Bearing in mind that the theme of the 14th Planetary Congress of the Association of Space Explorers is “Space and Education – a Message to the Youth”, we submit the following statement to all nations, governments and peoples of the world, and in particular to the youth.

We, astronauts and cosmonauts of the world, representing 28 nations, support the idea that access to education is a fundamental human right and that no person should be deprived of their right to a basic and continued education. We firmly believe that space technology plays an important role in expanding education to all people in all countries of the world, regardless of race, nationality or socio-economic status.

Science and technology have been significant factors in improving the quality of life on Earth in the last century; we are about to embark on a new millennium, and education will undoubtedly be the key to our success in the next. But education is not only the responsibility of parents and educators. It is also the responsibility of governments and nations to provide the proper support, to invest in schools and infrastructure which will allow the world's children to pursue their dreams and to build a better future for us all.

Investment in education is an investment in human knowledge, which is the only truly inexhaustible resource in this world. To this end, we cosmonauts and astronauts call on all political leaders all over the world to invest more in proper education for every child and on all spacefaring nations to invest a part of their annual space exploration budgets on innovative, creative space-related programs for the youth. But we also appeal to the youth of the world to commit to a life-long process of learning; set your goals at a level where you must continually strive to reach them, and never be deterred from pursuing your dreams.

You will be responsible for the future of planet Earth. We live on a fragile planet with limited resources and delicate environmental balances and we all share on important responsibility to protect and preserve our natural heritage for our children and for all future generations.

And so we give this mission to the youth : as we hand over to you the responsibility for the protection of our common home, reach for the stars, wherever you may live, and follow in our footsteps to continue the work that we have begun.

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