Visions for Experience
What would we want people to experience when they participate (either physically or virtually) in the 2024 GA?
© 2024 IAU General Assembly 2024 – Cape Town
Shared Pride Among All Africans for Hosting the Astronomy World On the Continent
Status / Challenges:
- One has to ensure from the outset that 2024 is a pan-African project and not centred around the host country too much
- Small national and regional activities in build up towards the GA may help with collective ownership
Actions:
- Ensure inclusive participation in the organising of the event (diverse organising committees, open opportunities for input, etc)
- Promote and communicate 2024, as well as awareness of astronomy and African astronomy research, widely across the continent
Potential Stakeholders:
…
Tours on African Astronomy Facilities
Status / Challenges:
- all African astronomy facilities should be prepared to open their doors during the time surrounding the GA
- There is much potential for a virtual experience of Africa, which can be much broader and inclusive of people who cannot travel for whatever reason. Africa could lead the way into what the future might look like and really set a precedent.
Actions:
- Years in advance tour options should be available such that people may plan multi-stop trips to go via other facilities e.g. Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Namibia.
- Tours to Sutherland and Carnarvon should be smoothly built into the GA experience with various options such as 1, 2 or 3 day trips.
- Consider the experience that may not take place physically on African soil e.g. virtual tours
Potential Stakeholders:
NRF/SAAO, NRF/SARAO and SKAO and coordinators from other Observatories in Africa, Northern Cape Tourism Agency, Tour Operators, Intrepid Travel
Astrotourism
Status / Challenges:
- Astrotourism is a growing field/industry with numerous options across the continent. Apart from visits to astronomical facilities, participants should be able to experience dark skies sites anywhere on the continent through the promotion of astrotourism options.
- Astrotourism could be linked to efforts at creating multilingual books, media support, etc for a variety of African and international audiences.
- The Towns of Carnarvon & Sutherland should be Astro-Tourism Friendly
Actions:
- Encourage the growth of the amateur astronomer community and any other potential astro-tourism stakeholders, not just for external tourism, but internally as well.
- Explore “low-cost” resources such as astronomy related books, etc targeted at potential astro-tourists
- Conduct awareness workshops with the communities around Carnarvon and Sutherland so that they have an opportunity to be involved
- Work with relevant stakeholders to explore the possibility for areas around major observatories (e.g. Sutherland, Carnarvon) to be designated dark-sky areas by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). This helps attract tourism.
- Work with travel guide publishers (e.g. Lonely Planet) to include section on astro-tourism offer in in their 2024 edition (this was done in Chile and very successful)
Potential Stakeholders:
NRF/SAAO,Tourism Enterprises, Observatories in Africa, The Travelling Telescope, ASSA, APA, Titritland ( Morocco, Zakaria Belhaj), Northern Cape Tourism Agency and Regional Municipality, Intrepid Travel (Morocco)
Africa’s Scientific and Technological Prowess
Status / Challenges:
Science and Instrumentation from the African continent should be showcased with pride. All attendees of the 2024 GA should leave without doubt that Africa is a world leader in astronomy and growing
Actions:
- Develop consolidated communication packages incorporating science and instrumentation across the continent and wavelengths.
- The exhibition space at the GA should be dominated by African science and technology
Potential Stakeholders:
S&T professional bodies in SA (eg SAIP)
Diverse Faces of Team Africa
Status / Challenges:
We should identify and ensure that the host “face” is a diverse and continental one
Actions:
The organising team and conference hosts should be representative of the continent and of the demographics of the population
Potential Stakeholders:
National Organising Committee.
An African GA
Status / Challenges:
From the outset the spirit of the conference should be an African one, with any cultural events or activities taking inspiration from across the continent
Actions:
- Seek strategic cultural partners from the arts and entertainment industries, who would serve on relevant committees and design key events accordingly.
- Involve artists such as poets, musicians, etc to produce astronomical pieces
- Use the media to sensitize the public about Astronomy and the events that surround it, including its benefits not only to Africa but the entire world.
Potential Stakeholders:
…
Immaculate and Efficient Organisation
Status / Challenges:
It will be vital that the meeting organisation is, for all intents and purposes, perfect. Attendees should leave the meeting with an unequivocal belief and confidence in Africa’s ability to host meetings of any size
Actions:
- Establish a large efficient team who will essentially do less work over a long period as a team, rather than more work individually close to the end.
- Minimise some degree of logistical overhead by approaching conference management with automation in mind e.g. aiming to reduce the amount of busy work or paperwork with particular approaches to data management.
