SWF’s Director of Private Sector Programs Ian Christensen moderated the panel “Does Everyone Really Love Space Activities?: How Communications and Storytelling Play a Crucial Role in Gaining Policy Changes, Funding Support, and Workforce Development”?” as part of the Global Networking Forum at the 2023 International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan. Featuring Camille Bergin (@TheGalacticGal) from Vast, Ksenia Ozkok (@spacexenia) the founder of Re.Brand Academy, Remco Timmermans of SpaceSide (@timmermansr), Sergey Stanovkin of BBC Global News Eurasian (@StanovkinSergey) and Wu Lei from China Global Television Network (@wulei2020) this session discussed tools and approaches that the space community do can use to increase awareness and engagement around how how space assets, services and data provide benefits across society. Speakers discussed current communication challenges including too much focus on what our industry does rather than on impacts and a growing negative narrative around billionaires in space and offered concrete solutions such as focusing on the why of space activities, rather than just the how, and on engaging across a team or company on communications as a core part of strategy. Speakers also discussed the different roles communications for public relations and communications for marketing purposes play.

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