EUMETSAT Annual Report 2022

EUMETSAT ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Communication and outreach
The launch of Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) –
Imager 1 was the focus of much of EUMETSAT’s
external communication activity in 2022. The impact
and benefits of the MTG system, for member
states and Africa, in particular, were highlighted via
the media and social media throughout the year,
reaching a crescendo during the launch campaign
itself from September to December.
The communication team’s approach was to
ensure all activities were as inclusive, dynamic
and sustainable as possible.
Close collaboration with media offices in member
states’ national meteorological and hydrological
services (NHMS) resulted in national media
coverage in 25 of those countries. Half of the NMHS
also published news about the MTG-I1 launch
online. This successfully enabled member states
to explain their involvement in the programme and
the benefits it would bring their citizens. In addition,
media briefings the week before launch were held
in English, Italian, French and German and achieved
widespread coverage of the expected benefits of
MTG. The briefings included spokespeople from
EUMETSAT, the European Space Agency, industry
and NMHS.
A more structured approach to internal
communication began at EUMETSAT in 2022. In
order to connect a growing workforce, EUMETSAT
launched an internal newsletter, a blog written by
senior managers, and a quarterly newsletter focusing
on innovation, held more internal briefing events and
continued to publish articles on the intranet.
Other communication activities undertaken by
EUMETSAT also promoted important achievements
and projects. For example, the deorbiting of
Meteosat-8 in October was covered by the media
and showcased the expertise of EUMETSAT’s
operations teams and the organisation’s
commitment to preventing space debris. A
competition was organised by EUMETSAT, the
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasts, Mercator Ocean International and the
European Environment Agency to promote the
use of Copernicus data. The competition involved
the development of Jupyter notebooks to help
people work with the vast amount of data available,
creating a community-driven resource. The
competition attracted more than 450 registrations
and resulted in 31 notebooks being submitted.
In September, EUMETSAT provided all staff members
with a booklet outlining the organisation’s core
values. The core values are guidance on how staff
do their daily work, and promote behaviours that
foster a positive and productive work environment
in alignment with EUMETSAT’s mission and vision.
The booklet also is provided to all new recruits.
Ethics Officer
The Ethics Officer’s mandate was broadened in
2022 so that everybody working at EUMETSAT,
staff member or contractor, may consult with her
or share concerns or allegations of retaliation.
The Ethics Officer also made significant progress
in establishing a shared understanding of the
definition of ethics in the organisational context
and her role. She held multiple briefings, including
with the Chairman of EUMETSAT’s Administrative
and Finance Group (AFG), the Director-General, the
management board and heads of divisions.
Newcomers met with the Ethics Officer as part
of their induction process to be briefed on the
organisation’s ethics framework and reporting of
wrongdoing policy, how to raise issues and points
of contact. The Ethics Officer also attended divisional
and departmental assemblies to explain her role
and activities.
Work began on an invitation to tender for a code of
ethics, ethics training, and an awareness campaign
and tools for a “speak-up” programme. The proposal
will be completed in 2023.
Other milestones in 2022 included:
• A pilot training programme for senior staff on
bullying and harassment and investigations was
held and a new course is being developed with an
option to include training on increasing general
awareness of ethics.
• As part of the framework allowing EUMETSAT
employees to report wrongdoing in a secure and
streamlined manner, and to receive protection
against retaliation, the policy and framework were
extended to include employees of contracted
service companies, as well as temporary
workers, interns and visiting scientists. This
included improvements to the mechanism for
reporting wrongdoing, allowing contractors to
escalate reports to the AFG Chairperson and
allowing for allegations of retaliation from people
who are not EUMETSAT employees on a case-bycase
basis.
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