The West African Regional Office of Astronomy for Development will be officially opened today in Enugu, Nigeria. This marks the commencement of activities for the third regional office on the African continent and one of nine regional offices globally.

The event will be attended by the director of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), country coordinators from Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria and representatives from the host institution. Sen. (Barr.) Chukwuka Utazi, chairman of the forum, will deliver the opening address while Prof. F. E. Opara, director of CBSS, will give the welcome address. The event will be attended by other distinguished guests such as Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburu Gburu), Governor of Enugu State, who will be giving the keynote address, and Prof. S.O. Mohammed, Director General of NASRDA.

Kevin Govender, director of the OAD, remarked on this significant occasion for the West African region. “The African continent possesses tremendous potential and a great desire for knowledge. We must utilise this knowledge to drive development. We are grateful to Nigeria, a leader on the continent, for assuming this important role of driving development through Astronomy in West Africa."

The inauguration coincides with the First Nigerian Astronomy and Space Science Forum. After the official inauguration ceremony, a panel discussion will be held on ‘Basic Space Science and Astronomy in Nigeria’. A day-long meeting of the regional country coordinators was held prior to the inauguration in Nsukka, Nigeria.

Regional Coordinator for the West African Office, Bonaventure Okere, said “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone towards the development of our region. Our office, together with our host institution, is ready to serve the region with all the skills and facilities we have available.”

The West African Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (WA-ROAD) will be hosted at the Center for Basic Space Sciences (CBSS), National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Nsukka, Nigeria. The WA-ROAD is one of nine other regional offices, with others located in Armenia, China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Portugal, Thailand and Zambia.

For more information on the OAD, its mission, and activities, please visit www.astro4dev.org.

Links

• IAU-OAD Press Release
• IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
• CBSS website
• NASRDA website
• The IAU Strategic Plan
• The Announcement of Opportunity for new regional offices

Contacts

Kevin Govender
Director, IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 460 9350
Cell: +27 82 487 8466
Email: kg@astro4dev.org

Bonaventure Okere
The NASRDA-Centre for Basic Space Science
Nsukka, Nigeria
Email: ibokere2001@yahoo.com