VIENNA -- With the lilting strain of a Strauss overture still hanging in the air, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan Monday opened the Third United Nations Conference on Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Space, or UNISPACE III.
The last major UN conference of the century, UNISPACE III will bring together hundreds of government officials, space science academics, young space professionals, and industry partners.
"Outer space does not only stir the soul; it also has great practical implications for the lives of people everywhere," said Annan. With an official theme of 'Space Benefits for Humanity in the 21st Century', it is this second area that will be the focus of UNISPACE III.
Over the next two weeks, seminars on remote sensing, communication, and navigation will be held with the aim of educating world leaders on how space can aid their countries.
Conference delegates are also expected to adopt the Vienna Declaration and Action Plan, a document which sets out the U.N.'s vision for the peaceful uses of space in the next century.
"We must ensure that the fruits of technical progress are made available to all people in all nations. This is an important aspect of global development, and therefore of direct concern to the United Nations," said Annan in his speech.
The conference is trend-setting in its composition: for the first time in U.N. history, industry and civil society groups have been invited to participate as full partners in a United Nations conference.
Also unusual is the Space Generation Forum, the official youth component of the conference, which has gathered roughly 165 participants from over 60 nations. Young space professionals and academics from Sri Lanka, China, and North Korea have already begun mixing with large contingents from the U.S., Australia and Canada, and will produce their own set of recommendations.
"Young people," Annan noted, "perhaps most of all, are inspired by the potential of space exploration to hope, dream, and work together."
In the separate opening ceremony of the SGF, delegates were greeted with a live message from Mir astronauts Viktor Affanassiev, Serguei Avdeiev, and Jean-Pierre Haigneré, as well as videotaped remarks from author and futurologist Sir Arthur C. Clarke.
Said Clarke, in closing, "If we cease to explore, we cease to be human."
Following Annan's address, Professor U.R. Rao, the renowned Indian space scientist who led development of the Indian Space Program, was unanimously elected president of UNISPACE III.
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