For information only - not an official document

UNIS/MA/224
7 June 2018

MEDIA ADVISORY

Representatives from governments, private sector, civil society, academia and more than 20 space agencies to speak at UNISPACE+50 Symposium

Media representatives are invited to the UNISPACE+50 Symposium on

18 - 19 June 2018

M-Building, Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria

VIENNA, 7 June (United Nations Information Service) - Representatives from governments, private sector, civil society, academia and more than 20 space agencies from around the world will speak at the UNISPACE+50 Symposium from 18 to 19 June. They will be joined by United Nations Champion for Space, former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who will deliver a keynote address.

UNISPACE+50, organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), will be held from 18 to 21 June 2018 in the M-Building of the Vienna International Centre (VIC). It will consist of two parts: a Symposium on 18 and 19 June, and a High-level Segment on 20 and 21 June.

UNISPACE+50 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, held in Vienna in 1968, and provide an opportunity for the international community to consider the future course of global space cooperation for the benefit of humankind.

Hundreds of representatives from the space community are expected at UNISPACE+50, including United Nations Member States, Permanent Observers, United Nations entities, space agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, civil society, students, and the private sector and industry.

The Symposium aims to engage the broader space community in considering current and future space-related issues. It will be held in the M-Plenary room of the VIC. The programme of the Symposium is:

	Monday 18 June	Tuesday 19 June
9:30 - 10:00	Opening remarks by United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs	Keynote address by  Scott Kelly, United Nations Champion for Space
10:00 - 11:30	Opening panel	Space and Civil Society panel
12:00 - 13:30	Space and Industries panel	Space for Youth panel
15:00 - 16:30	Space for Women panel	Heads of Space Agencies panel

 

Speakers at the Symposium include:

• UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo
• United Nations Champion for Space and former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly
• Director General of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency Mohammed Al Ahbabi
• President of the Italian Space Agency Roberto Battiston
• Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN, OSCE and Other International Organizations Andrej Benedejčič
• Director General of the Israel Space Agency Avi Blasberger
• Director of Policy of the United Kingdom Space Agency Alice Bunn
• Head of the Peru Space Agency Carlos David Caballero
• Italian astrophysicist Patrizia Caraveo
• Executive Director of the Centre for Research in Air and Space Law at Mc Gill University Kuan Wei Chen
• President of the Brazilian Space Agency Jose Raimundo Braga Coelho
• President and co-founder of the Secure World Foundation Cyndia Collins Arsenault
• Director of European Programmes, Space and Technical Returns of the Centre for Development of Industrial Technology of Spain Juan Carlos Cortés
• German Aerospace Center Secretary in the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' Jens Danzeglocke
• Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council Clementine Decoopman
• Group Chief Executive Officer of SCS Aerospace Group Francois Denner
• Executive Director of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency Carlo Des Dorides
• Chair of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center Pascale Ehrenfreund
• Chief Executive Officer of Green Spin Sebastian Fritsch
• Chief Scientist of NASA Jim Green
• Executive Vice President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Orkun Hasekioglu
• Senior Lecturer at Technische Universität Wien Sandra Häuplik-Meusburger
• Chief Executive Officer of Satellogic Emiliano Kargieman
• Director General of the Vienna Natural History Museum Christian Koeberl
• Chairman of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission Qaiser Anees Khurram
• Vice-President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute Lee Sang-ryul
• President of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales Jean-Yves Le Gall
• Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization Li Xinjun
• Director General of the Mexican Space Agency Francisco Javier Mendieta Jiménez
• Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Space Agency Valanathan Munsami
• Head of Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center Walther Pelzer
• President of the Romanian Space Agency Marius-Ioan Piso
• Managing Director of Austrian Research Promotion Agency Klaus Pseiner
• General Director of International Affairs and Space Security of the Mexican Space Agency Rosa Maria Ramírez de Arellano y Haro
• Founder and Chairperson of Space Trust Namira Salim
• Manager of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Space Education Center Kaori Sasaki
• Chief Executive Officer of Planet Robert Schingler
• Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation Michael Simpson
• Chair of the Indian Space Research Organization Kailasavadivoo Sivan
• Secretary-General of the China National Space Administration Yulong Tian
• President of the Paraguayan Space Agency Liduvino Vielman Díaz
• Director General of the European Space Agency Jan Wörner
• President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Hiroshi Yamakawa
• President of China HEAD Aerospace Group Dachuang Zhou

A full list of speakers is available at www.unoosa.org.

Other activities

The UNISPACE+50 Symposium will be followed by a UNISPACE+50 High-level Segment from 20 to 21 June, to which media are also invited. Details of the High-level Segment can be found in a separate media advisory available here.

There will also be a number of side events during UNISPACE+50, which are listed in the UNISPACE+50 programme.

In addition, a UNISPACE+50 exhibition featuring more than 40 exhibitors will be held in the Rotunda of the VIC from 18 to 23 June. The exhibition will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday 23 June. Further details on the exhibition can be found here.

Further details about UNISPACE+50, including the full programme, are available at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/unispaceplus50/media.html

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Media representatives who wish to attend the event, and who are not accredited to the VIC, should write to press[at]unvienna.org.

Access to the M-Building is via Gate One of the Vienna International Centre.

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For more information, and to request interviews with Ms. Di Pippo or Mr. Kelly, please contact:

Daria Brankin
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Telephone: (+43 699) 1459 8718
Email: daria.brankin[at]un.org