Conveners
Special Session: Breakthrough Listen: The search for technosignatures
- Oleg Smirnov (Rhodes University/SARAO/INAF)
Special Session: SKAO
- Betsey Adams (Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO))
- Wendy Williams (Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO))
Special Session: Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)
- Charles Takalana (IAU Office of Astronomy)
- Joyful Elma Mdhluli (Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD))
Special Session: SALT
- Danièl Groenewald (SAAO/SALT)
Special Session: EAS/AfAS Collaborative Session
- Nabila Aghanim
- Amare Abebe (North-West University)
Special Session: African Science Journal
- Yin-Zhe Ma (Stellenbosch University)
- Amare Abebe (North-West University)
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David DeBoer (Breakthrough Listen/University of Oxford)22/03/2026, 18:00In-person - Talk
This talk will provide an overall update on Breakthrough Listen activities and
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discuss the program's future directions. -
Karen Perez (SETI Institute)22/03/2026, 18:18In-person - Talk
The Galactic Center hosts the highest stellar density in the Galaxy, and its line
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of sight provides the largest integrated Galactic star count of any direction in
the sky. Breakthrough Listen is conducting one of the most extensive and
sensitive searches for technosignatures and pulsars toward the Galactic
Center. In this talk, I summarize technosignature searches conducted with the
Green... -
Alex Andersson (Breakthrough Listen & University of Oxford)22/03/2026, 18:36
The search for life in the Universe is crucially dependent on the ability of stars
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to host life-bearing planets for sufficiently long to develop complex
civilisations. In this talk I will discuss how recent discoveries with widefield
and sensitive interferometers are now providing us with new insights into
stellar systems and how their natural magnetic emission processes inform... -
Zaryn Abbu (University of the Witwatersrand)22/03/2026, 18:54Online - Talk
By simulating Earth's most powerful radio transmitters as observed from
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nearby exoplanet system, Proxima Centauri, we place upper limits on
detectable technosignatures and map the current observational search space. -
Oleg Smirnov (Rhodes University & South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)22/03/2026, 19:12In-person - Talk
The TRON (Transient Radio Observations for Newbies) pipeline is designed to image radio interferometric data at raw correlator time resolution, and to
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conduct automatic searches for transient and variable radio sources. These
techniques pave the way towards technosignature searches using the full field
of view of an interferometer, given future narrowband correlators. At the
coarser... -
Betsey Adams (Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)), Wendy Williams (Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO))23/03/2026, 18:00In-person - Talk
This session will provide an overview of recent progress across the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), with updates from both SKA-Mid in South Africa and SKA-Low in Australia. Speakers will highlight developments in telescope construction, system integration, commissioning and preparations for early science operations, illustrating how the Observatory is advancing toward becoming one...
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Charles Takalana (SAAO), Joyful Elma Mdhluli (Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD))24/03/2026, 18:00Special SessionIn-person - Talk
Since 2012, the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) has supported community-driven projects that use astronomy to tackle local challenges and promote sustainable development worldwide. Through its global annual call for proposals, the OAD has funded 236 projects across 112 countries, with almost 35% of these led from Africa, spanning more than 30 African nations. These projects have...
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Danièl Groenewald (SAAO/SALT)24/03/2026, 18:00Special SessionIn-person - Talk
The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, offering world-class capabilities for cutting-edge astronomical research. This workshop is aimed at emerging astronomers who would like to increase their understanding of SALT’s proposal tools and gain hands-on experience using them effectively.
The session will begin with a short...
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Amare Abebe (North-West University), Prof. Christo Venter (North-West University), David Baratoux (Geosciences Environnement Toulouse - French National Institute of Research for Sustainable Development), Mirjana Povic (IAA-CSIC (Spain) and SSGI (Ethiopia)), Nabila Aghanim, Patrick Woudt (University of Cape Town, IDIA), Sylvain Bouley (GEOPS - Géosciences Paris Saclay, Université Paris Saclay)25/03/2026, 14:00Special SessionIn-person - Talk
Africa–Europe collaborations in astronomy have expanded significantly over the past two decades. Partnerships on large ground-based telescope infrastructure, such as SKAO, have laid the ground
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for increasing collaborations targeting optical observatories, space-based projects and activities, participation in large space-science consortia, capacity-building and training programmes. The session... -
David Baratoux (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)25/03/2026, 14:00
The African Initiative for Planetary Science was informally initiated in December 2017 (Baratoux et al. 2017) and endorsed by many individuals and institutions worldwide. It was formally endorsed and funded by IRD in 2024 and co-funded by CNRS in January 2025. The IRN includes 13 laboratories or research centers from 11 countries in Africa, 10 research laboratories in France, and 7...
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Mirjana Povic (IAA-CSIC (Spain) and SSGI (Ethiopia))25/03/2026, 14:10
Collaborations between Europe and Africa in astronomy have grown significantly over the last decade, driven by shared scientific aims and strategic investment in research, human capacity building, infrastructure development, and technology transfer. Major initiatives, such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the development of optical and radio observatories across the African continent,...
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Paul McNamara (ESA)25/03/2026, 14:20
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Andoniaina Rajaonarivelo (Astronomical Observatory of Ecoles du Monde Madagascar)25/03/2026, 14:30
The Ecoles du Monde (EDM) Campus in Besely, Madagascar, hosted its first pan-african astronomy school, explicitly targeting countries where the field is nascent—driven by amateur groups or the recent emergence of their first PhD graduate. The core mission is to bridge the resource gap by providing practical access to modern astronomical tools, thereby accelerating the growth of skilled...
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Patrick Woudt (University of Cape Town, IDIA)25/03/2026, 14:40
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Christo Venter (North-West University)25/03/2026, 14:50
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Saul Paul Phiri (Copperbelt University)25/03/2026, 15:00
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Nadeem Oozeer (South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO))25/03/2026, 15:10
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Yin-Zhe Ma (Stellenbosch University)27/03/2026, 09:00Online - Talk
This session is dedicated to discuss the Africa-based journal of astronomy and astrophysics, its survey, and its current status and the path forward. The session will consist of the review of the Survey conducted in 2025, and possible choices of the publisher and the journal ownership, and the detailed financial plan. All members of AfAS, as well as the interested audience in the future...
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