On the 8th and 9th February 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa, EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) and The Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) will hold a joint Workshop to present and discuss the final draft of the feasibility study “Geoscientific Knowledge and Skills in African Geological Surveys (PanAfGeo)”. Key stakeholders such as UNECA, UNDP, UNESCO, World Bank and SEAMIC will also take part in the meeting. The study investigated how to increase African-owned geological knowledge and skills for sustainable mineral exploitation and related infrastructures, and natural disasters prevention and mitigation.

The Workshop also intends to discuss a possible future multiannual Project – including objectives, methods of implementation, trainings and partnerships – implementing the report’s recommendations.. The audience’s feedback is a priority to achieve this ambitious goal, a cooperation that will strengthen the geological sector in Africa, and will therefore represent a step forward in the political commitment to the development of EU-Africa cooperation in this area.

The Workshop will precede the Conference Mining Indaba, foremost global gathering on investing in the African mining value chain, scheduled from the 9th to the 12th February 2015 in Cape Town.

The EuroGeoSurveys Director’s Workshop will take place on 25th March 2015 in Brussels. The yearly meeting of the Directors of the European Geological Surveys and Geological Surveys from all around the world was will focus on the theme “Geological Infrastructure priorities in Africa and beyond”, discussing the geological infrastructure needs in Africa and in other areas of the world. The Workshop topic will match the High level Conference ‘EU-AU Joint Session on Infrastructures for the Minerals Sector’ of the previous week, focusing on the infrastructure needs of the minerals sector in Africa (including transport, ICT, water and energy as well as all other types of infrastructure).