From 28 February to 1 March 2011, the Academic Council of the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized a “Conference on Connecting Academics and UN Practitioners” at the premises of the United Nations in Vienna. More than 300 participants from 24 countries attended the conference. One panel was dedicated to the work of the United Nations in relation to the use and exploration of outer space.

The former Austrian ambassador Walther Lichem moderated and opened the session. Presentations were given by Sergei Chernikov (OOSA), who gave an overview of the history, mission, structure, work and achievements of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) as well as of the UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and its Technical and Scientific Subcommittee, and Irmgard Marboe (University of Vienna), who addressed political and legal dimensions of outer space activities and discussed some of the most important legal texts on outer space elaborated in the framework of UNCOPUOS.

Both presentations were published in the Favorita Papers 01/2011 “Academics Meet UN Practicioners: An Encounter in Vienna”, edited by the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.