The UN/ESA course follow-up programme - A Vietnamese success

The one-year UN/ESA/Vietnam project described here illustrates how successful a joint effort in the environmental domain can be when supported by national authorities and people working with enthusiasm and dedication. A fundamental cornerstone was the on-going long-term co-operation between the UN and ESA, particularly in the field of space-technology applications. The Vietnamese experience underlines the fact that Earth-observation training initiatives are most effective when participants are offered the opportunity to immediately put into practice what they have learned, through the establishment of operational tools and methodologies and with experts on hand to advise and assist.