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Astronomy in Africa took a giant leap with the unveiling of the MeerKAT antenna of 64 antennas in South Africa on July 13th. The MeerKAT is the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the southern hemisphere until Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is complete.
Why is this a big problem? After all, Africa has many more urgent challenges than exploring the universe. But, as my colleagues and I have recently argued in an article for Nature Astronomy, astronomy occupies a special place among the many efforts being made to meet the challenges of development. It has a unique ability to stimulate the thoughts of "what is possible" in the minds of marginalized communities, women and children.
Astronomy links philosophical, cultural and inspiring elements to the forefront of science and technology. This gives the discipline a unique advantage in fostering socio-economic development. For example, astronomy has been used in Sierra Leone to improve the literacy of middle school students. It worked because they liked what they were learning.
Astronomy techniques are also used in all sectors, from conservation to medical imaging.
The Bureau of Astronomy for the Development of the International Astronomical Union uses astronomy to promote development. It has ten regional and linguistic centers. Three are in Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia. The Global Coordination Office is located in South Africa
Our challenge as an astronomer is not only to develop discipline in Africa. We must also ensure that this growth is accompanied by education, technology transfer and societal engagement initiatives that can guide the continent's development priorities.
Vocational training
The funding we disbursed was used It includes the Madagascar Astronomy Python workshop in 2017. It focused on practical coding in the programming language Python for university students and teachers. The goal was to build on astronomy tools that participants can develop for their own research and teaching, not necessarily in the field of astronomy.
At the school level, the girls' astronomy camp was held in Abuja, Nigeria earlier this year. It was not just about education. He also addressed the great gender disparity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which can be a complex socio-cultural problem in many regions
. field. Students must learn science in a way that allows them to build their repertoire of transferable skills.
Thus, the Bureau of Astronomy for Development has funded a number of workshops of the Joint Initiative for Trade Development in Namibia, Mozambique and Mauritius. These workshops focus on the direct transfer of specific skills in an informal yet intense learning environment. They are also excellent for data science skills, especially important for economic growth and jobs in emerging markets.
To address this need and bring communities closer to the science of data and astronomy, the Office of Astronomy for Development Scientific Resources and Code Examples
Beyond the Disciplinary boundaries
Astronomy can also be used in perhaps surprising ways to stimulate development.
One of our projects, Accessible Citizen Science for the Developing World, health problems combined with astronomy skills through a proof-of-concept type intervention. Defects of the retina are common, but curable. Peek Vision, a social enterprise that works to improve the vision and health of all, has developed a retinal imaging device that can be easily used even in rural Kenya with an Android phone.
But there were not enough qualified ophthalmologists. hand to use the application to diagnose retinal problems. Peek Vision has teamed up with astronomers on a citizen science portal called Zooniverse. In the same way that scientists-citizens had previously worked to clbadify thousands of galaxies, they were called to learn how to identify retinal problems on the Zooniverse portal.
These partnerships are examples of collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.
Creating Spaces
There are many other initiatives that contribute to development through astronomy. Major investments in astronomical infrastructure like MeerKAT are aimed at stimulating the technology industry and advancing the development of technical skills.
Science-based international aid initiatives like African Development with Radio Astronomy (DARA) and its DARA Big Data project use the momentum generated by the SKA program to develop skills and train more of astronomy students for the continent.
Of course, the few examples illustrated in this article are just beginning to address the myriad challenges that Africa and the world are facing. Technology and science can not do much: these challenges have solutions that are, at least in part, guided by human values.
That is why conversations about the natural and social sciences are essential for advancing development on the continent. The Office of Astronomy for Development is one of the spaces that hosts these conversations. We are asking astronomers and other scientists to move beyond disciplinary boundaries to explore how their skills can help Africa achieve its development goals.
* Vanessa McBride is an astronomer at the Bureau of Astronomy for the Development of the International Astronomical Union.
** Author's note: The article on which this piece is based was first published in Nature and was co-authored by Ramasamy Venugopal, Munira Hoosain, Tawanda Chingozha and Kevin Govender
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