Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte announced to close friends via email last night and during a news conference from Moscow this morning that come September 30th, he will embark on a space mission to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TM-16. As a highly visible 'space tourist' aboard Expedition 21, Laliberte will mark Cirque du Soleil's 25th anniversary and hopes to raise awareness around the Global Water Crisis and the charitable organization he founded called onedrop.org
In an email message to close friends about his upcoming far flung adventure, Laliberte says:
I am undertaking the flight on behalf of the ONE DROP Foundation and Cirque du Soleil. My objective is to raise awareness around water issues in a creative and innovative way. This will be the first Poetic Social Mission in Space.
Laliberte, who will have just turned fifty by the time Expedition 21 leaves orbit, will be training in Russia until the September launch date. In view of his working social mission in space, the visionary entrepreneur hopes to engage worldwide audiences to participate in his humanitarian adventure using social media (learn more about building social and cultural capital through social media on my personal blog). He adds:
During my space exploration, I will create worldwide events to involve audiences in the project.
Find out how you can participate in Guy Laliberte's space adventure and help spread the world about the global water crisis by viewing the news conference.
Juliette Powell is an entrepreneur, digital media consultant and author of 33 Million People in the Room (Financial Times Press, 2009), a book about social networking for business, inspired by Guy Laliberte. Powell is also co-founder of the Gathering Think Tank Inc., an innovation forum at the intersection of media, business, advertising and technology. You can connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.