Space Generation Advisory Council

Space Generation Advisory Council
Non-governmental organisation
Industry Space
Founded Vienna, Austria (July 1999 (1999-07))
Headquarters Vienna, Austria
Members 4000 members from 90 countries
Website www.spacegeneration.org

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications is a non-governmental organisation and professional network which "aims to bring the views of students and young space professionals to the United Nations (UN), space industry and other organisations". While the term "Space Generation" defines the generation born after October 4, 1957, the launch of Sputnik, the network is geared towards university students and young professionals in the space sector, aged roughly from 18-35.

The organisation is based in Vienna, Austria, and is also a registered 501c3 organisation in the United States. The volunteer network has over 4000 members in 90 countries between the ages of 18 and 35. The official languages of the SGAC are the six official languages of the United Nations, yet the official working language is English.

SGAC's primary work is in advancing space policy development, representing the world's young adults in space policy to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and other international organisations. SGAC continues to present perspectives of university students and young professionals to the UN through its Observer Status with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS).

History

In December 1997, the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs Secretariat invited the International Space University (ISU) to organise a young adult forum as part of the UNISPACE III Conference, in July 1999 in Vienna.


The Space Generation Forum, organised by ISU alumni volunteers, hosted 160 participants from 60 different countries. Experts explored a wide variety of topics relating to the field of space, which included: science, engineering, technology, law, ethics, art, literature, anthropology and architecture. More than 100 visions and ideas were generated during the conference, written in the form of recommendations. The ten most important ones were drafted as the “Declaration of the Space Generation” which got approved by the UNISPACE III Plenary as the SGF’s Technical Report (refer UN-Document A/Conf.184/L.14) [Reference: click here) Of these ten recommendations, five were integrated into the Vienna Declaration. One of the recommendations was "To create a council to support the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, through raising awareness and exchange of fresh ideas by young adults. The vision is to employ the creativity and vigour of younger generations in advancing humanity through the peaceful uses space". From this directive, the Space Generation Advisory Council in Support of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications was established.

Since its establishment, SGAC has grown rapidly, in 2001 earning Permanent Observer status in UN COPUOS and earning consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2003. The organisation officially opened its headquarters at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in 2005 in Vienna, and hired its first paid employee in 2006. Today, the organisation’s professional network is made up of over 4000 members from 90 countries.

Organisation

SGAC is headed by the Executive Council, which consists of two elected co-chairs as well as 12 elected regional coordinators, two per UN region. The Executive Council is supported by an appointed Executive Office, which is made up of a treasurer, executive officer, two co-secretaries and other members. The rest of the organisation is made up of the National Points of Contact, up to two per participating nation, and the 4000 volunteers who make up the supporting Space Generation Network.

A General Assembly is held annually and serves to bring the National Points of Contact and the Executive Council together, in order to approve or reject propositions introduced by the Executive Council and to change statutes of the organisation.

SGAC works with many outside space-related organisations from around the world. Examples of SGAC’s partners, sponsors, and collaborators include UNOOSA, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Secure World Foundation, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), The European Space Policy Institute, ISU, ... (A complete list of the sponsors and supporter is available on the SGAC website ).

The organisation receives advice from its Advisory Board, composed of twelve current space sector leaders who represent the views of the organisation in promoting space among young generations of the world. The board serves to evaluate work of the organisation and suggest ways to improve its functions and its engagement.

There is also an Honorary Board which is composed of distinguished individuals who have served the organisation in the past and whom SGAC wishes to “recognise for their furtherance of goals similar to those of SGAC.”


SGAC Involvement with the UN

SGAC works constantly to accomplish a key component of its mission as an organisation: to be the dialogue agent between UN Member States present at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the next generation of international space sector leaders.

Vision and Goal

The guiding vision of SGAC is “to employ the creativity and vigour of young generations in advancing humanity through the peaceful uses of outer space.” Furthermore, the organisation states that “[we] believe that the voice of students and young professionals should be heard in the creation of international space policy. As those who will be becoming the key policymakers, providers and users of space, we believe that it is imperative that their opinion is taken into account.”

The primary goal of SGAC is “to provide access to our members to inject their thoughts, views and opinions on the direction of international space policy.” Other goals include:

Conferences

Year Location
2002 Houston, USA
2003 Bremen, Germany
2004 Vancouver, Canada
2005 Fukuoka, Japan
2006 Valencia, Spain
2007 Hyderabad, India
2008 Glasgow, Scotland
2009 Daejeon, South Korea
2010 Prague, Czech Republic
2011 Cape Town, South Africa
2012 Naples, Italy
2013 Beijing, China
2014 Toronto, Canada
2015 Jerusalem, Israel
2016 Guadalajara, Mexico
2017 Adelaide, Australia
2018 Bremen, Germany

Speakers and moderators for past Space Generation Congresses and Fusion Forum include (no ordering):

Advisory Board

SGAC’s Advisory Board is designed to give strategic direction and advice to SGAC in order to help guide the organisation in its fulfillment of its goals and objectives. It provides comment substantively on the work of the organisation and suggests ways in which to improve its functions and its engagement. The board is composed of twelve board members, each of whom serves for a two-year term. The Advisory Board members are influential members of the international space community who have been strong supporters of the goals of SGAC and of the organisation itself.

Current Members in alphabetical order:

Name Position
Michael Brett Outgoing SGAC Chair 2012
Catherine Doldirina Outgoing SGAC Chair 2013
Steve Eisenhart Senior Vice President - Strategic & International Affairs at the Space Foundation
Norbert Frischauf Future Studies Systems Engineer for Spacetec
Yasushi Horikawa Chairman of UN COPUOS and Technical Counselor at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Agnieszka Lukaszczyk Former SGAC Chairperson and Brussels Office Director for the Secure World Foundation
Peter Martinez Chairman of the South African Council for Space Affairs
Tanja Masson-Zwaan President of the International Institute of Space Law
Clayton Mowry President, Arianespace, Inc.
Enrique Pacheco-Cabrera Deputy Director for Space Science and Technology Affairs, Mexican Space Agency
Nicolas Peter Exploration Strategy Officer in the Director General's Cabinet - European Space Agency
Chris Welch Director MSc Programmes, International Space University

Projects and Scholarships

In addition to the Space Generation Congress and the Space Generation Fusion Forum, SGAC hosts a number of competitions and projects. The technical competitions at SGAC, such as the Move an Asteroid Campaign, Entrepreneurship Paper Competition and others, enable young professionals and university students to submit their work and ideas, giving them the chance to get awarded with participation to space conferences to present their work.

SGAC acts as a forum to discuss and debate current topics in international space policy. This is done in a number of project groups. Their output is published in the annual report and papers.

As of 2014, the organisation has a number of active projects:

Scholarships

In SGAC’s quest to increase youth input and engagement on international space issues, the organisation works to provide financial resources for its members. The SGAC therefore awards numerous scholarships throughout the year to university students and young professionals interested in the field of Space. Since the council is made up of such a globally diverse network, these scholarships allow for a greater number of members to take part in the international space policy creation process from attendance and presentations at UN COPUOS to participating in SGAC’s annual congress, the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) or issue-specific seminars around the world.

References

    SGAC official website: www.spacegeneration.org

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.