PhilSA joins Dubai Expo

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) recently joined the Expo 2020 Dubai Space Week led by its director general Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, Jr., and deputy director general for Space Science and Technology Dr. Gay Jane P. Perez.

Marciano represented the Philippines in a panel discussion held on 20 October at the Women’s Pavilion entitled “Mission Equality: Expanding Equal Opportunities in the Space Economy.”

Panelists from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), African Union Commission, Brazil, Japan, Latvia, Morocco, Slovakia and the United Kingdom shared ideas and practices on how to ensure the full and equal participation of women in shaping the space market for public interest.

The conversation could not have been timely, because in 2018, global investment firm Morgan Stanley projected that the space industry will generate revenue of $1 trillion by the year 2040.

The space sector is now confronted with questions on how the growing opportunities and benefits in the space industry would reach the whole of humanity, especially women.

In her keynote message, State for Advanced Technology Minister and UAE Space Agency Chair H.E. Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri pointed out that the space sector thrives with innovation and it is for this reason that diversity is crucial.

UNOOSA director Simonetta Di Pippo noted that we still have a long way to go in closing the gender gap across sectors, with the Covid-19 pandemic eroding previous gains. This is despite efforts anchored on the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals.