Next Century of Flight Forum Kicks-off at World Space Congress to Spotlight Media Influence on Future Industry Workforce
Bob McCannon, executive director of the New Mexico Media Literacy Project, to keynote
HOUSTON, TX In conjunction with next week’s World Space Congress in Houston, leaders, specialists, and young professionals representing industry, media, government organizations, education institutions, and professional societies from around the world will convene this weekend (October 12-13) to kick-off Aviation Week’s Next Century of Flight Forum, a series of strategic leadership workshops to create a blueprint for developing and motivating the workforce of the future.
The NCF Forum, which was previewed at Aerospace Expo, October 2 in Los Angeles, capitalizes on the flight centennial in 2003 to reassert the spirit of aviation, not just in the aerospace industry, but in all industries that value science, technology, innovation and discovery.
The Forum is co-produced by Rick Stephens, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Vice President and General Manager, Homeland Security and Services for the Boeing Company, Elane V. Scott, Future Workforce Development Consultant to the Boeing Company, and Philippe Willekens, Administrator for Education Programs for the European Space Agency, and a select team of industry and education professionals.
“We believe that the aerospace industry is uniquely positioned to lead the thinking on workforce issues because of the systems thinking required to integrate thoughts and contributions of each of the stakeholders involved in developing youth in our neighborhoods and around the world,” said Stephens. “The World Space Congress NCF Forum will generate a set of principles that may serve to guide each of the participating organizations and their representatives in the development of individual workforce development policies and an overall global strategy.”
Bob McCannon, executive director of the New Mexico Media Literacy Project, will be the featured speaker during the Forum opening session at 9:30 am on Saturday, October 12 in Room 305A of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. McCannon’s work has been influential in helping educators, corporate leaders, industry professionals, and young people understand how media influences industry, productivity and culture. The program begins with an overview of workforce issues by Rick Steven at 8:30 am.
The Next Century of Flight is a global, multimedia initiative dedicated to helping the aerospace industry capitalize on the 100th anniversary of manned, powered flight in 2003 and position itself for generations to come. Since it was launched in 1998, NCF has connected with millions of professionals and enthusiasts around the world via original Aviation Week articles and essays, curriculum support for students and teachers (including the NCF site at AviationNow.com — an E-School News “Site-of-the-Month”), and related partner programs. The initiative is promoted by an integrated multimedia marketing campaign that showcases NCF programs and partners in government, industry and academia.
About Aviation Week
With nearly 50 products and services and an audience of more than 1 million professionals and enthusiasts, the AVIATION WEEK division of The McGraw-Hill Companies is the largest multimedia information provider to the global aviation and aerospace industry. Its web portal, www.AviationNow.com, offers the industry’s most reliable and comprehensive real-time news, professional information and e-business features.
About McGraw-Hill
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poorís, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The corporation has more than 300 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2000 were $4.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
