The Dear ET Project

Over a dozen powerful radio messages have been transmitted to outer space containing information about humans and our planet with the intent of making contact with alien onlookers. These messages speak on behalf of all humans, regardless of whether we agree with the message itself, or even the very idea of sending a message in the first place. This raises the question: Who speaks for Earth? Dear ET’s primary goal is to raise awareness about Messaging ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (METI) and to foster greater connections across humanity by engaging the global community in messaging discussions and debates through STEAM educational workshops, active philosophy, and art. We believe the global act of sending messages that represent humanity should be especially inclusive of those who have been historically left out of global conversations, and that such messages should aim to be comprehensible and acceptable to humans in general. After all, if we really want to send a detectable message out to space, exposing ourselves and our location, it should be a good one. And we definitely want to avoid reinforcing oppressive hierarchies here on Earth as we increasingly turn our gaze to the stars.