ann21006 — Announcement

Astronomy Workshop in Liberia
19 January 2021
Office of Astronomy for Development: Results of the 2020 Call for Proposals
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The IAU’s Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) is pleased to announce the results of its 2020 call for proposals, with 21 projects selected to receive funding in 2021. These projects, which will address global challenges using astronomy-related innovations, include: online astronomy programmes in Indonesia and India; development of astronomy video content to be used in television lessons in Pakistan; training programmes for displaced populations in refugee camps in Algeria, Spain, Italy and Uganda; motivating and improving the welfare of prisoners in Nigeria; teaching coding using astronomical topics in Portugal, Mozambique and East Timor; mentoring and inspiring girls in primary schools in rural Kenya; and astronomy projects to celebrate indigenous culture and help students identify with their ancestral roots in Chile, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, and Portugal.

Although the call was announced in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OAD received an enthusiastic response from the community, with 110 applications submitted. An independent review panel selected 21 proposals, which were later approved by the OAD Steering Committee. In total, €109 944 will be granted to the funded projects.

This was the ninth annual call for proposals run by the OAD. In light of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the OAD also ran a separate call in 2020, inviting proposals to address the immediate challenges caused by the pandemic. As a result of this additional call, a further 43 projects were funded in June 2020.

The annual call for proposals is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. The next call is expected to open in April 2021.

List of projects funded, in alphabetical order:

  1. AMANAR 2.0: A refuge in the stars, Algeria, Spain, Italy
  2. Asteroids workshop: A rocky adventure, Chile
  3. Astro Sprint, India
  4. Astrobus, Nigeria
  5. Astrolab Distant Training, Southern, Eastern and West African countries
  6. Astronomy for Environmental Protection in Gobi Desert, Mongolia
  7. Astronomy Motivation Activities, India
  8. Astro-prison, Nigeria
  9. Code learning with astronomical ideas, Portugal, Mozambique, East Timor
  10. COVID-19 in Amazonas — Astronomy strikes back!, Brazil
  11. Elimisha Msichana. Elimisha Jamii na Astronomia, (Swahili for “educate a girl, educate the entire community with astronomy”) Kenya
  12. Empowering Rational Capacity through Astronomy: A Distant Learning Approach from Bosscha Observatory, Indonesia
  13. Empowerment of Disadvantaged Rural Girl Children as Social Change Agents through Basic Education in Astronomy, India
  14. Interdisciplinary Radio Astronomy, global
  15. Knowledge access and sharing through Cultural Astronomy in Uganda’s Refugee settlements and host communities, Uganda
  16. Open Astronomy Clubs for Quality Education, Gender Equality and Distribution of Telescopes, Cameroon
  17. OruMbya — Astronomy as fuel of life: the resilience of stars in Yoruba, Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Cosmogony, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Principe, Angola and Portugal
  18. Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers 2021, Africa
  19. Rediscovering Identity though Astronomy, Chile
  20. Upliftment of Space Technology and Astronomy Cell in Himalayas, India
  21. Video Astronomy Lessons for Pakistani School Children, Pakistan

The OAD has also compiled a list of recommended proposals that were approved by the reviewers but could not be funded. You can browse through the Recommended list and contact us for more details or to support one or more projects.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together almost 12 000 active professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

The members of the IAU Working Group on The IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), and supported by the South African Department of Science and Innovation. The OAD, located at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town, South Africa, aims to help further the use of astronomy, including its practitioners, skills and infrastructures, as a tool for development.

Links

Contacts

Ramasamy Venugopal
IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)
rv@astro4dev.org 

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 761
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars@eso.org

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Astronomy Workshop in Liberia