Exciting year ahead! As we come to the end of 2017 we want to summarise all the great projects our office is collaborating on! We thank the European Southern Observatory’s fantastic team for producing the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Journal for so many years. And now, we’d like to let you know that the first edition of 2018 will be done "in-house", with Sze-leung Cheung, our International Astronomy Coordinator, as Editor-in-Chief!
In this issue, we highlight the highly anticipated IAU centennial anniversary planning; the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference 2018, in Japan, and the IAU new inclusive world exhibition "Inspiring Stars".
We want to tell you how much fun we had bringing you the astronomy and outreach news, project, resources from around the world. It’s been 24 issues with more than 240 news items, reaching a community of 5000 subscribers twice a month. We wouldn’t be able to create this newsletter without your participation: we’re always looking for the highlights of astronomy outreach and education activities, and we’re so grateful for your amazing efforts to share these with our team and with your peers around the world through this newsletter. To all of you we extend warmest thanks.
As always, we cannot go without mentioning all the voluntary support that makes this newsletter possible — our translators and National Outreach Contacts (NOCs).
Our team here in Japan is looking forward to continuing to hear from you all in 2018 and to supporting you the best way we can.
Clear Skies for 2018!
The IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach team
1) IAU100: Uniting our World to Explore the Universe
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will organize a year-long celebration to expand awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development, and diplomacy under the central theme “Uniting our World to Explore the Universe”. The celebrations will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science and will reach out to the global astronomical community, national science organizations and societies, policy-makers, students and families, and the general public.
For any inquiries, please contact Jorge Rivero González, the IAU100 Coordinator at: rivero[at]strw.leidenuniv.nl.
2) Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Journal
The CAPjournal is a free peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators, available online and in print. Public communication of astronomy provides an important link between the scientific astronomical community and society, giving visibility to scientific success stories and supporting both formal and informal science education. While an astronomer’s principal task is to further our knowledge of the Universe, disseminating this new information to an audience wider than the scientific community is paramount. Through this publication, our team aims to fulfil the main task of public astronomy communication — to bring astronomy to society.
Share your work, extend your reach, and increase your visibility. Submit here!
3) Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Conference -- CAP 2018 JAPAN
On 24 – 28 March 2018, Japan will host the world’s largest conference on astronomy communication: Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2018 (CAP 2018). Professionals from science communication, informal education, planetariums and science centres, as well as professional and amateur astronomers, journalists, and creatives will gather in Fukuoka to attend the event at the brand new Fukuoka City Science Museum where they’ll be able to exchange ideas and best practices.
You can still join the nearly 300 confirmed professionals who have registered so far.
4) IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) Projects for 2018
In 2017, the OAD funded a total of 20 projects (University level-9, School level- 6, Public level- 5). A few of these projects applied outreach ideas and activities in the context of Astronomy for Development. It included a project-developing capacity to produce locally relevant content for planetarium shows, another one creating an open source simulator to educate people on the effects of light pollution, a project establishing an astronomy press office to coordinate media releases nationally and highlight local research, etc. These are some examples of innovative projects applying sustainable solutions to local challenges. Stay tuned for the next call for proposals announcement in April-May 2018
For a list of all projects targeting the general public, please visit http://www.astro4dev.org/funded-projects-tf3-public/
5) Astronomy Translation Network
There are many valuable astronomy resources in education and public outreach (EPO) available, but most of the time they’re only available in one language (mainly English). The ‘Astronomy Translation Network’ project is seeking to have astronomy materials available locally in local languages. The project is developing a global networking framework that will centralize good resources and those needing translation, and match translation needs with volunteers. We welcome your contribution to translation activities as a language coordinator, translator, proofreader, or scientific reviewer. By translating, you will help to promote astronomy education and outreach around the world, as well as gain language skills, knowledge, and access to companies through volunteering. Also, we are planning to create a certification system for volunteers, which will issue certificates in recognition of your volunteer work.
6) National Outreach Contact (NOCs)—the IAU outreach global network
To support projects at a national level, the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (IAU OAO) created a network of IAU National Outreach Contacts (NOCs): volunteers with extensive experience in public outreach, acting as points of contact for various countries. In 2017, the number of IAU National Outreach Contacts (NOCs) network has increased to 78. For the upcoming IAU100 activities during 2019, the IAU NOCs will be the most important coordinators. The year 2018 will, therefore, be a year to expand the network and to prepare different actions for the IAU100 celebrations tailored to each country's NOC.
One project officially supported by the IAU is astroEDU, an open-access platform for peer-reviewed science education activities. Here educators can discover, review, distribute, improve, and remix educational content, all licensed through the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. astroEDU makes the best science activities, particularly those with an astronomical, earth- or space-science focus, accessible to educators around the world by providing visibility via wide distribution through the partner networks and with the official seal of the IAU. In 2017, the IAU launched the Italian version of the platform. We encourage all formal and informal educators to discover more about astroEDU here and to share their educational activities here.
8) Inspiring Stars—the IAU Inclusive World Exhibition
“Inspiring Stars” will be an itinerant international exhibition promoted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to disseminate world efforts on inclusive research and outreach activities in astronomy. This inclusive world exhibition by showcasing assistive research tools and best inclusive outreach practices intends to broaden the horizons of children, parents, teachers and astronomers—everybody can become a scientist (astronomer)—inspiring the love for science in young people’s minds.
The exhibition will premiere during the IAU General Assembly 2018 in Vienna, from 20–31 August and will be shown around the world. Stay tuned as we keep you posted on all the progress of this IAU not-to-be-missed project for 2018!
9) Meetings and Global Events in 2018
As we move closer to the end of 2017 here is the list of the most eagerly awaited astronomy outreach and education conferences and events for next year. Plan ahead for a year full of interesting events.
a) International Conference New Perspectives in Science Education
Dates: 22 - 23 March 2018
Location: Florence, Italy
More information: https://conference.pixel-online.net/NPSE/
c) European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences (EWASS)
Dates: 3-8 April 2018
Location: Liverpool, UK More information: http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/
d) 15th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (PCST2018)
Date: 4–6 April 2018
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
More Information: http://www.pcst2018.org/pcst18
e) 11th International Meeting of Astronomy and Astronautics
Date: 12—14 April 2018
Location: Campos de Goytacazes, Brazil
More Information: http://bit.ly/2xP8uik
g) ESOF (EuroScience Open Forum) 2018
Dates: 9-14 July 2018
Location: Toulouse, France
More Information: https://www.esof.eu/en/
h) Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) Conference & the InterNational Astronomy Teaching Summit
Dates: 22-27 July 2018
Location: Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
More information: rtsre.org
Have we missed something? Then share your astronomy outreach and education international meetings or events with us via outreach@iau.org.
10) A special thank you to our translators—IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter in other languages
If you are interested in translating our newsletter to your language, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
11) Contributions to the IAU Outreach Newsletter—looking forward to hearing from you in 2018
Here at the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, we’re always looking for news about astronomical education and outreach events around the world. Please continue to share your stories with us in 2018! If you are organising large-scale events at a regional or international level, offering astronomy education or communication job positions, have any innovative projects or inspiring stories, looking for professional–amateur collaboration in astronomy, or have created any educational resources, let us know by sending an email to outreach@iau.org.
