3rd Adigun Ade Abiodun Public Lecture
The Adigun Ade Abiodun Lecture Series is a flagship programme of the African Space Leadership Institute, which seeks to promote international cooperation in space exploration, utilisation and governance, with Africa's active participation.
The first lecture was delivered by Prof. Mazlan Othman (2-time Director of UNOOSA, and former Director General, Malaysian Space Agency) with the theme "Space Benefitting All." The second lecture was delivered by Prof. Peter Martinez (Executive Director, Secure World Foundation, and former Chairman, South African Council for Space Affairs) with the theme "Evolution of the Global Space Arena: Some Possible Scenarios for Humanity's Future in Space."
The upcoming lecture, with the theme "Space Equities of Nations in the Southern Hemisphere," will be delivered by Dr. Brett Biddington (Principal, Biddington Research, and Adjunct Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia), with opening/closing remarks by Amb. Jane Adams (Nigeria's High Commissioner to Australia).
Abstract
By almost any measure, human endeavours in space are dominated by very few countries whose capital cities lie north of the Tropic of Cancer. The global south, although a beneficiary of space services provided by others, has had not much of a role at all in how the human space ecosystem has developed. My lecture, with particular reference to the space journeys of Nigeria and Australia will seek to examine how the situation in which we find ourselves came about and will ask if there might future opportunities for the global south, working in concert to become more influential in the governance of space in the future. There are many cross-cutting, sometimes contradictory themes to be identified and balanced. Three of these themes are space for nation building and prestige, space for economic development and space for national security. Dr Abiodun was always optimistic and positive in his outlook and this lecture will seek to do justice to his optimism and energy in proposing some steps that the global south might take in our collective interest.
About the Guest Speaker
In 2010, Dr Brett Biddington established a Canberra-based consultancy specialising in space and cyber security matters from policy and national capacity development perspectives. Prior to that he was a member of the Cisco Systems global space team and before that served in the Royal Australian Air Force in intelligence, security and capability development roles.
Dr Biddington also serves the Interim CEO of a Cooperative Research Centre called AI for LIFE which aims to investigate the impact of AI technologies on the Australian education and training system, especially classroom impacts and student learning outcomes.
He is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
About Dr Adigun Ade Abiodun
Adigun Ade ABIODUN was educated in Nigeria, the USA and Canada. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1971, in civil engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA, and was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing in Ottawa, Canada, from December 1974 – February, 1976.
His professional experiences included his services as a hydraulic engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers, in Seattle, as a system engineer at the Boeing Company, in Seattle; Snr. Lecturer at the University of Ife, (since renamed Obafemi Awolowo University), and as United Nations Expert on Space Applications from 1981 November to 1999 September, when he retired from the services of the United Nations. Thereafter, he was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as a Member of the College of Commissioners of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission on Iraq (UNMOVIC), (2000-2007). He also served concurrently as the Senior Special Assistant (to the President of Nigeria) on Space Science and Technology (March 2000 – May 2003). He was elected and served as the Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of outer Space - COPUOS (June 2004 – June 2006). He also served as one of the 20 global panelists that explored, in June 2006, "Humans and Space: The Next Thousand Years," at the Foundation for the Future, Bellevue, State of Washington.
Among other things, Ade ABIODUN initiated and co-founded the African Association of Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE) and the African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development (ALC). He was Board Member of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) and a Trustee of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Space Week International Association (SWIA) and also served as a member of the African Union Space Working Group (AUSWG).
He was the Founder of the African Space Foundation (ASF), a co-founder of the African Space Leadership Institute (ASLI) and the author of "Nigeria’s Space Journey – Understanding its Past, Reshaping its Future."
He passed on 3rd February 2025 after a meritorious service to Africa and the international community.