CNES/Education Authority : a formalised relationship

CNES/Education Authority Agreement

On 10 March 2006, Jean-Louis Marcé, Director of CNES/CSG and Jean-Michel Blanquer, President of the French Guiana Education Authority, signed a partnership agreement formalising various activities for popularising science and Space studies for the benefit of young people.

Under this partnership agreement CNES and the French Guiana Education Authority will work together for a period of four years on a joint Space education strategy.  Its objectives are to raise awareness among young people about Space activities, support teachers in their educational projects, and improve the general public's image of CNES/CSG in particular and Space activities in general by emphasising the practical applications of Space for the good of society.  These objectives will be achieved by implementing suitable policies, particularly in education.  

The Guiana Education Authority has made Environment and Space its two priority themes for the region.  In Guiana's particular case, the characteristics of the territory and the importance of the research institutes based on its soil mean that particularly advanced technical and scientific teaching projects can be considered.  This is especially true for the environment, particularly relating to studies of the Amazon but also in the Space domain, given the presence of the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's Spaceport. 

The two signatories therefore made the joint decision to implement a number of policies within the framework of this partnership agreement: 

- Teaching strategies

·         Systematic initiation to CSG for all schoolchildren in CM2 and troisième (Year 6 and Year 10)

·       Development of teaching materials which use Space sciences to illustrate themes covered in the official syllabuses for technology, engineering sciences, physics and chemistry, life sciences, Earth and Universe sciences, and environmental education, as well as syllabuses for geography and economic and social sciences.

 ·         Support in forming a club to bring together teachers and CSG participants, in order to manage teaching activities and organise lectures and seminars aimed at teachers and students.

 ·       Support in forming astronomy and aerospace clubs in local schools.

- Support in developing new information and communication technologies (ICTs)

·         CNES/CSG to sponsor the école des fleuves (river school) academic project which concerns computerisation and creation of satellite links in support of innovative projects aiming to reduce isolation in villages upriver.

 - Higher education

·         Involvement of CSG participants in higher education activities in French Guiana , particularly for doctoral students, in partnership with research institutes such as the Pôle Universitaire Guyanais and the Antilles Guyane University .

 ·        Development of cooperation between CNES/CSG and the Guiana Education Authority for awarding higher education grants.

- One-off events 

·         Formal collaboration between the two parties in events such as the Science Festival, national mathematics and chemistry Olympiads, regional chess Olympiads, scientific rallies, exhibitions, etc.

·         Support for creating projects such as workshops, contests for reading, writing and artistic expression,  language exchanges on themes relevant to the Space adventure.

·         The Guiana Education Authority and CNES/CSG will also respond together to develop projects for popularising science and Space studies involving schools in French Guiana, other French regions and other countries, in order to extend the influence of French Guiana and its Education Authority in France, Europe, the Amazon and the Caribbean.