International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation

Bulletin 19 - News

Promoting Peace in Space

A New NGO Initiative

Karina Wood

In January 2002, the Mainstream Media Project launched a new Space Weapons initiative. MMP (www.mainstream-media.net) is a US-based nonprofit public education organization that places leading policy analysts and social innovators on radio shows in the United States and worldwide to inform the public about leading-edge thinking and activity on a broad range of issues. Addressing critical but seldom-debated topics, MMP has been bringing new voices and seldomheard views into the mainstream broadcast media since 1995.

The Bush Administration's plan to deploy weapons in space has received very little media coverage in the United States. Public knowledge of the issue is virtually non-existent. MMP's Space Weapons Program aims to change this. This year, we will work to place authoritative experts and activists in favor of preserving space for peaceful purposes on hundreds of national and international radio talk and news interview shows. This media outreach initiative aims to raise public awareness of the immorality and danger of placing weapons in space and spark debate and political action on this vital issue.

Our program also seeks to facilitate enhanced communications and networking between NGOs and experts around the world who are working to prevent space weaponization. We are currently conducting a survey of NGOs, experts, government and UN officials, academics and journalists who are researching, writing, campaigning or devising diplomatic initiatives to prevent the weaponization of space. The Mainstream Media Project's website will soon contain a section listing the numerous NGOs and experts working on space weapons along with a short description of their activities and contact information. An e-mail list will be established to link all those who wish to share their research and ideas and to promote events relating to space weapons and preserving space for peaceful uses. Once a month, I will post a digest and calendar of events to everyone on the list.

In our widely dispersed and diverse arms control and disarmament community, this program will serve as a shared resource to disseminate information, encourage synergistic relationships among us, and enhance the impact and effectiveness of everyone's work. We also hope to increase media exposure for all those organizations and individuals working to preserve peace in space. Please feel free to use us as a resource to advance our common purpose.

If you are working on the space weapons issue and have not heard from me yet, please contact me at kwood@igc.org. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Karina Wood, Coordinator, Space Weapons Program, Mainstream Media Project; kwood@igc.org; www.mainstream-media.net.