As of today, close to 80 UN Member States have established space agencies and in 2020, the space community has already launched over 1,000 satellites for the first time ever – breaking the previous record set in 2019.  Research shows that around 40% of the 169 targets behind the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) benefit from the use of geo-location and earth observation satellites. With the inclusion of telecommunication satellites, this statistic rises substantially. Today, innovative space-based science and technology are accelerating achievement of SDGs in many parts of the world.

The United Nations aims to leverage innovative solutions and technological developments to realise common sustainable development goals, and attention is increasingly placed on the unique potential of space technologies in this endeavour. It is therefore important to build on the outcomes of UNISPACE+50 and take advantage of the momentum it generated to ensure that the current exchanges fully capture the political, legal and capacity building elements of international cooperation in space exploration.

Launched in November 2019, the WORLD SPACE FORUM is a new event series hosted by the United Nations that is built on the recommendations generated at three High-Level Fora held from 2016 to 2018. The sequence of Fora demonstrated the growing interest of an increasing number of actors in discussing the future of space and international cooperation along the pillars of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy. Going forward, the World Space Forum will take the place of the High-Level Forum.

As the only Office in the United Nations system that deals exclusively with the peaceful uses of outer space, UNOOSA is in a unique position to bring together all relevant stakeholders to make a difference and to ensure that the benefits of space are available to the broadest possible user base, in all countries around the world.

As we look ahead to the future and welcome more actors to the space arena, international cooperation for a sustainable space environment is essential. Together with its partners, the United Nations stands ready to facilitate productive and impactful international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

This year’s World Space Forum seeks to step up these efforts and ensure that the benefits of space are brought to everyone, everywhere. By facilitating the exchange of best practices and more inter-agency collaboration in support of the SDGs, space exploration, science and technology can finally become more universally used as one of the key tools for a better future.

Who should attend