For information only - not an official document

UNIS/OS/540
7 December 2020

UN Office for Outer Space Affairs and United Arab Emirates Space Agency host 2 nd World Space Forum

VIENNA, 7 December (United Nations Information Service) - The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency joined forces to host the second edition of the World Space Forum (WSF), an event that brings together the global space sector to promote international cooperation for the future of space exploration.

The event will take place online on 9 and 10 December and is free and open for all to attend by registering here.

This year's Forum, titled "Space for our future", focuses on finding synergies to multiply the benefits of space for sustainable development. Space agencies and other space actors are already making great contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the WSF aims to leverage and expand these efforts by promoting the exchange of know-how and best practices.

The event will feature five main sessions:

-        High-level opening segment on space for everyone, everywhere with keynotes by UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo and Director General of the UAE Space Agency Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi

-        Space for humanity, on the contributions of space to poverty measurement and reduction, combating inequalities, furthering global health solutions, including for COVID-19 and the importance of inclusiveness in the space sector

-        Space for the planet, on how space can help humanity tackle climate change and environmental degradation, as well as monitoring these trends

-        Space for economy, on the space sector as a driver of innovation, job creation and economic productivity

-        Sustainable future in space, on expanding access to current space applications and developing solutions to preserve the outer space environment for future generations

The programme also includes a side event on the future of space exploration and a special event to announce the opening of the 6 th round of the United Nations/Japan Cooperation Programme on CubeSat Deployment from the International Space Station (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) " KiboCUBE".

The complete agenda is available here.

UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo said: "We are proud to host this second edition of the WSF at such a challenging time, when bringing the global community together to accelerate solutions is particularly important. Space has an essential role to play in addressing global issues such as the current pandemic and climate change. Through this new online format, we are confident this event will reach space actors all over the world, expanding the dialogue to a larger and more diverse audience."

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For more information, please contact:

Ottavia Pesce
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Telephone: (+43 699) 1459 8718
Email: pesce[at]un.org