IAU Offers Grants to Drive Sustainable Development through Astronomy

The International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU OAD) has concluded its 14th annual call for proposals, and 18 projects will receive funding in 2026 to use astronomy to further sustainable development.

SciGirls empowers girls and their female teachers across Ethiopia in science through Astronomy and Space, supporting them to become professional and future advocates in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) for the benefit of our society and for Ethiopia's growth. The third edition of SciGirls, supported by the IAU OAD, brought together female students and teachers from all over the country for a week of learning activities in Addis Ababa.
Credit: Scigirls/IAU-OAD

The OAD is pleased to announce that 18 new projects around the world will receive grants to promote sustainable development through astronomy-based activities. Of these, 13 projects will receive 80,161 Euros from the IAU, while another five projects in Africa will receive 31,000 Euros from the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy project (DARA), which is funded through the UK's International Science Partnership Fund via the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

The new projects will target countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. They include astronomy projects that will foster critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement targeting young people in punitive confinement in Argentina; address mental well-being at refugee camps in Uganda; strengthen local tourism ecosystems in rural Greece and Tanzania; challenge barriers to science for black girls in Canada, the deaf community in Mexico, and children with intellectual disabilities in Egypt; improve educational and social indicators in Venezuela, and more.

Many of the new projects will focus on the OAD’s three flagship areas: astrotourism for socioeconomic development; astronomy to improve mental health; and the application of astronomy knowledge and skills for sustainable development.

a) Astrotourism is a growing niche in the eco-tourism and experiential tourism sector. Projects under this flagship seek to address the deep socioeconomic challenges in less developed regions by leveraging their unfettered access to dark skies. For instance, the Stars for the Future project will develop a community planetarium in Antímano, a vulnerable neighbourhood located west of Caracas, Venezuela. Thanks to the IAU’s contribution, the community will benefit and “those stars will shine”, according to project lead Dr. Maximiliano Bandres from the Andres Bello Catholic University.

b) Astronomy is also being applied as a catalyst to help resolve the growing mental health crisis globally. Dr. Trust Otto, lecturer at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, and lead of the IAU funded Stars Offering HOpe (SOHO) project says, “SOHO will improve refugee youth wellbeing by combining astronomy, storytelling, and creative learning into trauma-sensitive, peer-led activities. IAU funding will cover the core tools and training needed to run the programme safely and scale it across settlements.”

c) Multiple projects will address the goals of flagship 3, Astronomy Knowledge and Skills for Development, such as the East African Astronomical Society Workshop (EAASW) that aims to transform astronomy into a driver of regional development. The workshop will equip young scientists with high-value technical skills in data science and "astro-preneurship" to bridge the gap between academic research and the labor market. Dr Naftali K. Kimani at Kenyatta University, who is the project lead, says “IAU funding acts as the essential - seed capital that unlocks regional support and covers critical workshop logistics, empowering East African researchers to transform their dark skies into a bridge for sustainable economic growth.”

Projects will also target barriers and inequities in STEM. Dr. Thelma Akyea, project lead for Black Girls in Physics & Astronomy in Canada, says the project “uses astronomy as a tool to build confidence, positive identity, and strong leadership among black girls who are historically underrepresented in the field. Support from the IAU and OAD makes it possible to offer hands-on sky exploration, meaningful mentorship, and culturally affirming learning through community-rooted pathways into physics and astronomy.”

Since 2012, the IAU has granted close to 1.5 million Euros to more than 200 projects, impacting thousands of lives in more than 100 countries. Grants are offered through the annual call for proposals, which is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. In 2025, the OAD received 154 applications at stage 1, from which 39 were selected for stage 2. These teams worked closely with the OAD to improve the impact potential of their project. An independent review panel, comprising experts from astronomy and development fields, evaluated the applications and made the final selections, which were later approved by the OAD Steering Committee.

The next call is expected to be announced in April 2026.

List of projects funded, in alphabetical order

The OAD has also compiled a ‘Recommended list’ of proposals that were approved by the reviewers but could not be funded. You can browse through the Recommended list and contact us for more details or to support one or more projects. The OAD welcomes funding partners who could support those projects that we are unable to fund.

More information 

The IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), supported by the South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI). The OAD, located at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town, South Africa, aims to help further the use of astronomy, including its practitioners, skills and infrastructures, as a tool for development.

Development of Africa through Radio Astronomy (DARA) is a joint UK - South Africa project funded by UKRI's International Science Partnerships Fund that uses radio astronomy training to develop high level technical skills in young graduates. The partnership is an implementation of the astronomy-for-development concept and involves collaboration at both strategy and project evaluation levels. DARA funds astronomy for development projects submitted by the African SKA Partner Countries to the OAD call for proposals.

Links

IAU website
OAD website
2026 Funded Projects
2026 Recommended List of Projects

Contact

- Ramasamy Venugopal, IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
- IAU Press Office

More Information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together about 13,000 distinguished astronomers from around the world. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world’s largest professional body for astronomers.