Space Cities Network Strengthens Ties at PCMA Convening Leaders 2025

PCMA Convening Leaders 2025 provided a unique opportunity for the Space Cities Network’s Advisory Scientific Committee to meet in person. How did these face-to-face exchanges enhance the sense of collaboration between the cities and your fellow committee members?

 

Although we had the opportunity to get in contact through online meetings before, having a common project to participate in a panel during the PCMA Convening Leaders 2025 was an accelerator in building our relationship. The sessions we did for the preparation of the panel allowed us to exchange on the different visions we have, the environments we are working in, what the commonalities are, the differences, the advantages and disadvantages. An essential aspect of the Space Cities Network is to develop projects that make sense for its members, and attending the PCMA Convening Leaders was the first step. Given the geographic dispersion of members, this conference gave us the opportunity to meet face-to-face, which is an important aspect when building a new professional relationship.

 

 

One of the sessions highlighted how international collaboration and knowledge exchange in the space sector can serve as a blueprint for other industries. From your perspective, what makes space projects such strong examples of successful global cooperation, and how can this model benefit other sectors?

 

By definition, space projects involve international teams in most cases. Only a limited number of countries (the USA, China, Russia, and India) have the capacity to develop space missions on their own, from development to launch and operations. Even for them, the interest in seeking international contributions is high, especially in the domains of science and exploration. 

In Europe, this vision of mutualising competences for the benefit of several countries was instrumental in the development of the European Space Agency (ESA) 50 years ago, involving 11 countries at that time (today, ESA counts 23 Member States). 

 

Interestingly, even nowadays, with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the cooperation for the International Space Station is still running, and astronauts from Russia, the USA, Japan, Canada, and ESA Member States are working together in space. This example shows the power of international cooperation when the objective is clearly above individual needs. This is probably where other sectors would benefit from the space model – overcoming the frontiers for the benefit of humankind. 

 

Beyond the formal sessions, Convening Leaders also created informal networking opportunities, including more casual gatherings, dinners, and receptions. How important are these more casual interactions in building trust and strengthening the relationships between network members?

 

Those are unique occasions to expand our network, meet new people, learn about new cultures, and be confronted with different realities. This is especially the case in an international conference like the Convening Leaders one. 

 

Returning to the space topic, this is also part of our mission at Space Exchange Switzerland to explain to non-space professionals and the general public why we are spending public money on space activities, what we do, why it matters, and our future direction. This visibility to our activities is essential to build trust and eventually ensure the support of citizens. 

 

Reflecting on the Space Cities Network’s presence at Convening Leaders, how do events like this contribute to the network’s long-term goals? What role do business events play in driving collaboration and visibility for Lausanne and the network?

 

The Space Cities Network idea was launched by Gérald Howard from Lausanne Montreux Congress (in Switzerland), acknowledging the importance and the growing attraction of this topic, which has accelerated over the last few years. Therefore, it was initially founded based on discussions among congress organisers from cities with relevant space activities. This is the uniqueness of this initiative, not being driven by space enthusiasts but by people who are used to assessing the impact and the legacy an event may generate. Federating cities behind the topic to multiply the effect in the long term is a great idea, which was easy to support as a space ecosystem representative. We trust the congress organisers experts to find the best way of collaboration in order to concentrate our effort in defining what would make sense for our ecosystem. This is simply a win-win situation, bringing high visibility for the cities of the network and potential new business opportunities for the actors in the area.