With the closing of another extraordinary and challenging year, we take a moment to thank our astronomy outreach community for their continued efforts in helping parents, children, and educators cope with the impact of the pandemic. It has not been an easy task, but their efforts have provided the opportunity to overcome obstacles using our shared skies and our love and excitement for astronomy and, together, build a better future ahead.
In 2021, we saw the increase and renewal of our IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) network, reaching 126 countries with over 280 representatives. Their support to online initiatives such as talks, meet-ups, workshops, competitions, brought pandemic-safe programmes to homes across the globe. The second edition of the NOCs Funding Scheme received 24 proposals involving 46 NOCs and the collaboration with the SKAO outreach network. The commitment of the NOCs network to astronomy outreach and their dedication to their communities despite facing numerous challenges is an inspiration to us all.
During 2021 we saw the successful implementation of many of our IAU Global Outreach programmes. These included "Dark and Quiet Skies Awareness", "Women and Girls in Astronomy", and "Meet the IAU Astronomers!" in which more than 200 IAU astronomers signed up for the programme. Their interest helped provide access to astronomical research to communities around the world. The programme will be relaunched in early 2022, so we invite you all to stay tuned for more information and to sign up for the programme.
In 2021, the IAU Outreach Calendar shared around 300 events. We thank all who send us information and invite you to share your events and initiatives with us. The Telescopes for All programme, a standalone project from the IAU centenary in partnership with Sterren Schitteren Voor Iedereen (SSVI, Stars Shine for Everyone), received 225 applications from 54 countries, with 12 telescopes being awarded. For 2022, we hope to expand the programme, which provides telescopes to schoolchildren in developing, and to do so, we welcome your donations.
We released two issues of Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAPjournal), including a special edition about communicating astronomy with the public during the pandemic. We accept abstract submissions on an ongoing basis, so please consider contributing.
Last but not least, in 2021, we launched Under One Sky Call, a call for projects relating to the United Nations International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. With the deadline to submit proposals extended to 17 January, we hope you have the chance to apply.
In this last issue of the year, we'd like to thank our many volunteers in our programmes for their commitment and perseverance to sharing astronomy and science, our advisors for their guidance, and the many people who have participated in our programming. We can't do these projects alone, and we're grateful that you have helped make our programming so vibrant.
Wishing you good health and all the best in the new year!
Lina Canas & Suzana Filipecki Martins, on behalf of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) Team
1) Selected Projects for National Outreach Coordinator Funding Scheme 2020/2021
In the second year of the IAU National Outreach Coordinator (NOC) Funding Scheme, the International Astronomical Union Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) selected three projects involving National Outreach Coordinators from 17 countries. They are: The Art of Astronomy, a project that recognizes the influence of astronomy in art; Amanar: Under the Same Sky 2021 Summer Program, aimed at expanding Amanar, a project that uses astronomy to empower and inspire the Sahrawi community from the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, and AstroGPS for the World, a project that builds on a user-friendly and successful service and expands it for the benefit of the global community.
2) Astronomy Communication Conference with Record Virtual Attendance
The 9th Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference (CAP), co-organized by the IAU Commission C2 — Communicating Astronomy with the Public and the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) took place from 24 to 27 May 2021. The first-ever virtual edition, #VirtualCAP2021 was the largest CAP Conference to date, with over 1200 registered participants from 84 countries. Organized under the main theme of Communicating Astronomy with the Public in the Age of Global Crises, the conference acknowledged the challenges our community faced (and continues to face) during the pandemic and promoted the ways in which our community has adapted.
The Scientific Programme of the conference was led by the C2 CAP Conference Working Group. #VirtualCAP2021 received generous support from The Kavli Foundation.
3) Under One Sky Call for Proposals - Deadline extended to 17 January 2022
The Under One Sky Call for Proposals will award grants up to 2000 Euros to support projects in and around the United Nations International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples celebrated on 9 August 2022. Awarded projects use cultural astronomy, astronomy outreach and communication to recognize indigenous knowledge, respect indigenous learning systems with a rights-based approach to indigenous learning.
