On 18 March 2002, a one-day workshop was held in Paris on the interaction between art, science, and the humanities in composing interstellar messages.

For an overview of the workshop, see the video and article at Tech TV.

The emphasis of the workshop was on composing messages that could be transmitted via electromagnetic radiation at radio or optical frequencies, reflecting the emphasis of current observational programs in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

Paper presenters came from a range of disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Contributing artists provided expertise in drawing, musical composition, new media, painting, sculpture, and space arts. Speakers from the humanities included scholars in history, law, literature, and philosophy. Scientific disciplines represented included astronomy, biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, and psychology. In many of the presentations, authors expanded beyond their primary disciplinary backgrounds to engage alternative approaches to message composition.

The workshop was sponsored by the SETI Institute; Leonardo/l