March 16, 2013
Brussels Forum - SWF Hosts Dinner Discussion on Space and Stability
The Brussels Forum is an annual high-level meeting sponsored by the German Marshall Fund that brings together influential North American and European political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges currently facing both sides of the Atlantic. The Brussels Forum featured a series of break-out dinners that allowed for more intimate discussions of select issues. SWF sponsored a dinner on "Space and Security" that examined the role space plays in international security and how it affects cooperative efforts of the international community. Moderated by SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson, speakers included Ms. Theresa Hitchens, Director, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research; Ambassador Jacek Bylica, Principal Adviser and Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, European External Action Service; and Dr. Jamie Shea, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO.
April 3-4, 2013
SWF Successfully Co-organizes the UNIDIR Space Conference
This year's conference focused on threats that might give rise to conflict within the outer space domain, how such conflict might spread to other domains and how such threats might be mitigated through national and multilateral initiatives. The event was organized by The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in collaboration with Chatham House, Secure World Foundation and The Simons Foundation and with support from the governments of the People's Republic of China, India, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United States of America.
April 7-8, 2013
SWF Staff Actively Contributes to the 2nd Space Generation Fusion Forum in Colorado Springs
The 2nd edition of the Space Generation Fusion Forum was held in conjunction with the 29th Annual National Space Symposium. The event gathered a select group of 50 standout young adults from various areas of the space sector - government, industry, and academia. SWF staff played many important roles in the Fusion Forum: Project Manager Tiffany Chow was a member of the organizing team; Washington Office Director Victoria Samson served as moderator for the panel discussion on "Long Term Sustainability of Space"; Project Manager Natassa Antoniou served as a panelist for the discussion on "Operational Data Exchange and Sharing of Space Assets"; and SWF Executive Director Michael Simpson and Brussels Office Director Agnieszka Lukaszczyk attended the Forum as special guests.
April 8-11 2013
SWF Co-sponsors Events at the 29th National Space Symposium
SWF partnered with the Space Foundation to co-sponsor the New Generation Space Leaders Program at the 29th National Space Symposium. The program was designed to bring together young professionals and senior leaders, and included workshops, Q&A sessions, speed mentoring, social networking, and receptions. On April 8, SWF co-hosted a New Generation Space Leaders Networking Reception with the Space Foundation.
SWF also co-sponsored a panel discussion on April 11, entitled "Long Term Sustainability of Space - Practices for the Future." Moderated by SWF Executive Director Michael Simpson, panelists represented a wide range of expertise and included: Ambassador Jacek Bylica, Principal Adviser and Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, European External Action Service, European Union; Ms. Kay Sears, President, Intelsat General; Mr. James S. Simpson, Vice President of Business Development, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems; and Dr. Kazuto Suzuki, Professor of International Political Economy, Hokkaido University, and also an SWF Advisory Committee Member.
To watch the SWF panel discussion, please click here.
April 15-19, 2013
SWF Co-sponsors the Planetary Defense Conference
The Planetary Defense Conference (PDC) was held in Flagstaff, Arizona and was co-sponsored by SWF, NASA, ESA, Aerospace Corporation and Northern Arizona University. The main focus of the PDC was sharing recent research on impacts of Near Earth Objects on Earth and how to mitigate the risks of damage. SWF Senior Advisor Ray Williamson, who was one of the conference co-organizers, co-authored a paper
with former SWF staff member Leonard David that reviews the public communication challenges of a predicted asteroid impact on Earth. The paper was presented during a session entitled "Consequence Management and Education." Executive Director Michael Simpson was also in attendance and took part in informal discussions.