Good news! We’re extending the Under One Sky Call for Proposals deadline to 17 January 2022, 23:59 (your) local time. This gives you extra two weeks to prepare and submit your proposal.
The Telescopes for All programme, a partnership between the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, Sterren Schitteren voor Iedereen (Stars Shine for Everyone - SSVI) and Leiden University/Universe Awareness (UNAWE), distributes telescopes to underserved communities around the world. The 2021 edition saw a record number of applications, with 225 entries from 54 countries. The selected proposals will bring telescopes to socially deprived communities in Poland; help tackle educational disparities and improve access to STEM for women and girls in Botswana and Mauritius; reach rural areas in Malaysia; and refugee camps in Jordan, to name a few.
100 Hours of Astronomy is a 100-hour, round-the-clock, round-the-globe celebration, featuring a broad range of astronomy outreach activities that enable as many people as possible, from children to senior citizens, to engage with the sky and gain a basic understanding of our astronomical surroundings. In 2021, over 150 registered activities took place in 60+ countries under the theme Together Under One Sky. Stars Shine for Everyone (SSVI) and Leiden University donated 10 Bresser telescopes to outreach groups whose activities demonstrated creativity in connecting and reaching out to their communities; prizes were also donated to the first 100 registered events.
6) The IAU Embarks on a New Collaboration with Physics Students
In May 2021, the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) through its Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) and Division C on Education, Heritage, and Outreach have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further enhance their cooperation. The MoU outlines items for collaboration between the two organizations in areas of mutual interest, such as organising sessions at each other’s regular conferences, engaging in joint outreach activities and astronomy education efforts for promoting the involvement of young people in STEM and working together on issues such as diversity and inclusion.
The Astronomy@Home Awards 2020 recognized the incredible and inspiring efforts that various practitioners carried out during the pandemic. From the 400+ events submitted, the selected 50, from 31 different countries, presented original, engaging, fun, and educational at-home online activities that helped the public cope with prolonged time spent indoors and keep their communities occupied, entertained, and, most of all, engaged with science and astronomy. The winners are: Space in Your Living Room! (The Netherlands) and Chasing the Sun Around the Globe (India) for Most Innovative Event; Phoenix Science Club (India) and Polish Astronomical Society (Poland) for Largest Number of Registered Events; and Crosswords, Science Fiction, and Other Initiatives (India) and Club de Audio-Lectura El Universo del Principito (Chile) for Community Engagement.
Two issues of Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAPjournal) were released in 2021. Launched in March, issue #29 featured information about citizen science and astronomy outreach projects around the world, including articles by CosmoQuest and FOKALIS JATIM on their citizen science initiatives. The 30th issue of the CAPjournal was released in November, under the theme Astronomy Communication in a Time of Confinement. It included the articles “What to do in extreme times? An analysis of the astronomy communication actions in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic” and “Embracing virtual communication induced by the COVID-19 pandemic to help tackle the climate crisis”, among others.
Japanese:https://bit.ly/36XeKZr
Translations are thanks to Akihiko Tomita, through the Astronomy Translation Network.
You can subscribe to the Japanese newsletter through the Japanese Amateur Astronomers Association (http://www.jaaa-astro.jp/jaaa-ml.html) or the Japanese Society for Education and Popularization of Astronomy (http://www.tenkyo.net/).
If you are interested in translating the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach Newsletter into your language, please email public@oao.iau.org.
10) Contribute to the IAU Astronomy Outreach Newsletter
We’re always looking to include news about astronomy outreach, communication and public engagement from around the world in the next newsletter from the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach. If you have an astronomical event, job, opportunity, educational resource, or anything else that would be of interest to the astronomy outreach community, send us an email at public@oao.iau.org with more information.
You can send us your suggestions through the 4th for issue #1 and the 17th for issue #2 of each month. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
