The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) is pleased to announce the results of its 2021 call for proposals, through which 17 projects around the world will receive a total of €109 822 in 2022. These projects will address various socio-economic and sustainable-development challenges using astronomy-related interventions.

The selected initiatives include a community-empowerment project in Nepal; school- and university-level astronomy interventions in Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria; astro-tourism projects in Mongolia, the US Virgin islands, India and Tanzania; an educational project for displaced children in Burkina Faso; virtual mentorship programmes in Colombia and Central America and Caribbean countries; and teacher training programmes in Malaysia and Peru.

This was the OAD’s tenth annual call for proposals, and 97 applications were received at stage 1, from which 41 were selected for stage 2. An independent review panel of experts in the fields of astronomy and development evaluated the applications and chose 17 projects, which were later approved by the OAD Steering Committee.

The themes for the call included the three OAD Flagships — Sustainable, local socio-economic development through Astronomy, Science diplomacy through Astronomy: Celebrating our Common Humanity, Knowledge and Skills for Development — as well as an additional theme of addressing COVID-19-related problems with astronomy. Multi-year proposals (projects spanning up to 3 years) were invited for the first time. The OAD also provided proposal-writing assistance with the help of volunteer astronomers.

The annual call for proposals is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. Through it, the IAU has granted more than €1 000 000 to 200 projects since 2011, reaching people in more than 100 countries. The next call is expected to be announced in April 2022.

List of projects funded, in alphabetical order:

1. A virtual community mentorship program for development in Colombia
2. Acornhoek Physics Summer School
3. AstroEdu 3D — Archeoastronomy Teaching Kit in Bolivia
4. Astrolab  2022
5. Astronomy for community empowerment in Nepal
6. Astronomy in Ghana
7. Astronomy training outreach for preschool teachers in malaysia through service-learning approach
8. Astro-tourism development in Tanzania
9. Astro-tourism with nomadic herder in forest area of Mongolia
10. Beyond the Beach: Foundations for Caribbean Astro-tourism
11. Bringing radio astronomy to classrooms with affordable radio telescopes
12. Cenca Bridge
13. CosmoAmautas: Virtual teacher training in vulnerable regions in Peru
14. Education for All: promoting education in internally displaced communities in Burkina Faso
15. Guide training workshop for tribal students
16. Mobile Astronomy Village
17. SciGirls — Empowering girls in science through astronomy

The OAD has also compiled a list of recommended 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.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 12 000 active professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard 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.

The IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), and supported by the South African Department of Science and Innovation. 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.

Links

• IAU website
• OAD website   
• 2022 Funded Projects
• 2022 Recommended List of Projects

Contacts

Ramasamy Venugopal
IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)
rv@astro4dev.org

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Director of Communications
Cell: +1 520 461 0433/+49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars.christensen@noirlab.edu