By Hannah Ashford
Friday, December 11th, 2020
Following its announcement in May of the 15 selected candidates for its inaugural Fellowship Programme , the Karman Project is pleased to have successfully concluded the foundation’s first year with its flagship event ‘Karman Day’, held online on November 7th.
‘’Karman Day was designed not only as a celebration of the notable achievements of the Karman Fellows throughout the Programme, but as a gathering of community, an inspirational reflection on the progress that humanity has made and continues to make in space, and a commitment to building trusted relationships and cooperation to positively impact space,’’ says Hélène Huby, Chair of the Karman Project.
The invite-only event gathered key stakeholders representing a cross-section of industry, startup, finance, politics, arts and nonprofit sectors from across the globe. The guestlist included speakers from Karman Week (held online in July 2020), the Fellowship Selection Board, Karman Pioneers and Karman Fellows.
Given that an in-person gathering was not possible due to COVID-19, Karman Day 2020 was moved to an online format. The event featured the reading of a letter of encouragement from Karman Selection Board Chair Jean-Jacques Dordain, former Director General of the European Space Agency; curated professional speed-dating sessions; the presentation of a cooperative project with Artist Michael Najjar of ten fictional and inspirational space scenarios from the year 2030; and presentations from the Karman Fellows relating to a core mission that they pursued throughout the Fellowship Programme - their Agendas and Commitments.
Over the course of this year, the Fellows discussed various global issues that space technologies can contribute to solving, together with challenges that exist within the space sector. The cohort organically divided themselves into four agenda groups based on their passions and expertise: Space Governance, Climate Change, Digital Divide and Inspiring through Space Stories. The Karman Project is happy to share the Fellows’ presentation from Karman Day 2020, in which you will find further information about these chosen agendas, and the tangible commitments that each Fellow has declared toward them.
Another key activity of the Karman Project throughout the year was the launch of a Mentorship Programme in which Selection Board Members and Karman Fellows were matched according to their needs, challenges and interests; creating an additional opportunity for holistic development given the interdisciplinary and diverse nature of the participants. Whilst the official Mentorship Programme is intended to run for the duration of the Fellowship Programme, the hope is to form a life-long relationship of trust and mutual support.
The Karman Project and its community will continue to support the Karman Fellows as they bring their ‘work-in-progress’ commitments to fruition and continue on their journeys of personal and professional development, by assisting in connecting them to resources, key stakeholders and other thought leaders who have the capacity to create impact and facilitate change.
About the Karman Fellowship Programme
Each year the Karman Fellowship Programme supports 15 carefully selected Karman Fellows in strengthening their mutual relations, meeting with global leaders and shaping common agendas to positively impact space. Over the course of one year, agendas shaped by the Fellows are pursued through tangible and measurable commitments.
About the Karman Project
The Karman Project strengthens trust, fosters independent dialogue and encourages cooperation between global leaders in business, technology, politics, science and the arts who want to positively impact space. The Karman Project is a nonprofit and independent foundation headquartered in Germany.
Contact
Hannah Ashford
Director, Fellowship & Community, The Karman Project
Email: hannah@karmanproject.org
Annexures
Karman Fellows 2020:
- Christopher Boshuizen - Operating Partner, DCVC (Australia/U.S.A.)
- Christopher Richins - Co-Founder & CEO, RBC Signals (U.S.A.)
- Fabien Jordan - Founder & CEO, Astrocast (Switzerland)
- Feng Yang - Founder & CEO, Spacety (China)
- Katherine Bennell - Assistant Director of Program & Capability, Australian Space Agency (Australia/United Kingdom)
- Lynette Tan - Chief Executive, Singapore Space & Technology (Singapore)
- Marc Marzenit - Composer & Audio Engineer (Spain)
- Prateep Basu - Co-Founder & CEO, SatSure Ltd (India)
- Rafal Modrzewski - Co-Founder & CEO, ICEYE (Poland/Finland)
- Rogel Mari Sese - Chair, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines (Philippines)
- Temidayo Oniosun - Managing Director, Space in Africa (Nigeria)
- Thomas Pesquet - Astronaut, European Space Agency (France)
- Tom Segert - Founder & CEO, Berlin Space Tech (Germany)
- Yoav Landsman - Co-Founder, Moonscape (Israel)
- Yohann Leroy - Deputy CEO, Eutelsat (France)
Karman Agendas & Commitments 2020: Available here .
