Baku, Azerbaijan, 29 September - 1 October 2023, in conjunction with the 74th International Astronautical Congress
Venue: Baku Convention Centre, Heydar Aliyev Avenue, Baku
(Update on 25 September) The bios of the speakers are available online, please download the booklet.
(Update on 19 June) The call for abstracts and registrations are closed.
The United Nations, through its Programme on Space Applications implemented by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and the
International Astronautical Federation (IAF) are co-organizing the Workshop on Space Technology for Socio-Economic Benefits on the theme "Challenges and Capacity-building Opportunities for Emerging Space Nations".
The purpose of the Workshop is to bring together people who are conducting capacity-building activities, from either government, space agencies, research institutes, academia, non-governmental organizations, and those who are interested in building partnerships to accelerate capacity-building in developing nations about using space technologies and applications for sustainable economic, social and environmental development.
The Workshop will be hosted by Azercosmos, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 29 September to 1 October 2023 in conjunction with the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), and it will be the 30th in its series.
The Workshop will provide a platform for discussion about how to increase capabilities in space technologies and space applications within developing countries, as well as to increase awareness of the benefits they offer. The main objectives of the Workshop are to:
Presentations made during the Workshop will be published on the website of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, while the report of the Workshop and its recommendations will be distributed to the participants and to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Day1: Friday 29 September 2023 | ||
09:00-09:15 | 1. Opening ceremony | |
Opening remarks by Aarti Holla-Maini | Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) | |
Opening remarks by Clay Mowry | President, International Astronautical Federation (IAF) | |
Opening remarks by Samaddin Asadov | Chairman, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
09:15-10:00 | 2. Setting the scene | |
Nathalie Ricard | Scientific Affairs Officer, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) | |
Christian Feichtinger | Executive Director, International Astronautical Federation (IAF) | |
Rena Jafarova | IAC2023 Project Manager, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
Masami Onoda | Chair, IAF Committee for Liaison with International Organisations and Developing Nations (CLIODN) | |
Matias Campos | Vice-Chair, IAF Committee on Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems (ACCESS) | |
10:00-10:30 | Coffee break | |
10:30-11:45 | 3. Panel "Needs of new space-faring nations or of non-space-faring nations to develop and obtain space-related knowledge and skills" | |
Moderator:
- Hazuki Mori, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Panelists: - Electdom Matandirotya, Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) - Solomon Kwaku Appekey, Xavier Space Solutions, Ghana - Asinta Ntida Manyele, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, United Republic of Tanzania - Mensah Edoe Fernand, Institut National Polytechnique Houphouet Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire - Matieu Henry, Food and Agriculture Organization |
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11:45-12:15 | Networking | |
12:15-13:15 | Lunch break | |
13:15-14:30 | 4. Panel "Needs of new space-faring nations or of non-space-faring nations to develop an industry and space ecosystem" | |
Moderator:
- Nathalie Ricard, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Panelists: - Anna Ebehita Aikohi, Space in Africa, Nigeria - Ariane Platell, QL Space, Australia - George Steve Fajardo Soria, National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA), Peru - Madin Maseeh, Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) - Michele Cristina Silva Melo, University of Brasilia, Brazil |
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14:30-16:45 |
5. Session "University-level education in space engineering"
Chair: Vugar Bayramov, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan |
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Fostering space education in Azerbaijan through small satellite design program for undergraduate students | Nadir Atayev, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
The dual educational model at Mexican Space Agency (AEM): one year of challenges and lessons learned | Rigoberto Reyes Morales, Mexican Space Agency (AEM) | |
Empowering the future: building a national educational space engineering program | Diana Aljbour, Jordan University of Science and Technology | |
15:15-15:45 | Coffee break | |
UNISEC-Global's capacity-building programs | Rei Kawashima, University Space Engineering Consortium-Global (UNISEC-Global), Japan | |
Space engineering education programs in Kazakhstan | Abdikul Ashurov, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan | |
Developing an integral space education program, based on robotics and AI, to advance the Venezuelan education system | Rogelio Morales García, Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE), Venezuela | |
Project-oriented training and space capacity building in Iran | Behnam Sabouri, Iranian Space Agency (ISA) | |
16:45-17:45 | 6. Panel "The United Nations Access to Space for All initiative" | |
Moderator:
- Hazuki Mori, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Panelists: - Merle Cornelius, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), Germany - Tetsuhito Fuse, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan - Charles Maina Mwangi, Kenya Space Agency (KSA) - Georgina Aurelia Chávez Lizárraga, Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo", Bolivia |
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Day2: Saturday 30 September 2023 | ||
09:00-09:15 | 7. Keynote by Anil Kumar, IAF Vice President for Relations with International Organizations | |
09:15-10:30 |
8. Session "University-level education about developing and using space applications"
Chair: Pieter van Beekhuizen, IAF Committee for Liaison with International Organisations and Developing Nations (CLIODN) |
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Capacity-building activities in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation region through ISNET fora | Sadaf Sajjad, Inter-Islamic Network on Space Science and Technology (ISNET) | |
Capacity-building opportunities: space and geospatial education in Nepal | Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Tribhuvan University, Nepal | |
