Graz Hosts Symposium on Space Applications for Sustainable Development

VIENNA, 5 September (UN Information Service) — A four-day Symposium on
“Space Applications for Sustainable Development: Supporting the Plan of
Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development” will be held
at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz, Austria, from 8 to 11
September. The Symposium is jointly organized by the United Nations Office
for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), the Government of Austria and the European
Space Agency (ESA). It is the first in a series of three consecutive
Symposia, to be held between 2003 and 2005, with the aim of promoting
activities to carry out the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Symposium will be hosted and
co-sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the
Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, the
Province of Styria, the City of Graz and ESA.

The Symposium will address the possible contribution of space
applications in the following areas: (a) providing basic health services
for all and reducing environmental health threats; (b) supporting
integrated management and sustainable development of water resources; (c)
supporting an integrated, multi-hazard, inclusive approach to address
vulnerability, risk assessment and disaster management; (d) supporting
sustainable agriculture to increase food production and enhance food
security in an environmentally sustainable way; and (e) supporting
sustainable development for Africa.

The goal of the series of three Symposia is to promote the use of the
demonstrated capabilities of space technology to support some of the
actions called for in the Plan of Implementation of WSSD. The specific
objectives of the Symposium for 2003 are: (i) to review the needs
associated with the themes to be addressed at the Symposium and to identify
the support that could be provided by space technology; (ii) to identify a
functional partnership that could be established; and (iii) to make
recommendations on how such a partnership can be established through
voluntary actions that could include Governments, international
organizations and other relevant stakeholders.

Decision-makers and programme managers from governmental institutions and
the private industry from the following countries and organizations are
expected to attend the Symposium: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Cameroon, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, France, Germany,
Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Montserrat, Morocco,
Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Senegal,
South Africa, Syria, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United States,
Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, World Health Organization, European Organisation for
the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, European Space Agency,
International Space University and the United Nations Office for Outer
Space Affairs.

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The United Nations Programme on Space Applications is implemented by the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and works to improve the use
of space science and technology for the economic and social development of
all nations, in particular developing countries. Under the Programme, the
Office conducts training courses, workshops, seminars and other activities
on applications and capacity building in subjects such as remote sensing,
communications, satellite meteorology, search and rescue, basic space
science, satellite navigation and space law.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the
decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses
of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical
Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for
promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space,
and assisting developing countries in using space science technology.
Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at
http://www.oosa.unvienna.org.

United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS)

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