At a meeting held alongside the 60th session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS), held at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna from 7 to16 June 2017, PSIPW and UN officials agreed to an expansion of the scope of the Memorandum of Understanding they ratified last year.
The MoU was initially established in 2016 between PSIPW and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs with a broad mandate “to provide a framework of cooperation and understanding, and to facilitate collaboration between the Parties to further their shared goals and objectives in regard to strengthening international cooperation.”
It also established the inaugural project of publicly launching the UN Space and Water Portal in the very near future, a joint project that has been in progress since 2008, and for which PSIPW has already developed a working prototype.
At the meeting this month, the UN and PSIPW formally agreed to permanently hold all future PSIPW award ceremonies at one of the UN headquarters. This follows from the successful 7th Award ceremony which was held last November at the UN headquarters in New York and officiated by H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
The two organizations also agreed to pursue a Global Water Scarcity Summit organized as a joint effort of the United Nations, interested national governments, and PSIPW. It will take place with the coordination of the UN and be held at the UN Headquarters in New York or Vienna.
PSIPW was also active in the main session of the COPUOS and was honored to have its 7th Award prizewinners film shown at the session to the attending delegates.
PSIPW is an observing member of COPUOS and has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).