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>Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 10:48:52 +0200
>To: KEO <eko@keo.org>
>From: KEO <eko@keo.org>
>Subject: KEO NEWSLETTER NO. 3 - SUMMER 1999
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>KEO NEWSLETTER NO. 3 - SUMMER 1999
>
>Reuters, CNN and Discover launch an influx of messages
>
>April in Paris saw the arrival of spring, the trees in leaf on the grand
>boulevards and signs everywhere of Nature and the Parisians shaking off
>winter's slumber. A fresh influx of messages from all over the world
>echoed this springtime reawakening, thanks to the impact of KEO coverage in
>the media by Reuters, CNN TV and Discover Magazine.
>
>Jonathan Oatis' report on KEO went out on Reuters' media wires in April and
>was taken up by newspapers around the world from the Beijing Youth Daily in
>China, Diario La Hora in Chile, The Star in South Africa to Hamshahri in
>Iran. CNN TV gave it a slot on Lou Dobb's Moneyline program and the
>dispatch featured on web sites in USA, Russia, China, Brazil…the list goes
>on. In fact, we are still trying to track down copies of all the articles
>printed and we would like to thank all of you who spotted such coverage and
>posted or e-mailed it to us. You'll see your names mentioned in our media
>coverage on the KEO web site!
>
>June saw Discover Magazine devote a six-page spread to KEO that resulted in
>hundreds of letters pouring in. Three main groups emerged when we sorted
>through the mail: men and women in the 70+ age bracket, prisoners from a
>number of state penitentiaries in the USA, and teachers and their pupils.
>For example, a month ago, we received messages from an adult learning group
>on forms pre-printed by their local library. This morning an envelope with
>200 messages arrived from high-school students in California accompanied by
>a letter from their teacher of Earth and Environmental Sciences. We are
>also very pleased that KEO is beginning to make inroads into prisons-one
>prisoner who is unable to write got someone else to transcribe his message,
>which was then sent by post to France.
>
>>From Over the Moon to Man on the Moon
>
>With the 30th anniversary of the historic moon landing being celebrated
>this month, it's a nice coincidence that French state television in a
>recent broadcast should ask two astronauts, Jeffrey Hoffman and
>Jean-Jacques Favier, what message they would like to leave to future
>generations.
>
>Hoffman replied: "I'm sure that in 50,000 years' time, humanity will
>inhabit many other worlds, but I hope that when KEO returns to Earth, our
>descendants will remember that it was we who were the first to leave this
>planet."
>
>And Favier had this to say: "I consider that one of the characteristics of
>our world is its diversity and I hope that in 50,000 years' time, this
>diversity will continue to exist on our planet and in our world."
>
>For further media coverage, please consult http://www.keo.org "News&Needs"
>
>Your message counts
>
>Reuters put it succinctly "you can participate"; Discover headlined
>"Wanted: Your message in a time capsule designed to last 50,000 years."
>Your message does count. The aerospace and hi-tech industries may give KEO
>a physical form but only your message and everyone else's will succeed in
>giving KEO a heart, in breathing life into this passive satellite. We are
>counting on you to help us carry KEO throughout the world before it finally
>leaves the Earth in 2001. And "word of mouth" is one of the friendliest
>ways to let people know that they too can write their message for
>posterity. There is a place for everyone on this project and a place for
>everyone's message.
>
>So far, we have received messages in 53 languages from 90 countries. Forty
>new countries since our last newsletter in March! The latest to join
>includes Iran, China, Kuwait, India, Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Tanzania,
>Costa Rica and Burkina Fasso.
>
>Official backing of UNESCO
>
>No wonder then that UNESCO has called KEO a "grand mobilizing initiative".
>In a letter from the Director General to Jean-Marc Philippe dated 8 May,
>Federico Mayor confirms that KEO will be the opening project of the 21st
>century and he goes on to add:
>
>"The mosaic of messages coming from all layers of society will effectively
>give a new image of today's humanity…which will allow us better to define
>and influence our common destiny".
