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 Meeting in Helsinki, Finland in September 2025.
One of their most impactful initiatives has been BARCO: Bringing Astronomy to Rural Communities in Colombia, which was made possible thanks to funding from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) through the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). With the grant in 2024, RECA were able to design, build, and deliver more than 100 astronomy kits to remote schools and communities across Colombia. Each kit included hands-on activities and games adapted to the local context, sparking curiosity and engagement among students and teachers alike. The project reaffirmed that astronomy can be a powerful tool for transformation – opening up new perspectives and possibilities for students growing up in areas that are too often left behind by traditional educational opportunities.
RECA Educación team says:
This recognition was incredibly meaningful for our team, which had been working for nearly five years to bring astronomy to diverse regions across Colombia. We are driven by the belief that science and culture can meet in powerful ways — that we can inspire students to connect their local realities with the vastness of the universe, and to see themselves reflected in national scientists. RECA is a small but passionate group primarily made up of Colombian undergraduate and graduate students based around the world. In our “free time,” we are dedicated to making astronomy more accessible and paving the way for future generations to pursue scientific careers.
OAD Operations Manager Ramasamy Venugopal says:
We are extremely proud of what RECA Educación have achieved with limited resources. The IAU OAD is grateful to these passionate changemakers who volunteer their time to run impactful projects. Astronomy is an inspiring gateway to impact, and we welcome people globally to leverage its strengths.
With the support of the Europlanet prize funding, RECA Educación aims to distribute more resources to schools across Colombia.
For more information, please refer to the announcement from Europlanet.
Contact
Ramasamy Venugopal
Operations Manager
IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
rv@astro4dev.org
Links
- IAU OAD global grants program: https://astro4dev.org/cfp/
- Bringing Astronomy to Rural Communities in Colombia (BARCO) project: https://astro4dev.org/bringing-astronomy-to-rural-communities-of-colombia/
- International Astronomical Union (IAU): https://iau.org/
About IAU OAD
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is an organisation that brings together about 12 000 astronomers from around the world. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world’s largest professional body of astronomers. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them.
The IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The OAD was officially opened on 16 April 2011 at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town, South Africa. As of 2025, the OAD has administered more than €1,400,000 in grant funds, awarded to 230 projects across the world that leverage astronomy to create societal impact. Since its establishment the OAD has negotiated the establishment of eleven regional offices around the world (based in Armenia, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Thailand, USA and Zambia) with two of these offices serving as a joint language centre (Chinese and Arabic), and one serving as a dedicated language centre (Portuguese).
