The Great Disaster Challenge is an educational activity using Copernicus earth observation data for disaster management. It is created by a consortium spanning eleven European countries, and will be carried out simultaneously in Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania and Spain. The objective is to inspire pupils (age approx. 13-16), as well as teachers, to use and better understand the Copernicus programme and the possibilities of earth observation.

Several national curricula are increasing the focus on subjects related to climate, development, and sustainability. Therefore, understanding how to use satellite images in the classroom for monitoring our planet will be valuable for the daily teaching and to complement many learning objectives.

The Copernicus programme is currently not used for educational purposes in secondary schools to a large extent, so this action has the potential of reaching a relatively new user segment.

This action will demonstrate the use and benefits of Copernicus in disaster management for pupils and teachers across Europe. It will also teach pupils about emergency management and civil protection in their own and other countries. The collaborative nature of the challenge will create a network of young citizens connected at international level. The teaching material prepared for the event and use cases developed by pupils can later be re-used for educational purposes. The impact on user uptake has both an immediate and long-term component: Familiarising teachers with Copernicus data will create many new users during and after the activity, and the attending pupils will carry the knowledge into future projects at universities and later in their careers.

Outputs and Results:

• 1 Great Disaster Challenge event
• 1 data pack based on Copernicus data
• All the material, data and videos made available on the FPCUP homepage
• 5-6 educational videos explaining the scope of the event and the Challenge
• 1 training course for teachers existing of 2-3 webinars and 8 teaching modules
• 1 tutorial explaining the Challenge, the methodology, and guides to use the tools
• 1 summary session after the event with following report
• 1 final report

Take part in an educational event about natural disasters and satellite images!
Register interest

Europe is increasingly experiencing flooding events from extreme weather. To understand a developing situation and coordinate efforts, emergency management teams use a variety of data, including satellite images from the Copernicus programme.
We welcome teachers and classes to participate in an engaging educational challenge, which will happen simultaneously across Europe. In the event, pupils will use satellite images and work together in teams to respond to a flooding scenario.
The challenge is aimed at pupils approximately 13-16 years old, and will have participating classes from Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania and Spain.
The event will happen simultaneously across Europe, on March 19th 2025. A tailor-made learning program with interactive and collaborative group work within the classroom make up the core of the day, followed by an exchange of experiences with classes from other countries.

Ahead of the challenge event, teachers are encouraged to participate in a training course about satellite imagery and GIS (Geographic Information System). The course will give teachers further insight into remote sensing and satellite images, which is essential for climate and environmental monitoring, and can inspire highly relevant learning activities in the classroom.