Space for Women Expert Meeting:
"Integrating women in space activities and solutions"

27 - 29 November
Nairobi (United Nations Office at Nairobi), Kenya

Organized jointly by
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Kenya Space Agency (KSA)

UPDATE: The application period is now closed.

DOCUMENTS AND LINKS

• Read all about the Space4Women Initiative here.
• Contact details: space4women[@]un.org
• Final programme.
• Bios booklet

Links for virtual participation:

Background

The Space for Women (Space4Women) Expert Meeting series, a capacity-building initiative of the United Nations Office for Outer Spacer Affairs (UNOOSA), is a pivotal annual gathering aimed at advancing gender equality and empowering women's participation in space-related fields. The initiative encourages women and girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and raises awareness about career opportunities in the space sector.

The fifth edition of the Space4Women Expert Meeting will be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 27 to 29 November 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi (UNON). The meeting will build upon and advance the results of previous meetings held in the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Korea and Canada.

Theme & Target Audience 

The event will gather experts and decision-makers from national space agencies, government entities, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, United Nations entities, the private sector, academia, and civil society leaders. Women from the African continent are highly encouraged to participate.

UNOOSA invites Member States, dedicated entities, and individuals to act as champions and agents for gender mainstreaming in the space sector through the implementation of the Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit, the key outcome of the 4th Space4Women Expert Meeting hosted in Canada in 2023. The champion stakeholders will contribute to the Expert Meeting through mobilizing participation; making presentations, and facilitating discussions on actionable recommendations on concrete measures, policies and capacity-building initiatives aimed at bridging the gender gap in the space sector, extending to the grass-roots-level to ensure that no women and girls are left behind.

The Expert Meeting will be held in English.

General Objectives

Thematic topics

• Actionable and tailored capacity building for women and girls in the space sector extending to the grass-roots level.
• Entrepreneurship and leadership for women in the space sector.
• Empowering women in space research and innovation.
• Innovative space technologies that engender equality and inclusion.
• Analysis of the Landmark Studies on Gender participation and barrier perceptions in the Global Space Workforce.
• Policy recommendations for implementation of the Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit.
• Successful outreach initiatives to raise global awareness for more participation of women in space activities.

Expected outcomes

The meeting is expected to realize the following outcomes:

• Recommend concrete policies and actions towards gender equality and women empowerment in innovation and participation in space sciences, technologies, and applications.
• Recommend a roadmap for implementation of the Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit by national space entities and other relevant organizations.
• Recommend concrete actions for the development of a toolkit for unlocking STEM education for women and girls in marginalized communities.
• Identification of capacity building and entrepreneurship opportunities for women in space exploration and exploitation.
• Increased engagement and advocacy on gender equality in the space sector.
• Equip participants with scalable skills and knowledge on gender mainstreaming in the space sector