nkea said, ‘The whole church is on mission and we must promote solidarity within our Christian communities through the Gospel.’
The next annual seminar of the Bishops of Cameroon will be held in the Diocese of Buea from the 4th to the 11 of January 2025. And this will be another opportunity for the men of God to discuss issues plaguing the country for adequate solutions to be meted.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
The Tunisian Space Association (TUNSA) was awarded pound 1.057 million as part of the Horizon Europe Space funding by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to support them when formulating urban development strategies and to help them access similar experiments and solutions implemented by other cities facing similar challenges.
The aim of this project is to use Copernicus data for urban development in Europe and North Africa.
The project further aims at designing and developing space-based applications in collaboration with international partners and developing innovative solutions targeting the living conditions in urban areas, TUNSA President Ahmed El Fadhel told Space in Africa.
“The project was inspired by the challenges related to city conditions, particularly in Europe and Africa, where the rapidly increasing population concentration has impacted urban environments,” he pointed out.
To address these challenges, the objective is to create a virtual laboratory that acts as a test
ing ground for urban planners.
“This laboratory enables urban planners to explore and assess developmental ideas visually using multi-dimensional models,” he added.
El Fadhel further indicated that the proposed solution heavily relies on earth observation (EO) data, sourced primarily from Copernicus satellites and complemented by local data sources.
The data is organised in a “data cube” format to facilitate rapid access to newly acquired data. By utilising this approach, the project aims to leverage satellite data alongside local data to create a platform supporting urban planners in testing and refining urban development ideas for improved city livability.
Through this software, urban planners gain access to a wealth of data and the capability to test novel ideas and strategies for urban development. These strategies consider various factors such as climate change and risks associated with natural disasters like earthquakes, pollution, and heat rays due to climate change, he underlined.
This tool will
facilitate learning from the experiences and strategies implemented by other similar cities, providing a platform for gaining insight through shared experiences, TUNSA official added.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse