Contact is an annual interdisciplinary conference that brings together renowned social and space scientists, science fiction writers and artists to exchange ideas, stimulate new perspectives and encourage serious, creative speculation about humanity's future. The intent of Contact is to promote the integration of human factors into space research and policy, to explore the intersection of science and art, and to develop ethical approaches to cross-cultural contact. Since its beginnings, the Contact conference has fostered interdisciplinary inquiries into art, literature, exploration and scientific investigation.
Contact was conceived by anthropologist Jim Funaro in 1979, and the first formal conference was held in 1983 in Santa Cruz, California. Twenty-six annual events have followed, several held at NASA Ames Research Center. In many previous years, the COTI HI project involved teams of high school students in the creation of scientifically accurate extraterrestrial beings, and in simulated encounters between two such races.
Many spinoff organizations have formed, on line, and as far away as Japan. One such organization is the Contact consortium which is focused on the medium of contact in multi-user virtual worlds on the Internet.
Contact has been closely allied with the SETI Institute, and its early participants created the hypothetical planet Epona.
The 27th Contact conference was held on March 31 - April 2, 2012 at the SETI Institute and the Domain Hotel, in Mountain View, California. The 28th conference will be held on a biennial schedule, thus in the spring of 2014, probably in northern California
Famous quotes containing the words contact and/or conference:
“Whatever my own practice may be, I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Politics is still the man’s game. The women are allowed to do the chores, the dirty work, and now and then—but only occasionally—one is present at some secret conference or other. But it’s not the rule. They can go out and get the vote, if they can and will; they can collect money, they can be grateful for being permitted to work. But that is all.”
—Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)