Yuri's Night and World Space Week
Yuri's Night and World Space Week
Yuri Gagarin was the first human to go into space on April 12th, 1961. The US Space Shuttle first launched on April 12th, 1981. Yuri's Night is like the St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo for space. It is one day when all the world can come together and celebrate the power and beauty of space and what it means for each of us. Join us!
Every year from October 4-10, the UN declares the World Space Week to celebrate the first human-made object in space (Oct. 4, 1957) and the creation of the Outer Space Treaty (Oct. 10, 1967) with global activities dedicated to space.
Overview
On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to see the Earth from space - to realize its awesome and fragile beauty. Yuri did not see lines demarcating countries or the conflicts between people. He did not see our problems or our achievements. What he saw was a magnificent planet, a tiny oasis in space, the home that we all share. Twenty years later to the day, the US launched its first Space Shuttle, Columbia and opened the door to space even wider. Many cosmonauts and astronauts have returned from space with a new awareness of how small the Earth really is, how important it is to protect it, and how we must put aside our differences and work together. It is this spirit of space, the possibility of cooperation among nations to explore, learn, and be inspired, that we commemorate with Yuri's Night. People of the world, join together and celebrate! April 12th marks the anniversary of the dawn of a new era. And now it falls to our generation to make the next mark on the pages of human history.
For five years the Yuri's Night team has worked to gain support and global recognition of April 12 as a holiday for the entire planet. A variety of activities have used the Yuri's Night banner including 5K runs, educational outreach activities, formal dinners, dance parties, VIP receptions, and small groups at local bars. In all cases, the objective was to have fun celebrating a milestone in human history. In all of these activities, general awareness of space activity and achievement has been elevated--including mention in Wired magazine and air time on XM Satellite Radio.
Although thousands of people on all seven continents (and the Space Station) have participated in Yuri's Night events, there is a need to publicize and organize events more effectively on a planetary scale. To that end, participants in the Yuri's Night Project Track will determine and implement methodologies and practices that will lead to a global, self-sustaining celebration of space every April 12. Team management roles and responsibilities along with interaction among the individual parties will be discussed as components of the global strategy. Participants will test suggestions at SGC/IAC and compile valid recommendations for implementation at Yuri's Night 2008-2010. This paper will be presented to the Yuri's Night Executive Board.
Outputs
Participants will create outreach and publicity strategies, management roles and responsibly, time lines for year-round work, and revisions to current documentation/materials. All of these ideas will be combined into a paper/presentation.
Inputs
Round table discussions accompanied by real-time interactions (both internal and externally with other groups) to test the validity of suggestions. Example: Make fliers and test their effectiveness, pitch sponsorships/participation to IAC attendees, register new parties via the Yuri's Night website. The work in the forums should lead to a distillation of ideas and concepts into a concise plan of action for Yuri's Night 2008 through 2010.
Process
What will delegates do at SGC 2007? How will they use the inputs and their work beforehand to produce the outputs? What will they do on each of the three days? Is it possible to produce the output at SGC 2007 (E.g., perform a live event, or record a radio program). You have three days where everyone is together, so what should they do?
References
Yuri's Night website for specific information. Any other references for management of non-profit orgs, publicity and public outreach, or global personnel and information management are welcome.
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