With the unfortunate Covid-19 events unfolding at a rapid pace for the last couple of months, the overall response of SGAC Community has been to unconditionally empower,  assist and support Everyone, no matter their location around the World. Teams of volunteers have been focussed on enabling virtual workshops and webinars engaging thousands of people in activities, keeping the network United. 

With this in mind we are pleased to congratulate the Organisation Team of SGAC Latin America Webinar Series as the Members of the Month of May 2020!

Nominator’s Motivations

Tania Robles & Elizabeth Barrios:

“The SG Latin American webinar series is a joint effort between NCAC and South American regions to promote the space as an area of ​​opportunity and development for young people in Latin America. At the same time, it seeks to strengthen and position SGAC as a tool for professional development in the sector. For this, 17 people from the NCAC and SA regions worked for almost a month in organizing six sessions of webinars with distinguished Latin personalities in their fields.

The success of this work is reflected in the more than 200 people connected in each of the webinar sessions from all the Latin American countries and the near future mechanisms of collaboration that will be proposed to work in regional projects. This would not have been possible without the work of the teams of Communications, Delegates, Program, IT and Managers.

This project shows that working together even small things can have a big impact. But most of all in the region there are strong leaders that will boost the space sector.”

This recognition goes to the:

– Current and former NPoCs: Genaro Grajeda and Carlos Mariscal (México), Angel Arcia (Panamá), Sebastian Herrera (Costa Rica), Andre Alonso (Brazil), José Godinho (Venezuela) Isi Casas del Valle (Chile), Santiago Henn (Argentina), Gabriel Jaimes (Bolivia) and Samuel Cadavid (Colombia)

-Members of the regional teams: Hanoi Talavera and Walter Calles (NCAC) and Maria Camila Blanquicet (SA)

-Regional Coordinators: Tania Robles and Elizabeth Barrios (NCAC), Oscar Ojeda and Santiago Enriquez (SA)

We would like to congratulate ALL our members and National and Regional representatives for being fully supportive towards their local communities! 

Well done Everyone, Stay Strong!

Clémentine Decoopman, SGAC Executive Director:

“The Organising Team of the SG Latin America Webinar Series has done a fantastic job in putting together this series of webinars in such a short amount of time as a response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. They managed to engage with a record number of more than 1000 SGAC members, from their regions and outside, across the 7 webinars they organised. They also brought together high-level space experts from their regions to share knowledge and experiences with the participants, showcasing their regions’ opportunities and challenges in the space sector. In this difficult period, it is important for the SGAC community to be united, as we are all in this together, and there is no better way to be inclusive than to organise activities online. We are very grateful for their dedication and contribution to SGAC. Congratulations to all members of the organising team for your outstanding work!”

Harriet Brettle, SGAC Co-Chair

“The Organising Team of the SG Latin America Webinar Series has done an incredible job and truly deserve this recognition within SGAC. Through their webinar series they have connected more than 1000 SGAC members with inspiring leaders from the Latin America space industry and perfectly embodied SGAC’s mission to connect and empower young people, around the world, with the wider space community. Congratulations to everyone involved!”

We have asked the Organising team members 3 questions: their honest reaction receiving this nomination, what inspired them to join this initiative and what positive did they take from this experience.

We would like to invite you to read their beautiful messages of encouragement below.

Moderator of Session Nº 5: Democratizing Space: Opportunities and Benefits of Low-cost regional technological implementations.

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

I was very excited to hear that our whole team had been nominated as a team for MoM! I was not aware that groups could be nominated, and I certainly think the whole team deserves it! We all really worked day and night to make this event happen and I’m grateful the hard work of my team members has been recognized.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

Our region is very special. Although it shines in its natural beauty and culture, it can sometimes be unrecognized for the intellectual talent it beholds. Giving a webinar series that got the attention of more than 1,500 people in the region, that promotes space activities, acknowledges the challenges that our Region faces and shows through living examples that Latin Americans are active members of the space sector was absolutely rewarding. Having the support of an institution like the Secure World Foundation, materializes their effort to expand to the latin american community, as they are doing now with the official spanish translation of their handbook for new actors in space. So what inspired me the most to join this initiative, is to make space accessible to our region, lead by example and show that there is work being done and a lot of opportunities waiting for us.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

I had the pleasure to work with a diverse, active and hardworking team, who through adversity managed to pull an incredible event that brought together a whole region under one target: space! Also, it made me realize that there is a lot of work to be done in our own language, and that it brings people closer together. By having initiatives like this one, in spanish, we united a whole Region for one purpose, and that is the key factor for successful entrepreneurship, development and innovation in space. 

