During the Living Planet Symposium 2025 in Vienna, EUSPA hosted an Agora session to present the World Heritage Hub concept. The session highlighted the ongoing efforts to establish a comprehensive single access point for Copernicus data and services, specifically designed for the global monitoring and protection of cultural and natural heritage. The Copernicus World Heritage Hub is being implemented under EUSPA's guidance, having been entrusted by the European Commission with its development. The Hub will serve as a centralised platform for accessing Copernicus data and services that are crucial for monitoring the world’s cultural and natural heritage. This includes data on climate, coastal zones, biodiversity, land, the atmosphere, security and emergency situations. Given that Europe is home to over 60 of the world's 218 natural heritage sites, the hub's primary focus will be on preserving and supporting the region's rich cultural and natural heritage.

In addition to improving data accessibility, the hub will actively contribute to important policy initiatives such as the Biodiversity Strategy and the Nature Restoration Law. By providing an open data platform, the Hub will support new and existing users alike, facilitating informed decision-making and enabling the monitoring of cultural heritage sites during crises, conflicts and natural disasters.

The World Heritage Hub will encourage active engagement between users and Copernicus services, promoting collaboration between different organisations. As the agency responsible for Copernicus user uptake, EUSPA envisages the hub as a means of identifying thematic needs, addressing data gaps and leveraging the full potential of Copernicus data. The hub will also implement pilot projects and use cases to demonstrate the practical benefits of Copernicus data for protecting and monitoring cultural and natural heritage.

The session featured a panel of experts, moderated by Chiara Solimini, Space Downstream Market Officer at EUSPA.

The distinguished speakers included:

• Anastasia Anastasiou, Project Manager and Surveying Engineer at Geosystems Hellas
• Andrea Taramelli, Professor and Principal Researcher, and Lead of the Cultural Heritage Task Force
• Andreas Brink, Scientific Officer at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre
• Benjamin Ducke, IT Director at the German Archaeological Institute
• Delphine Deryng, Partnerships and User Engagement, ECMWF & IPCC Lead Author
• Denis Bruckert, Head of the Copernicus Unit at SatCen
• Florent Michenot, PhD, Researcher, CentraleSupélec
• Katia Schörle, Permanent Scientific Researcher, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

The panel discussed how the Copernicus World Heritage Hub will serve as an invaluable tool for preserving cultural and natural heritage sites worldwide by ensuring that critical information is readily available to decision-makers, conservationists and local communities. As the hub evolves, it will become a vital asset in safeguarding our planet’s invaluable heritage for future generations.