United Nations / Germany High Level Forum

United Nations / Germany High Level Forum: The way forward after UNISPACE+50 and on Space2030
13 - 16 Nov 2018
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
Bonn, Germany

United Nations / Germany High Level Forum: The way forward after UNISPACE+50 and on Space2030

Background: UNISPACE+50 and the series of High-level Fora

In June 2018, the international community gathered in Vienna for UNISPACE+50, a special segment of the 61 st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). Fifty years after the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE) in 1968, and building on UNISPACE II (1982) and UNISPACE III (1999), UNISPACE+50 provided an opportunity for the international community to set the future course of global space cooperation for the benefit of humankind.

The establishment of the series of High-Level Forums demonstrates the intention of the international community to address such challenges together through cooperation and collaboration. The High-Level Forum in Bonn (HLF 2018), to be held on 13 - 16 November 2018, will be the first after UNISPACE+50. HLF 2018 will be the third in a series of High-Level Fora after the 2016 and 2017 High-Level Fora both held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Previous HLFs have provided the international space community with a unique opportunity to discuss such matters in the context of elaborating recommendations and input as part of the preparations for UNISPACE+50. To this end, four pillars space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy have been devised to provide a framework for these ongoing discussions.

HLF 2018

HLF 2018 will serve as a platform for providing updates and recommendations on the potential of space innovations to address new and emerging sustainable development challenges, building on the outcomes as highlighted in the Dubai Declaration of 2016, recommendations from the High Level Forum in November 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the UNISPACE+50 in June 2018 in Vienna.

As the first HLF after UNISPACE+50, the occasion provides an opportunity to discuss the outcomes on UNISPACE+50. Using the UNISPACE+50 Thematic Priorities and the four pillars as a framework for discussion across two days of sessions on the thematic priorities, followed by two days of high-level panel discussions focusing on the four pillars.

HLF 2018 Objectives and Expected Outcomes

The United Nations General Assembly in its resolution on the International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space (A/RES/71/90) noted that space science and technology and their applications provide indispensable tools for viable long-term solutions for sustainable development. It can contribute more effectively to efforts to promote the development of all countries and regions of the world and stress in that regard the need to harness the benefits of space technology towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In this context, the objectives of HLF 2018 include presentations and exchanges on the lessons learned and new ideas across the space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy pillars.

The objectives of the Thematic Priorities sessions, on 13 - 14 November, will address the UNISPACE+50 outcomes and the way ahead across the seven UNISPACE+50 Thematic Priorities (TPs).

The main purpose of the high-level panels, on 15 - 16 November, will be to build on the results of the thematic priorities sessions, with a view to focus the High-Level Forum towards the production of pertinent recommendations about the way ahead for UNISPACE+50.

The expected outcomes of HLF 2018 will be to serve as an important platform for providing updates and recommendations on the potential of space innovations to address new and emerging sustainable development challenges. Building on the outcomes of HLFs 2016 and 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the UNISPACE+50 in June 2018 in Vienna, Austria respectively. Expected outcomes of HLF2018 will be to elaborate on the way ahead after UNISPACE+50 through a number of recommendations to complement and inform, as appropriate, future sessions of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees.

Venue

Platz der Vereinten Nationen 4
53113 Bonn
Germany