| NETO/EDSAT National Education Telecommunications Organization & EDSAT Institute |
In Memorium
The National Education Telecommunications Organization and EDSAT Institute (NETO/EDSAT) is deeply saddened to the death of Congressman George E. Brown Jr.
1920-1999
Congressman George Brown served on the NETO/EDSAT Institute Advisory Board and afforded our organization inspiring leadership for over 10 years. |
We share with you our thoughts in remembrance of Congressman Brown:
It is ironic that as the country comes through a sad and tragic accident resulting in the loss of JFK, Jr., who was at the very start of an emerging leadership role, we have lost another great leader at the other end of his full career (but still going strong). He too was inspired by JFK’s vision on the use of space to bring education and information to all peoples around the globe. We speak of Congressman George E. Brown, Jr., former Chairman and Ranking member of the US Congress Science Committee who passed away Thursday, July 15, 1999. Congressman Brown was the kind of leader who seems to be going out of style. He was a committed and knowledgeable politician with self-effacement and humor as part of his strong personality. Congressman George Brown, Jr., served on the NETO/EDSAT Advisory Board for over 10 years giving of his time and leadership. He did this because he would leave no stone unturned if he thought he could help to open up, educational and research opportunities to all children. Since the II Summit of the Americas, Congressman Brown had continued his strong leadership in support of the EDSAT-Americas project to establish a satellite-based common-infrastructure for education and health-care services in the Americas. He believed, "… technology has made the unimaginable possible, and has increased the rate at which human culture advances. We as a global community have the responsibility to ensure that all people benefit from these changes. […] The longer we wait to act, the greater the risk of more people falling behind and the greater the divide between technology have and have-nots. […] With the power of the Information Age in hand, we have the ability and responsibility to eliminate distance as a barrier to education…" George Brown came into Congress at a time when it was important and fashionable to speak of "equity", "fairness" and "balance". When citizens expected their representatives to encourage government to be a partner with the private sector in building a nation state, where government opened opportunities and timely information to those who would otherwise be disenfranchised, uninformed or without skills, to share in the "good life". He continued this commitment in his 35 years in Congress. Like former President Kennedy, George Brown believed that "space" belonged to the people and that the private sector’s privilege to space access should include a guarantee for all countries, developing and underdeveloped, to universal services and to education for their people. Congressman Brown, like JFK and his son, never lost sight that "public service" is just that "service" and not a "job". His vision, his leadership and he will be sorely missed! John Buchanan Jr. Chairman - NETO/EDSAT
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