Washington, DC and Vienna, Austria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/12/2007 -- The Space Generation Advisory Council, the world’s largest group representing youth perspectives on space exploration to the United Nations and national space programs today announced its 2008 annual fundraiser to promote youth participation in space exploration.

The Council runs a number of projects each year to promote space participation amongst youth. These projects include an annual conference taking place in 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland, research projects that report three times annually to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) and a new technical program allowing teams of youth to launch their own experiments to space.

“It is vitally important that youth have a say in the how their own future unfolds as space will play an increasingly important role in their lives,” said Alex Karl, Global Chairperson of the Space Generation Advisory Council. “Our programs encourage and foster youth participation around the world in space exploration. There are a lot of important issues at hand, but it is also a lot of fun.”

The projects of the Space Generation Advisory Council rely entirely on volunteer contributions and support.

Individuals can contribute by visiting http://spacegeneration.org/donate

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) is a non-government organization with observer status within UN COPUOS dedicated to representing the voice of today’s youth on tomorrow’s space issues. The SGAC was formed following the 1999 UNISPACE III conference in which 4 youth recommendations were included in the Vienna Declaration on Space and Human Development. SGAC has since dedicated itself to the pursuit of these recommendations and to encourage youth participation in space exploration and its applications on Earth.

For more information about the Space Generation Advisory Council, please visit: http://spacegeneration.org/