>
>New Partners
>
>Since our last newsletter, we are pleased to welcome new partners to KEO.
>The French Space Agency (CNES) has confirmed that it will undertake various
>ground tests and ensure that security requirements for the launch are met.
>It will also promote KEO at international industry exhibitions, notably the
>Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of
>Outer Space (UNISPACE), which is currently being held in Vienna. Espace
>Courbe, another new partner, has made the model of KEO on display at the
>CNES stand and has kindly offered to lend its expertise to future
>exhibitions around the world.
>
>Starsem, a commercial launch services company, has confirmed an agreement
>in principle to piggyback KEO for free on one of its Soyuz launchers. A
>joint venture of Arianespace, Aerospatiale, the Russian Space Agency and
>Russia's Samara Space Center, Starsem will launch KEO on a commercial
>mission in 2001.
>
>New Communities
>
>Two towns in France have become KEO communities! The local theatre
>company, town council and KEO club in Evry have mobilized their town to
>become involved in the project through a variety of activities designed to
>appeal to every age group, the unemployed and disabled. The goal is to
>reassert the dignity of each individual, bring the community closer
>together, increase the sense of belonging among its citizens…and reflect
>upon what the town was like in 1999.
>
>In Les Ulis, thanks to the persistence of the theatre's technical director,
>Jean-Luc Blaisot, the town council and major have adopted KEO as their Year
>2000 leitmotiv and are organizing a variety of exhibitions, encounters,
>interactive events and shows from April to May next year. The council has
>allocated a budget and appointed one person full-time to work on what they
>call "A Project for the Town".
>
>And by the way, don't forget to let us know what you are doing locally-we
>would be very pleased to feature your stories here.
>
>On a winning streak
>
>We are delighted to let you know that the KEO web site has won two leading
>digital media awards. In March, www.keo.org won the jury's special prize
>at the "Clics d'Or", France's equivalent of an Internet Oscar, organized by
>IBM, Yahoo!, Colt and CB News. Present at the handing over of the trophies
>was Dr. Vinton Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the Internet, and
>Jean-Noël Tronc, special advisor in information technology to the French
>Prime Minister.
>
>The winning streak continued in May when www.keo.org won 2nd Prize in the
>Prix Ars Electronica. Considered the leading international prize in
>digital media, the 13th annual Ars Electronica attracted a record number of
>2119 entries from 60 countries with artists, scientists, researchers and
>professionals from the field of entertainment taking part.
>
>In the net category, the winner was Linus Torvalds of Finland for the
>operating system "Linux" - today one of the most important server operating
>systems on the Internet. So we are delighted to come second behind such a
>prestigious winner.
>
>The KEO team would like to thank everyone at BaBeL who have given so much
>of their talents and their time to help make this possible!
>
>Looking Beyond
>
>Of course the nicest prize of all would be to get a message from everyone.
>Discover magazine notes that writing a message for 50,000 years time is
>"like looking down at home from 50,000 feet; it may give you vertigo…but it
>certainly gives you a different perspective. [The] goal is to get people
>to look beyond their desks and kitchens and crowded roads and ponder what
>is important, and what kind of future they want to create for their world."
>
>Karin Jestin in the same article compares KEO to a giant jigsaw puzzle,
>with each message being one of its pieces. There are still many pieces
>missing at the moment. So we do hope you will help us find them and fit
>them in. And remember you can send your message either via Internet at
>http://www.keo.org, or by regular mail (4 pages max) to: KEO, 65 bis,
>Boulevard Brune, 75014 Paris, France.
>
>As spring turns to summer, we think of those among you getting ready to go
>away and we wish you a wonderful summer break. For those of you living
>where it isn't summer right now or who are unable to take holidays, we hope
>this letter has brightened up your a day a little. And we will be back
>with you all in September!
>
>
>--------------------
>For more details on information contained in this newsletter, please
>consult our website at http://www.keo.org and click on "News&Needs". Share
>this newsletter with your family and friends and your reactions with us.
>
>