- Consult widely with previous GA organisers and participants to establish a consolidated picture of what works and what doesn’t work
Potential Stakeholders:
National Organising Committee.
Innovative Ways of Conferencing
Status / Challenges:
- As times change, the way we interact also changes. In the current climate of lightning talks, interactive posters, live-tweeting presentations, unconferences, hackathons, etc, 2024 will be an opportunity to reinvent how conferencing is done, in line with the latest trends available by then. A GA in Africa could showcase innovative new ways of getting the most out of a conference
- Online/hybrid aspects need to be built into the meeting as a whole given the current pandemic situation, as well as the impact that in-person travel has on accessibility, inclusivity and sustainability.
Actions:
- Engage with organisers of meetings that have been changing the way meetings are done e.g. dotastronomy, Google SciFoo, JEDI, TFOM, etc. and incorporate key innovations into the programme for 2024.
- Ensure virtual attendance is possible in a smooth, current, user-friendly and accessible manner (see Hybrid Conferencing under Opportunities)
Potential Stakeholders:
Carolina, Vanessa Moss/TFOM
Understanding of Development Challenges
Status / Challenges:
We should not shy away from showing people what challenges are being faced on the continent. It is an opportunity to help give people an important view of what development means and at the same time to offer them the chance to participate in/contribute to addressing the challenges
Actions:
- Highlight the work of the OAD and showcase opportunities therein for people to use astronomy for development.
- Establish partnerships with organisations involved in development across the continent and invite them to participate in 2024
Potential Stakeholders:
Show of Political Support
Status / Challenges:
2024 will be an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the high levels of political support for astronomy and science in general across Africa. It is also an opportunity to use 2024 to galvanise greater political support through involving government officials in the event.
Actions:
The 2024 meeting of Science and Technology Ministers from all nine SKA Partner countries (or other inter-ministerial meetings such as AMCOST) should be planned to coincide with the GA, ideally with the South African president hosting them, in order to demonstrate at a plenary event the high level of political support for astronomy, and thus the opportunities that exist in Africa
Potential Stakeholders:
South African Department for Science and Innovation, National Research Foundation, OAD
Multi-Disciplinary Participation
Status / Challenges:
- Given the existence of four IAU offices (education, outreach, young astronomers and development) there is an opportunity to attract people from other fields of science to participate in specific sessions or side activities of the GA
- With the establishment of the International Science Council, of which IAU is a member, there is space for conversations across disciplinary lines in order to achieve common goals e.g. education, development, big data challenges, publishing, etc.
- As part of efforts to address north-south biases, seasons, history of astronomy, etc, African studies & language departments in Universities across the continent have expertise to create or translate existing physics, mathematics & astronomy textbooks into languages accessible to broader audiences.
- Interdisciplinary research is key to progress in science, not just astronomy. Need to involve the Academies and the Universities.
Actions:
- Engage early with the International Science Council, academies, universities and individuals from relevant fields who could contribute to the 2024 GA, and astronomy in general
- Based on the engagements above, build interdisciplinary aspects into the programme for 2024
- Explore the possibility of attendance of the GA by scientists from other fields (e.g. SAIP, SAWISE, etc.), and advertise accordingly
Potential Stakeholders:
…
Multilingual Participation
Status / Challenges:
Conferences can be exclusive as they are normally conducted in a single language (usually English). To increase participation and accessibility (especially from a multilingual continent) innovative ways to address language barriers need to be found
Actions:
- Engage with relevant groups to explore ways of incorporating translation and collaboration across potential language barriers
- Ensure all preparations and communications in preparing for the GA (including this document) are as accessible as possible.
Potential Stakeholders:
Thembela, Sibusiso, Carolina, Vanessa Moss/TFOM.
Africa as the Cradle of Humankind
Status / Challenges:
2024 is an opportunity to highlight how in a sense this is a “Coming back home” of sorts for humanity and our scientific endeavour – especially with the many recent discoveries (e.g. the cave paintings and skeletons) that show how modern humans developed thought, art and culture etc. on the continent. Not only should we show attendees the progress and contribution that Africa is making to astronomy but also the way in which Africans have thought of the sky
Actions:
- Engage with relevant fields including palaeontology, anthropology and African studies to enhance the content of the program and the experience.
- Highlight connections with NASA’s Lucy mission (named for the Lucy fossil found in Africa) and the support observations being done (via stellar occultations) in Africa for the Lucy mission.
Potential Stakeholders:
Hilda Hermann, Turkana Basin Institute, Dr. Richard Leakey
