The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) funds and coordinates projects that aim to use astronomy to impact on one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our mission is to further the use of astronomy, including its practitioners, skills and infrastructures, as a tool for sustainable development globally.
Why astronomy
The field of astronomy is uniquely placed to address some of the challenges facing humanity. Astronomy is multi-disciplinary by nature, and enjoys close relationships with a number of scientific fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, as well engineering and technology. Astronomy thus encompasses astrobiology, astrochemistry, astrophysics, among other disciplines, enriching those fields as well as being enriched by them. Similarly, astronomy research pushes the boundary of technology development, leading to breakthroughs in electronics, optics, software engineering etc. Any student of astronomy is well-versed in this multi-disciplinarity, and is multi-skilled, enabling them to think and work across disciplinary silos, a pre-requisite for solving our world’s complex challenges.
The third aspect is astronomy’s cultural heritage and connection to humanity. Our fascination with astronomy began when our nomadic ancestors studied the movement of the stars and planets millenia ago. Every cultural group on the planet has stories about the sky, and enjoys a deep connection to astronomy. Astronomy also is deeply personal – we are all fascinated by the sky, what’s out there, and wondering about our place in the universe. No wonder astronomy is a great gateway to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects.
Astronomy and Development
It may not be obvious how the tools, methods and content of the field of astronomy are relevant to the SDGs. However, below are some of the ways in which past projects have tried to influence the SDGs.
SDG #1 No Poverty Our astrotourism flagship aims to promote sustainable, socio-economic development through astronomy. Astro-tourism has gained traction in recent years: the idea that astronomical sites (historical & heritage sites, observatories, dark sky reserves etc.) can be systematically promoted as points of interest and work together with the tourism industry to contribute to the local economy. Examples, Langkawians Guide Malaysians to the Stars, Astronomy for Himalayan Livelihood Creation
SDG #3 Good Health and Well-being The Astronomy for Mental Health flagship is focused on harnessing the inspirational potential of astronomy, and using it as a tool for improving people’s mental health and wellbeing. The overarching goal is to use astronomy to empower individuals and communities to reach their full potential.
SDG #4 Quality Education Majority of the OAD funded projects have focused on capacity building in education by conducting workshops, schools, trainings etc. targeting especially those communities and regions which are disadvantaged or under-represented. Projects have also used astronomy at school and university level to teach skills in programming, data science, mathematics etc. Examples: Astronomy for Literacy, Madagascar Astronomy Python Workshop, Big Data in Astronomy for Social Innovation, Astronomy for Visually Impaired Hackathons for development
SDG #5 Gender Equality Bridging the gender divide is especially important in STEM fields and astronomy has been used as catalyst in this process. Example, Girls Astronomy Camp in Nigeria EMEJA project in Kenya
SDG #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth Astrotourism is also linked to promoting entrepreneurship opportunities in remote areas by leveraging the presence of dark skies, ultimately reducing unemployment. Examples AstroTribe Guide training workshop for the Tribal students
SDG #16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Astronomy has been used in various contexts to bring people together. Taking it a step further, Astronomy as a tool for diplomacy brings together communities separated by conflict. Example: Columba Hypatia: Astronomy for Peace, Astro-prison in Nigeria
Further examples from around the world can be found on our Projects pages.