The XXIX General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) kicked off today in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America. More than 3,500 astronomers from at least 75 countries gather together from 3-15 August to discuss and evaluate their most recent developments in astronomy, to make decisions on fundamental issues facing astronomy and to foster international cooperation. The participants will have the opportunity to engage in thousands of scientific presentations, policy discussions and several public events. The General Assembly (GA) is held every three years in a different country.
The Universe Awareness team is playing an active role throughout the two-week conference, sharing their work and achievements of the global network throughout the last years in a number of presentations, meetings and posters. UNAWE will also run a survey in collaboration with the London School of Economics and ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute, on scientists’ practices of outreach and public communication. Iris Nijman from UNAWE is writer/editor for the the official IAU GA's newspaper Kai‘aleleiaka.
The full list of Universe Awareness contributions during the IAU General Assembly can be found below:
Meetings:
- Organisation of Focus meeting 19: Communicating astronomy with the public in the big data era (6 and 7 August)
- Splinter Meeting: Publishing Your Astronomy Education & Outreach Research and Evaluation Results (5 August 10:30-12:00). Presentation about CAPjournal and IAU astroEDU.
- Open Review session of IAU astroEDU: An Open-Access Platform for Peer-Reviewed Astronomy Education Activities (11 August 12:30-14:00 PM, room 323B)
Presentations:
- Presentation about Dark Sky Meter - IYL2015 Edition App during Focus meeting 21: Mitigating threats of light pollution & radio frequency interference (11 August)
- Presentation about OAD Task Force 2: Schools & Children during Focus meeting 20: Astronomy for Development (14 August)
- Presentation about EU Space Awareness during Focus meeting 20: Astronomy for Development (14 August)
- Presentation on 'IAU astroEDU: an open-access platform for peer-reviewed astronomy education activities' at Division C Meeting (7 August 11:10-11:25 AM, Room 312)
- Presentation about Universe Awareness at Division C: Education I (7 August 4:24-4:36 PM, Room 312)
Showcases:
- Showcasing Dark Sky Meter - IYL2015 Edition App at the IAU OAO (4 August afternoon and 11 August morning during coffee breaks)
Workshops:
- IAU astroEDU workshop at Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP) international workshop for teachers and educators (9 August 17:30-19:00 PM, Location: Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii campus, auditorium C-214)
Posters:
- Poster presentation on 'Peer-review Platform for Astronomy Education Activities' at Focus meeting 20: Astronomy for Development (13 and 14 August)
- UNAWE poster at Focus meeting 20: Astronomy for Development (13 and 14 August)