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

I was part of the program team, in charge of elaborating the invitations for the webinar panelists (SME’s) and, of course, contacting them to actually deliver the invitations and answer any questions.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

Any space-related venture appeals to my enthusiasm, and recently we’ve begun to talk about joining efforts from all countries in Latin-America to make more and bigger things happen, which I think is a great path to follow. On this occasion Oscar Ojeda and Tania Robles came up with the idea of the webinars and I offered to help in any way I could. Luckily we ended up with a really big and excellent working team.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

I took a whole lot of lessons learned to apply and/or transmit for events like the webinar, or anything that resembles it. But I think that the main positive thing was working with such a great team, from which many are interested in continuing to work together for future events. 

Moderator of the Webinar #6: Capacity Building: Education and Professional Development in the Space Field

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition

I was surprised to be nominated as a team and I believe we all deserve it for the great effort.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

This was my first opportunity to organize an event within SGAC and the fact that the event was for the entire Latin America Region was very exciting.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

I believe it was very positive that we could work as a team in these difficult times (working remotely, tight schedules) and we managed to gather experts in Space topics from our region for students and young professionals who were very interested and engaged.

Part of the Delegates Team for the Webinar Series

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition

Being nominated for this recognition is extremely motivating, and definitely keeps our enthusiasm up to come up with new ideas and solutions to support the development of the space sector in Latin America. Even though we worked with very little time, we were capable of compensating this with extra effort, which definitely paid off in every session we had with hundreds of participants.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

I joined SGAC in October, 2018, as part of the organizing team for the 1st NCAC Space Generation Workshop in Costa Rica. Immediately, I fell in love with the dynamic environment that SGAC offered and the multiple opportunities of personal growth. This SG Latin American Webinar Series was not an exception for this, and being able to work along such a capable, talented and hard-working team was extremely encouraging to keep space-related topics on the table for our region, Latin America, to keep growing in this industry.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

Being able to share experiences, hours of work and multiple video calls with this international organizing team is definitely one of the things I appreciate the most about being part of this event. I believe one of the most important aspects of SGAC is its community, and actively participating in the development of SGAC projects and events is the best way, in my opinion, to make this international community grow and bond together.

Communications & Social Media

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition

I was very happy and grateful with the notice, because of the exhaustive and very good work we achieved.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

My main inspiration is to be part of a team that seeks to disseminate and publicize activities around science and space to communities in Latin America. I am a scientific communicator and I am aware of the great need for this type of initiative in my region. In addition to this, I am very motivated to be part of a multicultural and highly qualified team in their field, from which I can learn a lot.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

I just want to say one thing: EVERYTHING!

Part of Program and PR & Comms

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

I was very excited, when I found out that the Latin American Webinar team as a whole achieved this distinction, it makes me feel that together we are writing the steps of a spatial Latin America

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

Promote the space theme in Latin America

3). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

We must walk the path to develop our region together.

Manager of the webinar series

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

Team and hard work always gives good results when you have a common goal. I´m happy to receive the nomination in conjunction with friends and colleagues of the Latin American region.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

Latin America has some examples of success in the space sector, but most of its countries are emerging in which its young students and professionals seek and strive every day to make a career of themselves. Unfortunately, the possibility of undertaking or developing professionally in these nations is not easy. With this initiative we seek to offer valuable information and examples of success in the region, aiming to extend this effort between regions to promote cooperation and collaboration even outside the SGAC.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

At Latin America we are used to settling for what is there and what isn´t (like a space sector), even if we don’t agree. This webinar is an example of two things: that the interest in space is real and huge in our society, but more importantly, that it only takes getting the right people together in the right place to make things happen, even if we are thousands if kilometers far.

