Regional Offices Activities: Jan- Mar 2021

Andean

  • The Office proposes to bring together South American countries which speak the Spanish language rather than limit to a geographical region

Arab

  • The office organized, with the Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Science (AUASS) and some other Jordanian & Arab institutions, several public lectures, seminars, and courses via Zoom

East Africa

  • The East Africa Astronomical Society (EAAS) workshop announcement was officially launched on 15th of Feb 2021 and will be conducted virtually from 20-22 May 2021.
  • On 14 Feb 2021, International Day of Women and Girls in Astronomy was celebrated in Ethiopia at Menen Girls Boarding school organized by ESSTI, NOC Ethiopia, ESSS,  and Society of Ethiopian Women in Science and Technology
  • The office participated in the 15th Annual conference of the Ethiopian Physical Society (EPS)and the African Astronomical Society Conference

East Asia

  • The office is preparing for the regional office meeting to be held soon
  • Public outreach in Guangzhou: visit to high schools and give a series of lectures

Europe

  • The office consolidated the discussions of the spaceEU Lorentz workshop in a white paper, which was widely disseminated across astronomy and space networks, as well as EU policy-makers.
  • The H2020 EU SKIES project was officially launched on March 1 with an online kick-off meeting with representatives from all the consortium partners
  • A special session on Astronomy for Development will be organized at the online European Astronomical Society EAS2021 conference

North America

  • The NA-ROAD has been working on the development of a 5-year Strategic Plan. The 16-member Strategic Planning Committee is made up of individuals from the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean Region, and one person from Europe. The Strategic Planning Committee is using the NA-ROAD needs Assessment results to inform the process.
  • The NA-ROAD is looking to organize an advisory board that will work close with the NA-ROAD Governing Council. The advisory board will include diverse representation across North American regions, keeping the NA-ROAD aware of current needs and opportunities, and assisting with implement of the strategic plan.

Portuguese Language

South East Asia

  • SEA-ROAD hosted the “School in Radio Astronomy and Technology with the 13th East-Asian VLBI Workshop (EAVW)” 28 Feb – 5 Mar 2021 (Onsite and Online) for 260 international participants including students, researchers, and experts in Radio Astronomy.
  • the office conducted online training on “Basic astronomy and how to control planetarium and telescope” on 10 -11 Mar 2021 for staff in Laos by NARIT Public Outreach staff, as the Cabinet of Lao academy of Science and Technology has been constructing an observatory and planetarium in Vientiane
  • SEA-ROAD provided astronomy booklets and layouts for Laos to be translated into Laos version, and will support the print out of 8,000 copies

South West And Central Asia

  • The office participated in the Outstanding Astronomical Heritage (OAH) project: collection of astronomical heritage info from regional countries
  • SWCA ROAD joined the CAE (Center for Astronomy Education) Workshop on remote astro teaching and the EAS Affiliated Societies Business meeting

Southern Africa

  • Nchimunya Mwiinga, the country coordinator for Zambia, passed away due to COVID-19 related health condition.
  • The office is developing an MSc program in astrophysics which can be adapted by institutions of higher learning in the region

West Africa

  • The West African, Southern African, East African, and North American Regional Offices are coordinating the project, ‘Online collaboration and studentship coaching amid COVID-19’, funded under the OAD COVID-19 call
  • The IDP-CAO project supported by the OAD was held on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at the IDP camp in Abuja
  • An E-Learning platform has been developed to help Undergraduate Students and the Secondary/High School Students using a COVID special grant from the OAD