Office of Astronomy for Development: Results of the 2022 Call for Proposals

ann23001 — Announcement

13 January 2023

The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) is pleased to announce the results of its 2022 call for proposals. 19 projects have been selected to receive a total of €113 011 in 2023, to promote sustainable-development using astronomy-related interventions. In addition, two ongoing multi-year projects, funded from 2021 to 2023, will receive €11 000 this year.

The new projects span the globe, with activities taking place in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. They include: a programme that will train young women teachers to promote science education in rural Botswana; astro-tourism initiatives in Malaysia and India; development of an astro-tourism academic curriculum in Tanzania; and an after-school astronomy programme for families in a disadvantaged part of Northern Ireland.

Also among the funded initiatives are: inclusive astronomy projects targeting persons with disabilities in rural Guatemala, and blind and partially sighted persons in Canada, Mexico, and the US; an inspirational astronomy-based programme for soon-to-be-released prison inmates in Nigeria; physics and astronomy training for young women in parts of Pakistan affected by conflict; and mentorship programmes for school girls in rural Kenya, and marginalised students from Central America and the Caribbean. These projects will be conducted over the next one to three years by multidisciplinary teams across the world.

This was the OAD’s 11th annual call for proposals. 90 applications were received at stage 1, from which 41 were selected for stage 2. An independent review panel, comprising experts from astronomy and development fields, evaluated the applications and made the final selections, which were later approved by the OAD Steering Committee.

The themes for the call included the three OAD Flagships — Sustainable, local socio-economic development through Astronomy, Science diplomacy through Astronomy: Celebrating our Common Humanity, and Knowledge and Skills for Development — as well as a special theme recognising the UN International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.

The annual call for proposals is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. With these projects, the IAU has granted almost €1 200 000 to more than 200 projects since 2011, reaching people in over 100 countries. The next call is expected to be announced in April 2023.

The projects funded, in alphabetical order, are:

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 more than 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 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.