Intercontinental View of Space Governance from Regional Space Organizations

Day: Wednesday 07 October
Time: 09:00 - 10:00
Location: D1 and D2 - NEST Congress and Exhibition Centre

This unprecedented cross-continental plenary dialogue originates from the First Meeting of Regional Inter-Governmental Space Agencies convened in Noordwijk, the Netherlands in May 2026, where APSCO, ESA, AfSA and ALCE adopted a joint statement agreeing to stage this dedicated session on the sidelines of IAC 2026. Moving beyond isolated national perspectives, the session brings together top leadership from the world’s four core regional intergovernmental space organizations to unpack how regional cooperation frameworks reshape global space undertakings. Discussions will cover the formulation of regional space policies, joint flagship space projects, cross-regional capacity building, technology transfer, and how regional bodies support the integration of emerging space nations into the global space ecosystem. Participants will also address shared global challenges via a regional lens, including space traffic management, climate change mitigation, disaster risk reduction and food security supported by space infrastructure. Dialogue will further explore viable region-to-region partnership models that bypass geopolitical hurdles to advance mutually beneficial joint initiatives. Fully aligned with the IAC 2026 core theme “The World Needs More Space”, the session elaborates how regional space organizations deliver more inclusive, diversified and equitable access to space resources. As the first IAC plenary gathering heads of major continental space agencies, it delivers unique macro-geopolitical insights for policymakers, industrial stakeholders, researchers and representatives from emerging space countries across all attending delegations.