Program Team and Moderator for the first session

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

Being nominated for MoM is a great responsibility as a space leader but being able to share this with the SGAC Latin American Webinar Series feels even better.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

I was inspired by the SGAC leaders from Latin America that wanted to do something to bring the space to the people during the pandemic. 

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

The amount of people reached by the event was the most exciting thing for me, also the professionals that give us our time to participate  as speakers.

Moderator for Panel #2: Satellite Technology for the Benefit of People: A Space Perspective for Solving Regional Problems

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

I was happy to moderate and support the initiative through my own experience using satellite technology on a day by day basis.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

It’s uncommon to have regional Latam opportunities, I found it very rewarding to have a regional look at common issues and I am always happy to share my own experiences with others. 

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

There are many more like minded space people in the region looking to participate and collaborate in this endeavours and share experience as well as knowledge.

Hoping you have a fantastic day.

IT lead and Moderator of session 4: Space Entrepreneurship: Development and implementation of a space economy in the region

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

I am thrilled to be nominated among such inspiring and passionate individuals.  I think that being recognized as a group is a powerful message of the huge potential of Latin America in the space industry and a reminder of the importance of teamwork and collaboration in such a diverse, beautiful region.  

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?  

As soon as I knew about the idea of the LatinAmerican Webinar Series I thought I could not remember a previous effort to integrate SGAC members from Latin America.  We all share quite similar visions and challenges in the industry and we are also a very active region, with countless activities every year to inspire the new generations to overcome any obstacles along the way and pursue their dreams.  It was exciting from the first moment to have an opportunity to demonstrate the impact that this initiative could have all over the continent.  I think we are now more unified and eager to find new ways of collaboration among our region.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?  

It was a pleasure to work with this amazing group of professionals. As in every SGAC initiative, I got new friends, expanded my professional network and learned a lot from experts and professionals that gave me a new vision of the challenges and opportunities ahead.  It was a great surprise, as well, the impact we caused in the region, with over 1000 participants during the webinars, which tells me space in our countries has a great future.

Communications team for Webinars project

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

Such great news to be nominated from this initiative! and better a team nomination, since we all worked hard in the development of Webinar, getting great results for the space field in Latin America.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative? 

Space is thrilling and innovative in terms of actual achievements being reached for the community of professionals and actual changing times. Being part of Latin American SGAC community represents to be an agent of change for creating scenarios of debate and sharing of opportunities for youth and future cooperative projects. Where diversity of paradigms and cultures were immersed in our team working for development of the space field in our region. 

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

I have learned much from others SGAC members, organizing team, and outstanding professionals in the webinar. Sharing of experiences and knowledge for this first version of the webinar was unique and constructive for all participants with academics, trending technology and the professional space sector. Furthermore, I had a lot of fun organizing and working with other SGAC members in the team.

Co-manager of the Webinar series

1). Reaction on being nominated as a team for MoM recognition.

It is really exciting to get this achievement for the entire group, everyone did an amazing job from day one, believing in the cause of bringing space to people of our region. I’m sure this will motivate everyone to keep working hard.

2). What inspired YOU to join this initiative?

Even before the pandemic situation, along with Tania, we had two goals: to bring more space to Latin America, and to create opportunities for the regions to work together. We were fortunate to count with a wonderful network of experts, a great team, and an amazing public that allowed us to have a great event. I’m a believer in the importance of space, and it’s role as a way for social change, so this effort was just the consequence of that idea.

3). What Positive did YOU take from this experience?

This experience confirmed to me that the Latin American region has a lot to give, and that we need to keep creating places and opportunities for the interested parties to gather and develop a space culture and environment in the region. We have a lot of talent, I saw it in the experts, but most importantly, in each team member, that gave their all for the public to have an amazing experience. I’m so proud of them, and of what the SGAC platform offers…!!!