## 5 Discussion
### Successes and Challenges from the Copernicus Events in Ecuador and Bolivia  
In Ecuador, the need to adapt to virtual workshops due to a security emergency enabled the continuation of training sessions without cancellation. Although postponement was considered, it was not feasible due to existing institutional agreements. Consequently, it was imperative that the planning of the training workshops be swiftly reshaped into a virtual format (Figure 13a), despite the potential drawbacks of adopting a fast-track approach [51]. This adaptability was facilitated by the needs and capabilities survey, which provided several topics of interest for the workshop curriculum redesign. This input appears to explain the higher scores in the \"quality and relevance\" category of the satisfaction survey, which exceeded 70%. Unfortunately, the transition to a virtual workshop was perceived as less satisfactory, especially during the first week following the announcement, with satisfaction scores ranging from 73% to 80% compared with over 80% previously. This sentiment was similarly reflected in the evaluation of teaching methods and attendance, both of which appeared to decline in effectiveness as the training days progressed, dropping from 60% to 45%. Despite these figures being computed from qualifications that express very high satisfaction, they help to denote factors such as participant fatigue, lurking, and turnover, which likely contributed to these outcomes. These factors may also explain the declining scores for evaluations and exercises, despite overall thresholds being met (see Section 3.5). The disadvantages of video conferencing in education have been largely discussed in the context of the pandemic [52; 53]. To mitigate such challenges, it is recommended to provide more diverse learning resources than previously used--such as mini-projects, personalized content, or peer review activities--which could be beneficial. However, it is crucial to properly advise students of the benefits and achievable outcomes of these activities to enhance their effectiveness [54]. Also, breaking full-day virtual workshops into a series of shorter, individual sessions has been noted as an effective approach [55]. Integrating these resources with guest speaker sessions, as well as incorporating novel approaches such as virtual fieldwork [56], might enhance engagement and help combat discomfort. In the panel discussions, the careful selection of content, informed by stakeholders coordinators before the core discussions, proved essential for the event's relevance and effectiveness. This approach effectively conveyed that their needs could be enhanced by integrating data and tools from Copernicus. Therefore, the flexibility of the program and its content redesign was again crucial not only for tailoring these talks to specific CS but also for meeting stakeholders' interests and maximizing the time for them to express their needs. While it may seem self-evident, managing precise content and time effectively in practice proves challenging, particularly when sensitive topics need to be discussed [58], stakeholder experiences vary [59], and the number of participants complicates the overall duration of the panel [60] (Figure 13b). These time constraints led in our case to ignore the importance of demonstrations of CS, which generated some dissatisfaction among experienced stakeholders, as well as the verification of survey collections from in-person  
Figure 13: (a) Capture of the final day of the virtual training workshops in Ecuador on January 19, where participation certificates were awarded. (b) Facebook announcement by the Vice Presidency of the Pluripotational State of Bolivia and the European Union Mission in Bolivia, inviting participation in the Copernicus Program talks on February 16 [57]. participants. To mitigate these issues, carefully considering the allocation of time for short demonstrations focused on data access may improve the impact of talks, as observed in other GIS-related training [61].