Back in 1999, I was involved with a meeting that took place at the United Nations (UN) in Vienna, Austria. This was the first time a group of young people from 60 countries organized a space and earth science and environmental meeting called the Space Generation Forum (SGF). It coincided with the larger, political Ministerial level meeting. The key SGF youth organisers were alumni from International Space University (ISU). As of 2000, I had the good fortune to become an ISU alumnus myself. Personal experience has taught me this team really cares for the planet's future. I feel part of a close-knit community of results-driven people who work together and also independently to learn and teach about the world, so we can better take care of it long-term.
During the 1999 Outer Space Affairs Ministerial, nation state representatives attended their own meetings. Some youth observed these while other youth specialized in related space and environmental science areas brainstormed their own strategies and resolutions. The two groups interacted closely for the first time. When they got together during the final week of formal meetings, youth were able to negotiate some of their ideas be incorporated in the Ministerial level Vienna Convention. What does all this mean for different generations and the Earth?
Young people people around the globe do more than talk about caring for the planet. They seek to help devise solutions to big issues. As of the build up to this major international space meeting in 1999, on-line forums and communications among young people became far more organized. Youth began organisating their own meetings on a regular basis. They went further to promote space and environmental science awarenss programs around the world. They collaborate with people involved in the U.S. Environmental program (UNEP). Young people return from meetings to their communities to spread their enthusiasm among other young people. Together, they take initiatives to implement grass roots programs such as after school clubs, discussion groups, and associations which involve young people of all ages and pass their ideas higher up.
Many great initiatives grew out of the 1999 Ministerial, one of the most notable being perhaps the U.N. Space Youth Advisory Council (UNSGAC). This group has volunteers around the world who devote time to raising awareness and implementing programs. Its not simply a question of striving to interact with leaders and discuss revisions to school and university science curricula in many different countries. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) both offer internships programs for youth interested in these areas. Other organisations have also developed collaborations. UNSGAC members have been know to persuade organisations of the value of creating in-roads and cooperation projects.
UNSGAC members have also been known to branch off and start their own companies in order to improve people's understanding of space, science and the environment. Engineers build. Social scientists and cosmologists will discuss and debate. Journalists write. Scientists contribute their expertise in their own ways. Not everyone who has been involved in the SGF or UNSGAC joins a space agency, a government department, a school or university teacher or the military as a pilot or aspiring astronaut. Everyone with an interest can create a role to play in society. The common thread we can share is a desire to share a love for space and environmental sciences. You can too.
I would encourage you to read more about the evolution of these youth groups and to find ways to contribute to their causes.