International Astronauts Foundation (IAF) is always trying to provide better opportunities and platforms for researchers and industries to show their talent. The 67th International Astronautical Congress 2017 (IAC-2017) was the part of these efforts. IAC-2017 was held from 25th to 29th September, 2017 at Adelaide, Australia. It was a great event with four thousand and five hundred (4500) delegates almost from all over the world. A wonderful opening ceremony, excellent plenaries and highlight lectures, a packed program in the Global Networking Forum, several thousand technical presentations, a well-planned exhibition and a memorable Gala Dinner were designed for the busy week. Three (3) participants of the Centre, Mr. SAQIB NISAR, Ms. JAGIRANI AISHA and Ms. VARGAS CUENTAS NATALIA INDIRA were invited to attend it.

On the technical forum, seven (7) papers written by three (3) participants of the Centre were accepted. Mr. SAQIB NISAR, a participant from Pakistan, gave a presentation on his paper “An Integrated Space Technology and Global National Satellite Systems Application for Agriculture Monitoring”. Ms. JAGIRANI AISHA, a participant from Pakistan, gave presentations on her two (2) papers, “Role of International Inter-governmental Organizations in Promoting International Cooperation in outer Space: A Case study of APSCO and APRSAF (Comparative Analysis of Formal and Informal Mechanism of Cooperation)” and “Promoting Space Education and Awareness in Pakistan-Initiatives, Achievements, Challenges and Issues”. Ms. VARGAS CUENTAS NATALIA INDIRA, a participant from Bolivia, gave presentations on her four (4) papers “The Space Technology to Solving Societal Issues In Bolivia: An Overview”, “Use of Satellite Images for Droughte Studying: The Bolivian Case”, “Epidemiology Study of the Chagas Disease in Bolivia Using Remote Sensing Data”, “Analysis of Landslide in Chosica Using Satellite Images”.

They were very thankful to the Centre and their supervisors for providing them an excellent chance to attend and present at this forum. Ms. VARGAS CUENTAS NATALIA INDIRA said that the experience enriched her own professional life and was also beneficial for her personal growth because she could know people from different places of the world with the same purpose - the space technology, which was an inspiration for her. She realized that different people from all over the world, with different customs and languages, could unite their minds and their efforts to have one thing in common: the space!

Additionally, in the exhibitions, the representatives were allowed to peep through different space agencies and other related companies’ profile and their working mechanism. It was also a great chance to share, exchange and gain knowledge as well as contact information.

IAC-2017 provided a very good platform for representatives from all over the world to exchange ideas, which is meaningful for sustainable use of space in the future.