Regional Offices Activities: JUL-SEP 2023
Andean
- The upcoming IV Workshop Astronomía en los Andes will focus on “Engaged communities in development through Astrotourism”. The main goal of this IV Workshop is to promote high-quality, responsible and innovative tourism of stars in the Andean Region, especially in rural areas where it could become a real driving force for local economies.
- 3rd Workshop on Astronomy for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity will be a parallel activity during the LARIM meeting in Montevideo in December 2023
Arab
- The office organized more than 80 online lectures under different titles in Astronomy & Space Sciencesin different countries of the (AW-ROAD) Regions and attended by hundreds of participants
- The office organised the 1st Interregional Astronomical Summer School (1IRASS) together with the South West and Central Asian Regional Office held at Byurakan, Armenia
East Africa
- The East African Office is actively involved in the preparation of the IAU386 Symposium on astrotourism and dark skies, and the Africa Planetarium Workshop, which will take place from November 11-12, 2023 in Addis Ababa.
East Asia
- Chinese Academy of Sciences launched its 19th Public Science Day event opening 100 research institutions to the public
Europe
- The office is preparing for a pilot online program in 2024 that will connect primary schools across various countries
North America
- The Office will host a Special Session at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) January 2024 Meeting on Astronomy for a Better World, together with the OAD. This will be the first AAS Special Session on astronomy for development
- The 10 Women and Girls in Astronomy Projects (WGAP) are busy with their activities. This project has been funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
South East Asia
- The South East Asian Regional Office organised the 2nd Thais Cube workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This workshop was a collaboration between Thai researchers and the IceCube Research team that offered a unique opportunity to delve into the realms of cosmic rays, gamma rays, neutrinos, and related detectors.
- SEAROAD organised the NARIT ASTRO101: Hands-On Workshop on Optical Astronomy Research in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Basic Python for Astronomy, High-Performance Computing System, Image Processing, Optical/NIR Data Reduction, Photometry, Transient Detection, Time Domain Astronomy and Parameters Extraction were included in the workshop.
- The next Southeast Asia Astronomy Network Meeting (SEAAN 2023) will be held in Manila, the Philippines, from 28 – 29 November 2023. The theme of the meeting is “Radio Astronomy Development in Southeast Asia.” The registration is now open
South West And Central Asia
- Areg Mickaelian delivered a talk on IAU SWCA ROAD activities at the European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting 2023
- Together with the Arab World ROAD, the office organised the 1st Interregional Astronomical Summer School (1IRASS), which will also be the 3rd Regional Astronomical Summer School
- IAU Hands-On Workshop (I-HOW) “Radio Astronomy Data Hands-on Workshop”, organized by Fatemeh Tabatabaei (IPM, Iran) with Areg Mickaelian as co-organizer
Southern Africa
- SAROAD Coordinator participated in EuroPlanet Research Infrastructure meeting (ERIM 2023) and spoke on Astronomy for Development in a session called “New Frontiers of Space Science in Africa”
West Africa
- Installation of a 3.7m Radio Telescope at the Centre for Basic Space Sciences in Nsukka has been completed. This telescope was acquired and installed in collaboration with Global Emerging Radio Astronomy Foundation (Canada), North West University (NWU) South Africa, and Centre for Basic Space Science (CBSS) Nsukka. The proposed project is a 4-element 3.7m Radio Telescope to be operated remotely.
- Implementation of Erasmus+ staff mobility kick-started. In August, one beneficiary from Nigeria attended a one-month research exchange programme at Leiden University, Netherlands. This programme is in collaboration with European ROAD.
- One staff from CBSS attended the Fast For Future (FAST4Future) working group meeting in Botswana. The FAST4Future programme is a collaboration work between West Africa ROAD, Southern African ROAD, and other institutions in Africa.
- An agreement has been reached between WA-ROAD and her collaborators to organize the.2024 edition of the Pan African School for Emerging Astronomers PASEA in Tunisia
