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1. New Year Messages from Asia-Pacific Countries
- Mr. Basanta Shrestha, Division Head, Mountain Environment and Natural Resource Information Systems (MENRIS), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
- Dr. Miriam Baltuck, Chair, Australian Space Exploration Working Group and Director of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia
- Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Vice Director, Space Technology Institute (STI), Vietnam
- Gen Dr. Vichit Satharanond, Chairman, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand

2. Launch Result of the KIZUNA (WINDS) by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 14 (H-IIA F14), Japan - February 23

3. Activities of the Bangladesh Astronomical Society

4. Space Application Program of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in 2008

5. Interview with the President of AIT, Professor Said Irandoust, Ph.D.

6. Pacific Islands GIS/RS User Conference “Networking Pacific Island CountriesEwas held in Fiji - December 4 - 7 ,2007

7. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - February - April 2008]]

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1. New Year Messages from Asia-Pacific Countries
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The APRSAF secretariat received New Year messages form following members from Asia-Pacific countries.

- Mr. Basanta Shrestha, Division Head, Mountain Environment and Natural Resource Information Systems (MENRIS), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
- Dr. Miriam Baltuck, Chair, Australian Space Exploration Working Group and Director of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia
- Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Vice Director, Space Technology Institute (STI), Vietnam
- Gen Dr. Vichit Satharanond, Chairman, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand

New Year Messages from Asia-Pacific Countries are posted on the APRSAF website: http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature.html

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2. Launch Result of the KIZUNA (WINDS) by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 14 (H-IIA F14), Japan - February 23
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the "KIZUNA" by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 14 (H-IIA F14) at 5:55 p.m. on February 23, 2008 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 28 minutes and 3 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the KIZUNA was confirmed.

The "KIZUNA" is a communications satellite that enables super high-speed data communications of up to 1.2 Gbps to develop a society without any information availability disparity, in which everybody can equally enjoy high-speed communications wherever they live.

The “KIZUNAEis also expected to be useful in various fields by connecting Japan to other Asian countries and space. For example, data acquired by the Daichi satellite (ALOS) can be provided to Asian countries more quickly via the "KIZUNA"

WINDS: Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite

JAXA Press release:
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/02/20080223_kizuna_e.html
For more details for KIZUNA, visit JAXA HP:
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f14/overview/kizuna_e.html
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f14/overview/application_e.html

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3. Activities of the Bangladesh Astronomical Society
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The Bangladesh Astronomical Society is an astronomical organization formed by a famous Bangladeshi astronomer called Mohammed Abdul Jabbar on November 12, 1984. It has been playing an important role in popularizing the subjects of astronomy and space science among the people of Bangladesh.

Mr. F. R. Sarker, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Astronomical Society said "Now, we are focusing on educating the young generation about space. In 2007, we held World Space Week 2007 (a program of the United Nations to create awareness about space among school students around the world). During this program, students participated in a water rocket competition, space art contest, space debate contest and Q&A session."

Bangladesh Astronomical Society Website:
http://www.bangastrosociety.org/
Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interview/interviews.html

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4. Space Application Program of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in 2008
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The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. WU Guoxiang, Chief of the Space Technology Applications Section at the Information, Communication and Space Technology Division of UNESCAP, talked about their space application program in 2008.

"The space program of UNESCAP has recently paid more attention to reducing disasters. In 2008, we will closely cooperate with APRSAF to jointly promote the Sentinel Asia project. Sentinel Asia has already developed national technical nodes, and for this year we need to expand a technical network with various national disaster reduction authorities."

UNESCAP Website:
http://www.unescap.org/
UNESCAP/ICSTD Website:
http://www.unescap.org/icstd/
Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interview/interviews.html

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5. Interview with the President of AIT, Professor Said Irandoust, Ph.D.
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Professor Said Irandoust, Ph.D., President of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) talked about space technology activities of AIT.

"AIT's orientation is based on education and research towards the sustainable development of the region, strengthening the knowledge, development and business capacity of the region, and supporting communities and their economic development and integration into the global economy.

In developing the capacity of Asian scientists in remote sensing and GIS, we are providing opportunities for 60 Master’s and PhD students to advance their knowledge in RS and GIS. Our Geoinformatics Center is now carrying out a capacity building program on Poverty Mapping sponsored by ASEAN Foundation through its Japan Solidarity Fund."

AIT website:
http://www.ait.ac.th/interimpage/ait_visitor/
Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interview/interviews.html

To discuss the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in Pacific Island countries, this conference was organized by an independent conference committee with members from the Secretariat of the Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Fiji Land Information Support Centre (FLIS), the Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA), the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) and the Forestry Department. About 200 people from more than 20 different countries attended the conference. The presenters of the conference came from Australia, Canada, the Cook Islands, Fiji, France, Germany, U.S.A (Hawaii), Ireland, Kiribati, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature.html

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7. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - February - April 2008]]
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*February 26-29, 2008
IEEE-DEST 2008 - 2nd IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies
Phitsanulok, Thailand
http://www.ieee-dest.curtin.edu.au/2008/index.php

*March 3-7, 2008
International Conference on Rivers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Ecology and Environmental Assessment
Kathmandu, Nepal
http://www.icimod.org/home/page.php?p=ann2

*March 10-13, 2008
Australian Disasters Conference: Surviving Future Risks
Canberra, Australia
http://www.ema.gov.au/agd/EMA/emaInternet.nsf/Page/RWP341AC29ADA7B9840CA2572EC00831D68

*April 14-16, 2008
The Second GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium
Tokyo, Japan
http://www.prime-intl.co.jp/geoss/index.html

*April 21-26, 2008
Asia-Pacific Forestry Week: Forestry in a Changing World
Hanoi, Vietnam
http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/33592/en/

*April 23-26, 2008
Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Symposium "Towards sustainable land use in tropical Asia"
Sarawak, Malaysia
http://www.atbcasia.org/public/default.asp

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Copyright 2008 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF Secretariat
c/o. Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan
Roppongi First Bldg. 12F, 1-9-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032,
Japan
Tel:+81-3-5572-6708 / Fax:+81-3-5572-6707