Human journey into outer space began centuries ago and will continue for an indefinite future. Today, space exploration and utilisation continue to erode political boundaries and are enriching human knowledge of the unified nature of our planet Earth. In societies that have begun to invest in the future, many people base their hopes for education, profit and competitiveness in the ability of information technologies to provide the necessary electronic connections. Space and computer technologies are major components of that effort. These technologies are demonstrating daily that our neighbourhoods and where we do business do not necessarily have to be limited to our physical immediate environment.

Indeed, space is contributing, on a continuing basis, to different aspects of human development and security, including how we use its attributes to meet our daily needs as well as address the challenges that we face in the process. Space tools have become essential in the lessening of international tensions and in the building and restoration of trust between and among nations. Satellites have also become indispensable tools in the study and understanding of the relationship between planet Earth and its inhabitants, with particular emphasis on how human activities are affecting the health of the global environment. It is apparent today that unless serious corrective measures are taken at national and internal levels, planet Earth may become uninhabitable for all living species.

In this the second decade of the 21st Century, the nations and private industries that arduously contributed, from the 1960s to the 1990s, to the current state of space exploration and utilization are also committing their resources to a greater understanding of the physical and environmental conditions of outer space in order to gain the knowledge needed to develop improved industrial products of the future for human use here on Earth. The active participation of Africa, not only as a user continent, but more importantly as a contributor to the development and growth of the space enterprise, will, inter-alia:​

• Serve as a significant symbol of national achievement and pride for the participating countries;

• Engrain the can-do mentality in Africa and within the international community;

• Have multiplying effects on the science and technology capability, economy and industrial production of each contributing nation;

• Reduce Africa’s scientific and technological dependence; and

• Strengthen the meaning of and give substance to technological collaboration and knowledge sharing between Africa and the rest of the world.

Today, the space enterprise has become one of the fundamental foundations of industrialisation, and will be much more so in the foreseeable future. Space and associated information technologies offer each African country the freedom to shed its isolation, to form partnerships and to share with its immediate neighbours and the global community, the knowledge of its environment, culture, education and health-care needs, its development goals and the programmes to achieve them. The African Space Foundation stands to play the unique role of empowering Africa and its people to embrace the space enterprise as an instrument of development and progress. I welcome you on board.