| SGF Press Release No. 8 - 26 July 1999 FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS In the morning the Space Generation Forum (SGF) participants had a video interface with the students of the International Space University (ISU) summer session in Thailand. An exciting surprise lecture by Mr. U. R. Rao, President of the UNISPACE III Conference, followed. Mr. Rao spoke very highly of the SGF, saying that at UNISPACE III, “this forum was the most productive.” Many of the participants appeared very proud of their work as Mr. Rao spoke in high praise. He had read the top 45 recommendations reached in the workshops. He commented on those he felt best met UNISPACE III’s objectives, citing examples of how the recommendations could be valuable in his home country of India. Of the other objectives he said, “if some are impractical it is not because they are not practically written, but because the world is not ready.” All week the participants prepared for Friday. They generated hundreds of ideas to create 135 recommendations, narrowed to the top 45. Friday, the 45 recommendations were again voted upon to create a short list of ten recommendations. Each of the top ten were presented upon. They will be refined and clarified next week in small working groups. The top ten recommendation titles are:
For the delegates, the real excitement hinged on the final vote which decided the recommendations that will be sent to the full UNISPACE plenum and possibly be included in the Vienna Declaration. The results of this vote will be made public at the press conference the SGF is holding Tuesday, 27 July 1999 at 10am. Also, a full description of the recommendations, their goals, and their plans for implementation will be available at this time. THE WEEKEND Saturday and Sunday saw a whole set of social events. The federal government of Lower Austria and the Chamber of Commerce of Austria and Lower Austria invited the SGF participants for a Bus-tour to visit St. Pölten, Melk and Dürnstein. Member of the Lower Austrian Parliament, Mr. Karl Moser, joined the SGF participants for lunch in Melk. SATURDAY EVENING WAS VIAGRA TIME! VIAGRA stands for Vienna ISU Alumni GRoup Activities and was nothing else but a big party for all the SGF participants to relax from the stress of last week. The SGF participants gathered at the Schweizerhaus in the Prater, enjoyed a delicious dinner and a presentation, given by Mr. Karl Doetsch, President of International Space University (ISU). Both Saturday and Sunday SGF participants had the unique opportunity to fly in gliders at the airfield of Wiener Neustadt West (LOXN). Experienced pilots took them up for cross-country flights into the Alps and in the vicinity of the airfield. Daring characters could also experience an acrobatic flight, involving steep curves, zero-g-manoeuvres, stall turns and spins. MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS Week 2 of the SGF will start with a keynote address, given by Mr. Mac Evans, Head of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Afterwards the SGF participants will resume their deliberations about the future of space. For the afternoon Austrian Aerospace has invited 25 SGF participants to visit their facilities. The tour will include their laboratories and the clean-room. In the evening the SGF participants will have the chance to enjoy an interactive presentation at the Kuffner Observatory in the western outskirts of Vienna. The Space Generation Forum is a forum for young space professionals organized by the alumni of the International Space University with the aim to express the visions and perspectives of the youth with regards to future space activities. The Space Generation Forum is attended by over 160 participants from more than 60 nations. Points of Contact: Mr. Norbert Frischauf Mobile: (0676) 4642450 |
