<div dir="ltr">Dear colleagues<div><br></div><div>Please find a brief summary of outcomes from the Astronomy in Africa meeting at the following link: <a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/outcomes/" target="_blank">http://africa.astro4dev.org/outcomes/</a> </div><div><br></div><div>Text from that webpage copied below for quick reference:</div><div><br></div><div><h1 class="gmail-m_-6656128310959736703entry-title" style="margin:0px 0px 12px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:32px;line-height:1.62em;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;overflow:hidden">Outcomes</h1><div class="gmail-m_-6656128310959736703entry-content" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:15px;line-height:1.62em;font-family:"Droid Sans","Helvetica Neue","Nimbus Sans L",sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><p style="margin:0px 0px 24px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">After an intense two days of <a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/programme/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none">presentations</a> and discussions, the meeting adopted a new constitution for the African Astronomical Society (AfAS); accepted an offer of the South African government to host a staffed secretariat for the first 3 years; and elected an Executive Committee to take the organisation forward. </p><p style="margin:0px 0px 24px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">The adopted Constitution:</strong> <a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/03/AfAS-constitution-adopted-26-03-2019.pdf" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(33,117,155);margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;text-decoration-line:none">AfAS constitution-adopted-26-03-2019</a></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 24px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">The new members of the AfAS Executive Committee:</strong><br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">President</strong></em>: Jamal Mimouni (Algeria)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Vice-President</strong></em>: Lerothodi Leeuw (South Africa)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">General Secretary</strong></em>: Sarah Abotsi-Masters (Ghana)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Assistant General Secretary</strong></em>: Charles Takalani (South Africa)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Public Relations and Education Officer</strong></em>: Olayinka Fagbemiro (Nigeria)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Early Career Representative</strong></em>: Zara Randriamanakoto (Madagascar)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Additional Member #1</strong></em>: Palesa Nombula (South Africa)<br><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">Additional Member #2</strong></em>: Etsegenet Getachew (Ethiopia)</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 24px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">This Executive Committee has now been entrusted to work hard for the continent and take the African Astronomical Society forward!</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 24px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-variant:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-style:inherit;font-variant:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline">This page will soon be updated with more details on the process that was followed to reach the above outcomes…</strong></em></p></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, 22 Mar 2019 at 14:28, Thembela Mantungwa <<a href="mailto:tm@saao.ac.za" target="_blank">tm@saao.ac.za</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-family:"times new roman","new york",times,serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);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:rgb(0,0,0)"><div><p style="margin:0px;text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;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:12pt;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:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><i><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">--------------------------</span></i></p><p style="text-align:justify;background:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">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:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"></span></i></p><p style="text-align:justify;background:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Program:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="http://africa.astro4dev.org/programme/" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">http://africa.astro4dev.org/programme/</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"></span></i></p><p style="background:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Remote participation:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> Interested participants from around the world can join the meeting online at </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="https://zoom.us/j/7022965767" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">https://zoom.us/j/7022965767</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> Or via telephone: find your local number at </span></i><span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="https://zoom.us/u/acCPDBFx5m" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">https://zoom.us/u/acCPDBFx5m</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">, Meeting ID: 702 296 5767<br clear="all"> </span></i></p><p style="text-align:justify;background:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><br></span></i></b></p><p style="text-align:justify;background:none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;margin:0px"><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Contact:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> 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:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="mailto:kg@astro4dev.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">kg@astro4dev.org</span></a></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"></span></i></p><p style="margin:0px;text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;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: <a href="mailto:tm@saao.ac.za" target="_blank">tm@saao.ac.za</a></span><br><span style="font-family:tahoma,"new york",times,serif">Website: <a href="http://www.saao.ac.za" target="_blank">www.saao.ac.za</a> / <a href="http://www.salt.ac.za" target="_blank">www.salt.ac.za</a></span></div><span></span><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="m_-3361811251301652809gmail_signature">Kevin Govender<br>IAU Office of Astronomy for Development<br><a href="http://www.astro4dev.org" target="_blank">www.astro4dev.org</a><br><br></div></div>