Name: Workshop 2 of the SAGWG
Start: 2026-09-30T08:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-02T16:00:00+02:00
Location: DLRRD Pretoria

Workshop 2 of the SAGWG

from Wednesday, 30 September 2026 (08:00) to Friday, 2 October 2026 (16:00)

Monday, 28 September 2026
Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Wednesday, 30 September 2026

08:00 Bus from DLRRD Pretoria to Hartebeesthoek
Bus from DLRRD Pretoria to Hartebeesthoek
08:00 - 09:45
09:45 Excursion: SARAO Hartebeesthoek
SARAO Hartebeesthoek
09:45 - 11:30
Contributions

10:00 Welcome and Opening - Aletha de Witt (DSTI) Aslam Parker (Department of Land Reform and Rural Development)

10:15 Welcome: SARAO - Adrian Tiplady (SARAO)

10:20 Introduction to HartRAO - Roelf Botha (SARAO)

10:35 Tour of HartRAO via interactive sessions - Jon Quick Lungelo Gumede Pieter Stronkhorst Roelf Botha (SARAO) Simphiwe Madlanga
11:30 Travel to SANSA Hartebeesthoek
Travel to SANSA Hartebeesthoek
11:30 - 12:00
12:00 Excursion: SANSA Hartebeesthoek
SANSA Hartebeesthoek
12:00 - 14:30
Contributions

12:00 Introduction to SANSA - Eugene Avenant

12:30 Tour + Interactive Session and Q&A

14:15 Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks Final Networking - Aletha de Witt (DSTI) Aslam Parker (Department of Land Reform and Rural Development)
14:30 Bus from SANSA Hartebeesthoek to DLRRD Pretoria
Bus from SANSA Hartebeesthoek to DLRRD Pretoria
14:30 - 16:00
Thursday, 1 October 2026

08:30 Registration and Tea / Coffee
Registration and Tea / Coffee
08:30 - 09:00
09:00 Pillar 1: Foundations
09:00 - 09:55
Contributions

09:00 Welcome - Siyabonga Mdubeki (Chief Surveyor General, DLRRD)

09:10 UN-GGCE and recent developments - Nicholas Brown (Head of Office of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE))

09:30 One year on... - Aletha de Witt (Director for Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI) Aslam Parker (Chief Director: National Geospatial Information, DLRRD)
09:55 Overview of the SAGWG Pillars - Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI)
Overview of the SAGWG Pillars
- Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI)
09:55 - 10:15
Introduces the (refined) pillar framework, setting up the individual pillar sessions that follow across both days
10:15 Tea / Coffee
Tea / Coffee
10:15 - 10:50
10:50 History
10:50 - 11:40
Contributions

10:50 History of Geodesy in South Africa and Africa - Terrestrial - Patrick Vorster (Retired Chief Professional Surveyor, DLRRD)

11:20 History - Space Geodesy - Roelf Botha (Manager of Space Goedesy, SARAO)
11:40 Pillar 3: Infrastructure and Operations: Pillar 3: Infrastructure & Operations
Pillar 3: Infrastructure & Operations
11:40 - 12:30
Contributions

11:40 Evolution of South Africa’s active GNSS reference network - Cleotilda Nxumalo (Chief Professional Surveyor, DLRRD)

12:00 Space Geodetic Infrastructure - Roelf Botha (Manager of Space Goedesy, SARAO)

12:15 SANSA geodetic infrastructure: from Africa to the polar regions - Jon Ward (EDA Manager, SANSA)
12:30 Lunch
Lunch
12:30 - 13:30
13:30 Pillar 5: Data, Standards and Open Access
13:30 - 14:20
Contributions

13:30 International standards frameworks - Nozipho Madlala (Chief Professional Surveyor, DLRRD)

13:50 SDI Act and Standards - Dalikhaya Mdunge (Chairperson, CSI)

14:05 Geodetic Data Stewardship through Open Access, FAIR, TRUST, CARE and Open Science - Glenda Coetzer (SARAO)
14:20 Pillar 6: Reference Systems and Regional Frames
14:20 - 15:00
Contributions

14:20 Terrestrial Reference Frames and Systems - Aslam Parker (Chief Director: National Geospatial Information, DLRRD)

