Azercosmos Took Part in 2023 IAF Spring Meetings

A delegation of Azercosmos led by Vice Chairman of the Board Dunay Badirkhanov successfully participated at the Spring Meetings of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) held between 28th and 30th March 2023 in Paris, France.

During the IAF Spring Meetings the International Programme Committee (IPC) of the 74th International Astronautical Congress – IAC 2023 met and agreed upon the Plenary and Technical Programmes. The Congress taking place on 2th- 6th October will offer a rich and diverse programme featuring timely agendas, representing all expertise and experiences from knowledgeable speakers.

During the IAC 2023 IPC General Meeting, on Thursday 30 March 2023, Dunay Badirkhanov the co-chair of IPC announced that the IAC 2023 call for abstracts received the impressive number of 3532 abstracts from 95 countries, marking a record for the highest number of countries, clearly setting the basis for the IAC 2023 to become one of the most diverse IAC ever. Final results of the selection will be available by mid-April 2023, with the target of 2800 papers for oral and interactive presentation formats.

Out of 51 proposals received, the IPC Steering Group selected 18 Special Sessions to be presented at the Congress in Baku. Plenaries and Highlight Lectures have also been chosen and will focus on several interesting topics including Earth-Moon Ecosystems, Space Sustainability, and Environment.

Azercosmos representatives took part in the inauguration of new IAF Committees - the IAF Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Administrative Committee (IDEA) and the IAF Administrative Committee for Connecting Emerging Space ecoSystems (ACCESS). These two bodies have been established within the framework of the International Platform for Diversity and Equality in Astronautics (IDEA 3G+ Platform) that is inspiring the efforts towards the promotion of inclusiveness and diversity within Federation’s activities, bodies, and committees.

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the French Republic H.E. Leyla Abdullayeva took part in the panel entitled “Connecting @ll Space People in a Challenging Geopolitical Environment”. Mrs Ambassador spoke on why people should attend the IAC 74th edition in Baku and invited all to visit the stunning capital of Azerbaijan to experience a deep-rooted culture and unique hospitality.

The IAF Bureau satisfied with the overall progress in preparations to the IAC 2023. The IAC in Baku will be a platform for networking and sharing space related challenges among the member and non-member countries of the Federation. This will strengthen the dialogue between all actors of the space eco-system worldwide, explore ways to contribute to solving important challenges of global interest, and discuss the opportunities and prospects that space has to offer.

Members of the press are invited to save the date, and register for the IAC 2023 by accessing the page https://registration.iac2023.org/registration