Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities:
2021, Fortieth session

14 December 2021, 14:00-17:00 CET (Vienna time), Online/Virtual (MS Teams)

1. Introduction 

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) is pleased to announce that the 40th session of the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) will be held on 14 December 2021, 14:00-17:00 CET (Vienna time) in an online format using MS Teams platform.

Substantive items on the agenda of the fortieth session will include (a) update on the "Space2030" agenda; (b) preparation of the report of the Secretary-General on the coordination of space-related activities within the United Nations system; (c) special report by UN-Space on initiatives and applications for space-related inter-agency cooperation; (d) coordination of future plans and programmes of common interest for cooperation and exchange of views on current activities in the practical application of space technology and related areas; and (e) organization of open session.

Background to the Inter-Agency Meeting:

The Inter-Agency Meeting has been set up in mid-1970s to promote collaboration, synergy, exchange of information and coordination of plans and programmes of United Nations entities (departments, offices, funds, programmes and specialized agencies) in the implementation of activities involving the use of space technology and its applications. In December 2013, the General Assembly, in its resolution 68/75, recommended that the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities be referred to as "UN-Space".

In line with the Secretary-General's bulletin on the Organization of the Office for Outer Space Affairs ( ST/SGB/2020/1), UNOOSA leads the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (UN-Space) in its work on the examination of how space science and technology and their applications could contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN-Space produces reports of the Secretary-General on the coordination of space-related activities within the United Nations system and generates special reports addressing specific topics UN-Space organizes open sessions with the participation of Member States and other stakeholders to promote dialogue and demonstrate examples of how the United Nations system responds to the selected themes.

Note: The regular cycle of annual sessions of UN-Space has been disrupted in 2020 owing to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has had unprecedented and multifaceted effects on all activities across the United Nations system.

2. Preliminary Programme