Speaker
Description
The talk will provide feedback on a mapping exercise conducted to understand the landscape of astronomy engagement and outreach across Africa. This includes identifying who the role players are, where they are located, the types of activities they conduct, the challenges they face, and the success factors or lessons learned from their experience.
This work was carried out with the aim of building more connected and coordinated engagement efforts across the continent, efforts that are informed by the conditions of the countries and stakeholders involved, ensuring that interventions are flexible and context-specific. It has become evident that for outreach efforts to be truly impactful, interventions must be tailored to address the specific needs, challenges, and contexts of each region. Such initiatives should serve as context-specific responses rather than a uniform, one-size-fits-all approach.
The study received 184 responses from 30 countries across Africa and provides an overview of the experiences of these individuals, offering a glimpse into the current landscape. This allows AfAS and the broader African astronomy community to make more informed decisions and implement targeted interventions that support the advancement of astronomy on the continent, beginning at the grassroots level, where the public is meaningfully engaged in the science and its developments and given the opportunity to be included and to participate actively.
| Stream | Education, Development and Outreach |
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