Dear Sir or Madam,

The Space Generation Forum (SGF) was a technical forum of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE-III) held in Vienna in July 1999. It gathered 160 young space professionals from all over the world to formulate the visions and recommendations of youth on the exploration and peaceful uses of space.

The SGF was immensely successful. Because of the efforts of these young people and their organisers, the results of their deliberations became part of the results of the Conference. Some of their recommendations were incorporated into "The Space Millenium: Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development" adopted by UNISPACE-III and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1999.

One of the recommendations of the Vienna Declaration was that a mechanism to bring the views of young people to the attention of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) should be established. In response to that recommendation, the Space Generation Advisory Council, to the United Nations Programme on Space Applications (SGAC) was formally established and has been granted observer status within the Committee. The SGAC has begun to implement ideas and recommendations from the conference - including "Yuri's Night - a World Space Party", "Under African Skies - a grass-roots science teaching project in Africa", an Association for the Development of Aerospace Medicine, and a global space education curriculum.

The SGAC has developed a plan for a major follow-on conference to SGF called the Space Generation Summit. The theme is 'Accelerating our Pace in Space'. This will be held on 11 to 13 October 2002, in conjunction with the World Space Congress in Houston Texas, United States of America.

Three years after the SGF, this aims to:

• Reinforce the vision of youth established at SGF
• Generate ideas on the most pragmatic steps forward for the
  space industry
• Develop implementation plans for future SGAC projects and
• Pass on these ideas to the Space Policy Summit and the WSC at large.

The Office for Outer Space Affairs is pleased to endorse this initiative and hopes that it is successful in formulating a globally representative youth vision on space for society. The Office shall assist the SGAC in making the results available for COPUOS Member States. We hope that this initiative will receive support from the agencies and companies in the space sector.

With best regards.

Sergio Camacho
Officer-in-Charge
UN Office for Outer Space Affairs