Author Archives: Ram Venugopal

Astronomy Project Benefits Remote Community in Honduras

The project established a community educational program in the remote community of El Rincón in Honduras. Residents of El Rincón live in conditions of extreme poverty with little access to education. Nearly all families work on coffee fields, including children, who are expected to help their families from an early age. The project consisted of […]

IAU OAD Supported Initiative Wins Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement

Red de Estudiantes Colombianos en Astronomía (RECA) Educación, a Colombian non-profit that brings science, astronomy and planetary science to schools and communities across Colombia has been awarded the 2025 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement. The award was presented at the the Europlanet Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Science (EPSC–DPS) Joint […]

Annual Report 2024-25

The Office of Astronomy for Development has published the Annual Report for 2024-25. It covers highlights from the year including the first IAU General Assembly in Africa, two comments in Nature Astronomy, showcase of our 2024 projects, our (re)new(ed) full moon mashup webinar series and more. The report provides updates from the Regional Offices and […]

Astronomy for Mental Health at Social Workers Conference

OAD Fellow Dominic Vertue gave a presentation at the South African Association of Social Workers in Private Practice (SAASWIPP) 2025 conference. SAASWIPP is a professional association of social workers in private practice in South Africa. The presentation covered the role that astronomy can play in supporting mental health and well-being with adults. The session explored […]

International Astronomical Union Launches Astronomy-for-Development Ecosystem

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the largest professional society of astronomers worldwide, is launching an astronomy-based initiative, through its Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), to drive entrepreneurship and support mental health. Termed the “Flagship Ecosystem”, the initiative will offer a wide range of support to people from around the world to engage in astronomy […]