14:45 Tide gauge network and hydrological systems - Ruth Farre (Superintendent Tidal Information, Hydrographic Office, SA Navy)
15:00 Tea / Coffee
Tea / Coffee
15:00 - 15:20
15:20 Pillar 6: Reference Systems and Regional Frames
15:20 - 16:00
Contributions

15:20 Height reference systems - Siphiwe Mphuthi (Geoscience researcher, UCT)

15:35 International Celestial Reference Frame and EOPs - Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI)
Friday, 2 October 2026

08:15 Registration and Tea / Coffee
Registration and Tea / Coffee
08:15 - 08:40
08:40 Pillar 7: Human Capital Development
08:40 - 09:30
Contributions

08:40 Geodesy Education and Research at Traditional Universities: Current Provision and Future Needs - Mulemwa Akombelwa (UKZN) Patroba Odera (University of Cape Town) Siphiwe Mphuthi (Geoscience researcher)

09:00 Geodesy Education and Postgraduate Training at TUT: Current Provision and Future Needs - Kovilen Reddy (Tshwane University of Technology, Geomatics Department)

09:15 Geodesy Education at DUT: Experiences, Challenges and Future Directions - Misheck Phiri (Durban University of Technology)
09:30 Pillar 2: Advocacy, Communications and Outreach
09:30 - 10:20
Contributions

09:30 Advocacy for geodesy: from technical need to political priority - Laila Løvhøiden (Norwegian Mapping Authority)

09:45 Geodesy as the Foundation of a Future-Ready Geomatics Profession: Regulation, Competence and National Spatial Resilience - Morena Letsosa (SAGC)

10:05 The Next Generation of Geomatics Practitioners: Integrating Geodesy, GNSS, GIS, Remote Sensing and Geospatial Data Science - Tshepisho Agnecia Lefenyo (DLRRD)
10:20 Tea / Coffee
Tea / Coffee
10:20 - 10:40
10:40 Pollar 4: Spectrum protection
10:40 - 11:20
Contributions

10:40 Frequency Protection for geodetic VLBI - Support for an Agenda Item at WRC-31 - Hayo Hase (Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie)

11:00 Radio Frequency Spectrum Management - Selaelo Matlhane (SARAO)
11:20 Pillar 8: R&D and next-gen supply chain - innovation and technology development
11:20 - 12:15
Contributions

11:20 SANSA and low-cost GNSS - Jon Ward (EDA Manager, SANSA)

11:35 BeiDou High-Accuracy Services: Opportunities for Geodetic Applications - Ningbo Wang (Aerospace Informatioin Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

11:50 Brief overview of the current state and trajectory of aerial surveying and satellite remote sensing technology for mapping - Adriaan Combrink

12:05 Earth Observation applications using Beidou - Lesiba Thomas Tsoeleng (SANSA)
12:15 Lunch
Lunch
12:15 - 13:15
13:15 Industry
13:15 - 13:55
Contributions

13:15 Precision at Scale - The Tanzania CORS Installation

13:35 Quality Control of CORS Stations and Data - Talal Hanna (Leica GeoSystems)
13:55 Interactive session, demos (Tea and Coffee available)
Interactive session, demos (Tea and Coffee available)
13:55 - 14:15
14:15 Africa
14:15 - 15:20
Contributions

14:15 Update on GGOS-Africa - Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI)

14:30 UN-GGIM Africa working group on AFREF - Aslam Parker (Chief Director: National Geospatial Information, DLRRD)

14:45 Importance of Advocacy and Outreach for Geodesy - Initiatives led under GGOS - Martin Sehnal (BEV - Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying)

15:00 Strengthening the Future of Geodesy: Empowering Early Career Scientists (ECS) - Franck Ghomsi
15:20 Summary, Highlights & Way Forward - Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI) Aslam Parker (Chief Director: National Geospatial Information, DLRRD)
Summary, Highlights & Way Forward
- Aletha de Witt (Director: Radio Astronomy Projects, DSTI)
- Aslam Parker (Chief Director: National Geospatial Information, DLRRD)
15:20 - 15:40
15:40 Close & Communiqué - Siyabonga Mdubeki (Chief Surveyor General, DLRRD)
Close & Communiqué
- Siyabonga Mdubeki (Chief Surveyor General, DLRRD)
15:40 - 15:55