Emerging capacity-building of a young Peruvian university: Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades case study | Natalia Indira Vargas Cuentas, Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades, Bolivia | |
Indian Space Research Organisation capacity-building academic activities for space technology and its applications | Rajasekhar Meka, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) | |
10:30-11:00 | Coffee break | |
11:00-12:15 |
9. Session "University-level education in space policy and law"
Chair: Nayoung Youn, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Republic of Korea |
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IISL's capacity building activities for the global space law community | International Institute of Space Law | |
The relaca-espacio network and the Latin American round of the Manfred Lachs space law moot court competition | Jairo Andres Becerra Ortiz, Universidad Católica de Colombia | |
The first postgraduation course in space law & policy of Brazil | Ian Grosner, Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) | |
Filling the gaps in space policy, strategy and law in Africa | Etim Okon Offiong, African Space Leadership Institute, Nigeria | |
Developments in space policy and law in the South Caucasus | Tatia Nikvashvili, Georgian National Competition Agency | |
12:15-13:15 | Lunch break | |
13:15-14:45 |
10. Session "Lessons learnt in building education opportunities"
Chair: Matias Campos, IAF Committee on Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems (ACCESS) |
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Developing a framework for space education and capacity-building in Tunisia: lessons learned and best practices for other non-space-faring nations | Karem Saad, National School of Engineering Sfax, Tunisia | |
Evaluating the effectiveness of space education programs | Mohamed Ibrahim, Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) | |
Insights gained from Nepal's space infrastructure development and satellite projects from the past three years | Anuja Shrestha, Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal | |
Hybrid online and hands-on training framework for space emerging nation: Thailand case study and follow up | Paripat Pairat, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Thailand | |
Space beyond sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics - building a truly inclusive space industry | Remco Timmermans, International Space University | |
International best practices in enabling capacity | Hannah Ashford, The Karman Project, Australia | |
14:45-15:15 | Coffee break | |
15:15-16:45 | 11. Panel "Lessons learnt in building a space ecosystem" | |
Moderator:
- Nathalie Ricard, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Panelists: - Meshack Kinyua Ndiritu, African Union Commission - Michal Brichta, Slovak Space Office, Slovakia - Pooja Lepcha, Government Technology Agency, Bhutan - Mamonaheng Koenane, Impact School, Lesotho - Nunzia Maria Paradiso, Italian Space Agency (ASI) - Hamza Hameed, Space Generation Advisory Council |
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16:45-17:45 | 12. Building partnerships | |
18:00-19:00 | Reception hosted by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) | |
Day3: Sunday 1 October 2023 | ||
09:00-10:45 |
13. Session: "Education on space technology and applications at a level below university"
Chair: Wenbin Zhang, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) |
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The Zero Robotics program: training secondary school students to code robots on the International Space Station | Danielle Renee Wood, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America | |
Developing a novel space camp model to inspire the next generation of space professionals | Daniela Estefania Mera Granja, Astralintu Space Technologies, Ecuador | |
Education level on space technologies and applications at schools in Sri Lanka | Dulani Chamika Withanage, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan | |
African girls/women in space robotics | Udi Philippa, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Nigeria | |
10:15-10:45 | Coffee break | |
Building capacity: lessons learned in developing educational opportunities | Shelli Brunswick, Space Foundation, United States of America | |
PhilSA's Space Information Infrastructure Capacity Building and Training Program | Cyrus Nikko Pante, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) | |
11:15-11:30 | 14. Wrap-up | |
11:30-11:45 | 15. Closing ceremony | |
Closing remarks by Samaddin Asadov | Chairman, Azercosmos, the State Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan | |
Closing remarks by Anil Kumar | Vice President for Relations with International Organizations, International Astronautical Federation (IAF) | |
Closing remarks by Aarti Holla-Maini | Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) | |
11:45-12:00 | Group photo | |
12:00 | End of the workshop | |
12:15-13:15 | Lunch |
The call for abstracts has been closed since 4 June 2023.
Successful applicants have been informed in June 2023.
The working language of the Workshop will be
English.
All participants are required to have good English language skills.
UNOOSA and the IAF are responsible for organizing the Workshop. Sponsorship of the workshop is still open to interested entities who may contact UNOOSA at unoosa-events@un.org.
The Workshop is being planned for a total of 150 participants. They include technical experts, innovators, educators, policy- and decision-makers from international, regional, national and local institutions, United Nations agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research and development institutions, and also from industry.
Participants will be selected up to the maximum capacity of the room, based on relevant professional and/or academic experience.
Within the limited financial resources available, UNOOSA may provide funding for individuals selected as a speaker and whose nationality is classified as a developing country. They will be selected on a competitive basis, depending on their place of origin and relevant professional or educational background. For the list of developing countries, please refer to the annex of the "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023" report, available at https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-2023/
Please note that financial support will only be considered for applicants who submit an abstract that is retained in the programme for an oral presentation at the workshop.
Health insurance for each of the selected participants is necessary and is the responsibility of the person or his/her institution or Government. UNOOSA will not assume any responsibility for life and health insurance, nor for expenses related to medical treatment or accidents.
For additional information on the Workshop programme, please contact UNOOSA at unoosa-events@un.org.