Community of Ariane Cities

The Community of Ariane Cities (CVA, Communauté des villes Ariane) is a non-profit association founded in 1998 that brings together European cities — known as 'Ariane Cities' — and partner industrial firms and institutions working in European space transportation. Its members include municipalities and urban communities, aerospace companies such as Arianespace, ArianeGroup, Avio, MT Aerospace, Safran Aeroboosters, Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence & Space, Clemessy, Ruag and Telespazio, and space agencies including ESA, CNES and ASI. The association is headquartered in Paris and counts around 30 members from six European countries. The CVA's stated missions are to strengthen cooperation among European players in space transport, keep citizens and elected representatives informed about Europe's space activities and the excellence of its know-how, promote the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) as Europe's spaceport and communicate the vital importance of independent European access to space, and support the training of tomorrow's space-sector professionals. It pursues these goals through an annual rotating presidency held by a member city and its industrial partner, summer schools for engineering and science students, industrial seminars, secondary-school science programmes, and annual visits to the Kourou space centre. Each member city or grouping of municipalities is represented by its local or regional administration and establishes a partnership with one or more industrial firms. Every year a member city and its industrial partner are elected by the Council of Mayors (CoM), the CVA's decision-making body, to take on the presidency. Programmes are decided jointly by members during CoM meetings, while implementation and everyday operations are handled by the association's Bureau and a General Delegation. The CVA is a membership and advocacy organisation rather than a commercial manufacturer; its 'brand' is the network itself and the Ariane Cities label. It operates across Europe and maintains a strong link to French Guiana through its promotion of the Guiana Space Centre. Its summer school, held each year in a different member city and supported by industrial sponsors, is one of its best-known activities.

The Community of Ariane Cities (CVA) was founded in 1998 as a non-profit association. Its creation reflected a desire to build a lasting link between the European municipalities that host or are associated with the Ariane launcher programme and the industrial firms, space agencies and research bodies that make European space transportation possible. From the outset the association was built around the concept of 'Ariane Cities' — municipalities and urban communities whose local economies, industries or institutions are tied to the Ariane and Vega launcher programmes. The association is headquartered in Paris and has grown to around 30 members from six European countries. Its membership is organised in three broad categories: Ariane Cities (municipalities and urban communities), industrial firms, and space agencies. Among the industrial members listed in the late 2010s were Airbus Defence & Space, ArianeGroup, Arianespace, Avio, Clemessy, MT Aerospace, Ruag, Safran Aeroboosters, Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space. Space agency members included the European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the French national space agency (CNES). Ariane Cities have included Augsburg, Bordeaux Métropole, Bremen, Charleroi, Colleferro, Évry/Courcouronnes, Kourou, the Forum Ariane Lampoldshausen, Les Mureaux, Liège, Mulhouse, Seville, Toulouse and Vernon. A defining feature of the CVA is its annual rotating presidency. Each year a member city and its industrial partner are elected by the Council of Mayors (CoM), the association's decision-making body, to take on the presidency. The presidency has been held by Madrid (2010), Les Mureaux (2011), Bremen (2012), Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération (2013), Salon-de-Provence (2014), Lampoldshausen (2016), Toulouse (2017), Les Mureaux (2018), Seville (2019), Bordeaux (2020), Vernon (2023) and Mulhouse (2025). The 2024 presidency was led by Seville, and the 2025 presidency was launched with m2A and Clemessy Eiffage Énergie Systèmes. Programmes are decided jointly by members during CoM meetings, while their implementation and the association's everyday operations are the responsibility of its Bureau and a General Delegation. The CVA's activities include an annual summer school on aerospace themes, industrial seminars, scientific programmes for secondary schools, and annual visits to the Kourou space centre in French Guiana. The CVA Summer School is one of the association's flagship activities. It offers selected students from European engineering schools and scientific master's programmes the chance to extend their technical skills and overall knowledge of the aerospace field. Each summer school combines technical courses, visits to industrial sites and laboratory research, and is organised each year in a different city with one or more industrial sponsors. Teaching is delivered by professors from host institutions — such as ISAE, the University of Liège, Arts et Métiers ParisTech and Sapienza University of Rome — and by technical staff from the sponsors. By 2025 the summer school had reached its 24th edition. Through its activities, the CVA promotes the strategic role of French Guiana and the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), Europe's spaceport, and communicates the importance of Europe having independent access to space. It also emphasises the economic and social implications of European launcher programmes and the technological progress they bring about, and facilitates long-term cooperation between Ariane Cities, firms, space agencies, research institutes and educational bodies.

• 2025

  Mulhouse holds the CVA presidency; 24th CVA Summer School announced.

• 2024

  Seville leads the CVA presidency.

• 2023

  Vernon holds the CVA presidency.

• 2020

  Bordeaux holds the CVA presidency.

• 2019

  Seville holds the CVA presidency.

• 2017

  Toulouse holds the CVA presidency.

• 2016

  Lampoldshausen holds the CVA presidency.

• 2014

  Salon-de-Provence holds the CVA presidency.

• 2013

  Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération holds the CVA presidency.

• 2012

  Bremen holds the CVA presidency.

• 2011

  Les Mureaux holds the CVA presidency.

• 2010

  Madrid holds the CVA presidency.

• 2002

  CNES joins as a member.

• 2001

  ESA joins as a member.

• 2000

  Bordeaux, French Guiana and Augsburg join as member cities.

• 1999

  Les Mureaux, Toulouse and Colleferro among early member cities.

• 1998

  Community of Ariane Cities founded as a non-profit association.

A non-profit European network and advocacy platform linking Ariane Cities, space-industry firms and agencies to promote European space transportation and independent access to space.

• CVA Summer School

  Annual aerospace summer school for selected European engineering and science students, combining technical courses, industrial site visits and laboratory research.

• Annual rotating presidency

  Each year a member city and its industrial partner are elected by the Council of Mayors to take on the presidency.

• Industrial seminars

  Annual seminars aimed at the industrial world.

• Secondary-school science programmes

  Scientific programmes for secondary education.

• Kourou space centre visits

  Annual visits to the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou.

1. 1Home - CVA ariane citiesariane-cities.org
2. 2About us - CVA ariane citiesariane-cities.org
3. 3Communauté des villes Arianefr.wikipedia.org
4. 4阿丽亚娜城市共同体wikidata.org