ADVOCATING FOR A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PROMOTING GLOBAL SPACE ENGAGEMENT

摘要

In 2014, a group of volunteers launched an initiative to use the Nobel Peace Prize award process to achieve such engagement. This group successfully secured the nomination of the International Space Station (ISS) partners for the Nobel Peace Prize. ISS has been a platform for international collaboration and research for more than fifteen years, but currently faces a public relations challenge. While fifteen nations are involved in the daily operation of ISS and sixty-nine nations have performed space-based research on the station, many people in both the public and private sectors do not understand the value that the station provides to society and the diplomatic achievement that it represents. This status quo calls for greater innovation in the methods used to communicate the value of ISS as a political model for future international projects on Earth and in space. ISS has brought together countries that were enemies in recent history - in particular Cold War rivals the United States and the Russian Federation. It has connected once-competing technologies into the most complex engineering artifact ever developed by humankind. Increasing awareness of the value of these achievements is a great challenge in an era that has witnessed tightening budgets and increasing scrutiny of future expenditures in space. It is therefore vital to generate and promote public interest and understanding of the ISS program to effectively communicate the critical role of international collaboration in future space endeavors.