<html><body><div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Meeting To Plan The Future Of Astronomy In Africa Kicks Off In Cape Town</span></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">The Astronomy in Africa Business meeting will be hosted at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town on 25-26 March 2019. The </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">meeting</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> will focus on strategy, policy, and governance issues related to the field and plan the future of astronomy on the continent. It will also relaunch the African Astronomical Society (AfAS), a professional astronomy society, with a clear mandate.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">“This meeting is of particular significance given the growing stature of astronomy on the continent, and the fact that several countries have research facilities and astronomy observatories”, said Kevin Govender, director of the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development, which is the local organizer. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">The discussions will leverage on the massive</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">international projects such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and African VLBI Network which will soon have African countries and scientists leading cutting edge research.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">These are complemented by capacity building efforts training young Africans in astronomy, engineering and related fields, such as the <span><a href="https://www.dara-project.org/" target="_blank">DARA Newton Fund program</a></span>. The African science community and international commitment to astronomy in Africa recently received a boost when Cape Town was chosen to host the biggest conference in astronomy, the </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">International Astronomical Union General Assembly (IAU GA), in 2024. This will be the first time that the GA is hosted in Africa since the founding of the IAU in 1919 and presents an opportunity for the continent to demonstrate to the world its prowess in one of the most technical scientific fields.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Around 80 delegates from 20 different countries will be present at the Astronomy in Africa meeting in Cape Town, including astronomy researchers and </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">stakeholders from government and research institutions.</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> Anyone interested in Astronomy in Africa can <span><a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/participate/" target="_blank">provide input online</a></span>. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">An informal day of discussions and networking to explore collaborative opportunities between <span><a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/space-astronomy-day-cape-town/" target="_blank">space and astronomy</a></span> communities will precede the meeting on Sunday, 24 March</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">In addition, media personnel are invited to meet and interact with the African astronomy community on Tuesday, 26 March 2019 between 10:30 - 11:30am at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town. RSVP to <span><a href="mailto:info@astro4dev.org" target="_blank">info@astro4dev.org</a></span>. </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">--------------------------</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">The meeting is sponsored by the South African Department of Science and Technology and organized by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development. It is hosted by the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town. </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"></span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">Program:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"> </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/programme/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://africa.astro4dev.org/programme/</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"></span></i></p><p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">Remote participation:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"> Interested participants from around the world can join the meeting online at </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #1155cc;"><a href="https://zoom.us/j/7022965767" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://zoom.us/j/7022965767</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"> Or via telephone: find your local number at </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #1155cc;"><a href="https://zoom.us/u/acCPDBFx5m" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://zoom.us/u/acCPDBFx5m</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">, Meeting ID: 702 296 5767<br clear="all"> </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"><br></span></i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0px;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;">Contact:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"> Kevin Govender, Director, International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for Development, South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town, </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #1155cc;"><a href="mailto:kg@astro4dev.org" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">kg@astro4dev.org</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #222222;"></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"> </span></p></div><div><br></div><div><span></span><div><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">-- </span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Regards</span><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Thembela Mantungwa</span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">S.A. Astronomical Observatory</span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Tel: 021 460 9319</span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Fax: 021 447 3639</span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Email: tm@saao.ac.za</span><br><span style="font-family: tahoma,new york,times,serif;">Website: www.saao.ac.za / www.salt.ac.za</span></div><span></span><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>