Towards a scientific and societal agenda on extra-terrestrial life 5-Oct-2010

Place: Kavli Royal Society International Centre, Buckinghamshire, UK

Ivan Almar, Stephen Baxter, James Benford, David Brin, Milan Cirkovic, Richard Crowther, Kathryn Denning, Steven Dick, Stephane Dumas, Frans von der Dunk, John Elliott, Lisa Kaltenegger, Claudio Maccone, Michael Michaud, Mazlan Othman, Ted Peters, Margaret Race, Seth Shostak, John Smart, Nicholas Tosca, Doug Vakoch, Clement Vidal, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, Alexander Zaitsev

Should extra-terrestrial life exist, upcoming efforts will provide living generations with a realistic chance of its detection. Even more than the scientific agenda, a corresponding complementary societal agenda needs to be debated. With a mix of invited talks and panel debates, we particularly look into the detection of life, the communication with potential extra-terrestrial civilizations, the implications for the future of humanity, and the political processes that are required.