African Planetarium Association
APA is an affiliate of the International Planetarium Association (IPS), working under the umbrella of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS). It has been created to become a network of planetaria and their development across Africa. APA would therefore become the link between the planetaria in Africa with those in the rest of the world. APA was launched at the Iziko museum and Digital Dome in Cape Town in March 2019, alongside the re-launch of the African Astronomical Society.
Africa-Europe Science Collaboration and Innovation Platform
The Africa-Europe Science Collaboration and Innovation Platform (AERAP) is a stakeholder forum convened to define priorities for science and innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe. It provides a framework for stakeholders from industry and academia to define research action plans across a wide range of technological areas that will be essential for addressing common challenges and the future. This framework will enable major research and technological advances that will drive socioeconomic development and competitiveness in both Africa and Europe.
AERAP is structured around a network of key stakeholders who come together in regular meetings to work on developing and updating agendas for radio astronomy cooperation. These agendas are developed through dialogue with industry, research institutes, and the public sector from across EU Member States and African nations, and they aim at better aligning priorities across a range of scientific themes with those of researchers and industry representatives.
The overall goals of the platform are to strengthen research and innovation in Europe and Africa, improve knowledge transfer, and stimulate competitiveness across both continents.
AERAP responds to the European Parliament Written Declaration 45 on Science Capacity Building in Africa. This call was repeated by the Heads of State of the African Union through their Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.407 CXVIII. AERAP encourages policymakers to understand the need for an enabling policy and regulatory environment for science cooperation with Africa and championing leadership in both Africa and Europe to demonstrate science’s contribution to society.
The South African Astronomical Observatory is a National Research Foundation facility that is a national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. Its primary role is to conduct fundamental research in astronomy and astrophysics by providing a world-class facility to scientists. The SAAO also promotes astronomy and astrophysics in southern Africa by sharing research findings and discoveries, and participating in outreach activities to enthuse citizens about physics and astronomy.
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), a facility of the National Research Foundation, is responsible for managing all radio astronomy initiatives and facilities in South Africa, including the MeerKAT Radio Telescope in the Karoo, and the Geodesy and VLBI activities at the HartRAO facility. SARAO also coordinates the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) for the eight SKA partner countries in Africa, as well as South Africa’s contribution to the infrastructure and engineering planning for the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope. To maximise the return on South Africa’s investment in radio astronomy, SARAO is managing programmes to create capacity in radio astronomy science and engineering research, and the technical capacity required to support site operations.
Project PANOPTES
A citizen science project that aims to make it easy for anyone to build a low-cost, robotic telescope that can be used to detect transiting exoplanets.
Breakthrough Listen
Breakthrough Listen is the largest ever scientific research program aimed at finding evidence of civilizations beyond Earth. The scope and power of the search are on an unprecedented scale: The program includes a survey of the 1,000,000 closest stars to Earth. It scans the center of our galaxy and the entire galactic plane. Beyond the Milky Way, it listens for messages from the 100 closest galaxies to ours.
The instruments used are among the world’s most powerful. They are 50 times more sensitive than existing telescopes dedicated to the search for intelligence. The radio surveys cover 10 times more of the sky than previous programs. They also cover at least 5 times more of the radio spectrum – and do it 100 times faster. They are sensitive enough to hear a common aircraft radar transmitting to us from any of the 1000 nearest stars.
We are also carrying out the deepest and broadest ever search for optical laser transmissions. These spectroscopic searches are 1000 times more effective at finding laser signals than ordinary visible light surveys. They could detect a 100-watt laser (the energy of a normal household bulb) from 25 trillion miles away.
Listen combines these instruments with innovative software and data analysis techniques. The initiative will span 10 years and commit a total of $100,000,000.
IAU-Office of Astronomy for Development
The IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), supported by the South African Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI). The OAD aims to help further the use of astronomy, including its practitioners, skills and infrastructures, as a tool for development.
BlueShift
BLUEshift Africa is a project designed to strengthen undergraduate astronomy teaching in Africa. The project is funded by a Venture Grant from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) through the American Astronomical Society (AAS), titled “Developing astronomy teaching capacity for university educators in Africa.” BLUEshift Africa activities are held in partnership with the African Astronomical Society (AfAS). The project comprises a pilot study about undergraduate astronomy teaching around the African continent (2025), two-day workshops on undergraduate astronomy teaching for early-career African scientists (2025 and 2026), online communities of teaching for workshop participants (2025 and 2026), and a panel discussion for AfAS and AAS members. The project is led by Dr. Linda Strubbe. Read more in the AfAS Newsletter (p15-17), APS African Physics Newsletter and AAS website.