GEO Global Forum

Nominations are now open for the 2025 GEO Awards.

The 2025 GEO Awards are now open for nominations. In celebration of GEO's 20-year anniversary, this year’s awards will feature two categories: the first honours emerging individual leaders, continuing the tradition set in 2023 in Cape Town, while the second introduces a special Lifetime Achievement Award to mark this significant milestone.

Nominations, including self-nominations and nominations by sponsors, should be submitted by 31 January 2025. Whether through groundbreaking initiatives, impactful collaborations, or outstanding leadership, this is your opportunity to spotlight those who embody GEO’s mission.

The award winners will be honoured at a ceremony at a ceremony during the GEO Global Forum in Rome, Italy, from 5-9 May 2025.

The GEO Secretariat will host an information webinar on the 4th of December at 14:00 CET to offer guidance on crafting strong applications and to answer questions about the application process and awards.

Please find the link to this information webinar here.

Previous winners

2019 winners 2020 winners 2021 winners 2022 winners 2023 winners

Criteria

In 2025, the awards will be allocated across two categories, with a maximum of two awardees per category.

Emerging Leader Award

The Emerging Leader Award is dedicated to recognizing young leaders. The criteria for selection are:

• Leadership Role and Impact: The nominee must have held a leadership role that resulted in a concrete and measurable impact in the field of Earth Observations within the past five (5) years. This impact should be clearly demonstrated through successful projects, initiatives, or advocacy efforts that have made a tangible difference.
• Effective Communication and Advocacy: The nominee must have demonstrated exceptional ability in effectively communicating and advocating for youth perspectives and concerns in the field of EO. This criterion acknowledges the importance of amplifying the voices of young leaders and their contributions to the GEO community.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: The nominee should have demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with others and work as part of a team in advancing Earth Observations initiatives. This criterion highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration skills, which are crucial for achieving collective goals within the GEO community.
• Innovation: The nominee should have shown innovation in their style or approach to tackling challenges and driving positive changes in the field of EO. This criterion recognizes individuals who have displayed creativity, originality, and forward-thinking in their work.
• Age Limit: The nominee must be under (including) 35 years old, reflecting the goal of acknowledging emerging leaders and promoting opportunities for the younger generation within the GEO community.
• Alignment with GEO’s Core Values: The nominee’s efforts should be consistent with GEO’s core values and principles, including the promotion of open data, collaboration, and the sustainable use of Earth Observation data for societal benefits.
• Regional and Gender Balance: The awards jury will consider regional and gender balance among the awardees to ensure diverse representation and inclusivity within the Emerging Leader Award category.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award is specifically designed to recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional personal commitment to the GEO Mission, and whose work has had a tangible impact. The criteria for selection are:

• Accomplishment and Measurable Impact: The recipient’s contribution must demonstrate a significant, long-lasting impact in the field of Earth Observations over their professional career. This impact should be evident through a body of work that has driven social, economic, or environmental benefits. Assessment of their lifetime achievements will be based on illustrative examples such as:
  • Establishing and nurturing sustained communities focused on Earth observation over many years.
  • Generating enduring social and economic benefits for citizens and countries through Earth observations.
  • Influencing long-term policy development and changes through Earth observation-related advocacy and discussions.
  • Pioneering the adoption and long-term sustainability of Earth observations in new sectors and regions.
  • Expanding involvement in Earth observation initiatives, with particular attention to diverse representation, including youth, gender and geographic inclusion.
  • Advancing new products, methodologies, or policy-relevant research through GEO Flagships, Initiatives, Pilot Initiatives, or communities, with a lasting legacy.
• Active Global or Regional Network: The recipient should have demonstrated a career of active engagement and collaboration within global or regional communities, promoting the sustained advancement of Earth observation for decision-making processes worldwide.
• Originality and Innovation: The recipient should have demonstrated originality and innovation throughout their career, using Earth observations to address complex challenges and drive transformative changes. The criterion highlights individuals who have introduced novel approaches or methodologies that have had a lasting impact.
• Alignment with GEO's Core Values: The recipient’s lifelong efforts should align with GEO’s core values, including fostering collaboration, open data sharing, and the sustainable use of Earth observations data throughout their career.
• Regional and Gender Balance: The awards jury will consider regional and gender balance among the awardees to ensure diverse representation and inclusivity within the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Guidelines

Nominations should be made using this nomination form.

The main element of the nomination is a maximum 2-page write-up detailing why the candidate deserves this recognition and the importance of the nominee’s effort against the relevant criteria. Nominations should include a brief CV can include supporting information, such as impact stories, reports etc. The nomination should address as many selection criteria as possible, as substantively as possible.

For either award, the primary nominator will secure support from at least one other additional reference. Self-nominations will also need to include two references. These references may be contacted by the Secretariat on behalf of the awards jury, during the review process to seek clarification and other necessary auxiliary information related to the nomination. 

Nominations for GEO Awards are not automatically renewed for the subsequent year. Nominees who do not get selected can be re-nominated in the next year.

To increase diversity in the group of GEO awardees, we encourage sponsors to consider gender, geographical and generational representation when nominating candidates

Nominations must be submitted electronically to awards@geosec.org and must include the following documents to be eligible: 1. Completed Nomination Form and 2. Full CV of the nominee.

FAQ

Who can nominate?

Anyone in the GEO community can nominate individuals/teams for the awards.

Who cannot nominate?

To avoid conflict of interest, members of the Award Jury cannot submit nominations or act as co-sponsors.

Who can be nominated?

Individuals currently involved in a GEO Work Programme activity, or past contributors of GEO with no conflict of interest, may be nominated.

Who cannot be nominated?

• Awards jury
• GEO Secretariat
• GEO Executive Committee members
• Programme Board members

How often can someone win or be nominated?

Individuals can only win an award in a given category once every 3 years.

What’s the timeline?

• Webinars on GEO Awards will take place in December 2024 and recordings will be made available on the website;
• Nominations Submission Deadline is 31 January 2025;
• Finalists selected and notified in March 2025; and
• Award Ceremony will take place in May 2025 at GEO Global Forum in Rome, Italy.