The stars shine on Africa, IAU GA Cape Town 2024
By Jayde Bhana
26 August 2024
The 32nd International Astronomy Union General Assembly (IAU GA) was hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from the 6th to the 15th of August 2024. As it was emphasized many times during the conference, this was the first time in its 105 year history that the IAU GA was hosted on the African continent.
The hybrid event (another first for the IAU GA) was attended in person by over 2000 participants from all over the world (including over 800 participants from Africa) and hundreds more attended and tuned in online via virtual platforms. South Africa is an apt host as its role in the international astronomy community has been strengthened by the recent commencement of the construction of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which is set to be the largest radio telescopes in the world.
The opening ceremony took place on the evening of the 6th of August and welcomed guests in true South African style. With the eloquent and witty Bobby Brown emceeing, attendees were graced with vocal and choreographed performances by the talented iThemba Youth Choir. Commencement and welcoming speeches were given by the outgoing IAU president, Prof. Debra Elmegreen, where she stressed the importance of hosting the GA on the African continent for the first time. She mentioned how histories across the continent are steeped in astronomical knowledge. African tribes had their own stories and lores about the mysteries of the sky and how we came to be and these were showcased throughout the conference.
An official welcome was delivered by Dr Blade Nzimande, South African Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. Dr Nzimande spoke about how ancient African civilisations used the stars for navigation and seasonal predictions, and how the academic hub of Timbuktu advanced scientific and mathematical knowledge across the continent. The minister listed the many investments in South African astronomy infrastructure such as the the radio telescope, HartRAO, that was built in 1961 by NASA in Hartebeesthoek, SALT, the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere situated just outside of Sutherland, and MeerKAT in the Karoo desert in the Northern Cape, an array of 64 individual antennas that are also the precursor to the exciting SKA development. Nzimande also outlined the vision of the administration to continue advancing computational and software resources in the country and improving accessibility to these resources.
Kevin Govender, the chair of the National Organising Committee and current Director of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development, welcomed the attendees to South Africa with open arms. He spoke about the role that Africa plays in the global astronomy community and emphasized how the 32nd IAU GA is centered around our shared humanity. In true South African style, above all, it is the people and the human connections that matter. This was showcased throughout the conference as organised school visits and outreach programs took place every day, public entertainment and educational events were hosted at the CTICC, and every session was made accessible through free and open digital platforms. Credit goes to Kevin and his team (Vice-Chairs Dr. Charles Takalana (AfAS) and Dr. Vanessa McBride (ISC)) for putting together a truly groundbreaking and exceptional event and being hands-on and accessible to attendees.
The conference was held at the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC), a world class facility situated on the docks of the Cape Town harbour backdropped by the iconic Table Mountain, with fully equipped auditoriums, meeting rooms, and exhibition halls. The digital capabilities of the venue made hybrid sessions possible as platforms such as Zoom and YouTube were utilsed. Over 3000 abstracts were submitted to the organising committee to present either talks or posters, thus the conference was planned out section by section relating to different fields in astronomy such as dark matter, active galactic nuclei, astrometry, and many more. Talks and presentations happened throughout the day in various venues across the CTICC, while poster viewing was set up on 100 40in TVs in the exhibition hall in two half hour time slots every day.
National Women’s Day coincided with the weekend in the middle of the conference program and events centered around this took place throughout the day of the 9th of August. A Woman in Astronomy (WIA) lunch was held by the WIA working group for the purpose of bridging gaps between new and experienced women in the field. The astronomy community continues to laude women in the field for their exceptional contributions and is actively working towards including and retaining women in the field. The public were invited to an extra special event in which they would be able to speak to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, Sunita Williams. School children took turns to ask her questions about her life in space and the audience was treated to such questions as “do you experience jet lag in space?”
Afterwards, Dr Mae Jemison, an astronaut who spent 8 days in space on Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992, gave a public presentation. The media covered her as the first woman of color in space at the time. Dr Jemison is a medical doctor and holds a degree in chemical engineering. She spoke to the audience about her experience growing up, referencing Mariam Makeba as an icon, citing her medical work in west Africa, and talking about her aspirations and a project named 100 Year Starship, a project aimed at sending humans to the stars. Also in attendance was another remarkable astronaut, Dr Sian Proctor, who piloted the commercial Inspiration4 orbital spaceflight. Dr Proctor also presented public talks and was involved in science education outreaches as part of her stay in South Africa.
South Africa joined the IAU in 1922 becoming one of the 19 member countries at the time, 3 years after the IAU was formed. There are currently 9 African member countries. The slogan for the 32nd IAU GA is ‘It’s time for Africa,” which is apt as Africa is incredibly well situated to contribute in a major way to future astronomy endeavors. Takalani Nemaungani, the Chief Director for the Astronomy portfolio at the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in South Africa, stated in his remarks at the closing ceremony that we should not have to wait another 100 years for the GA to return to the African continent. His words were not without weight as he explained that the African Astronomy Society (AfAS) is already implementing plans and strategies to equip African countries to play vital roles in astronomy and make sure they are well prepared to host future GAs, embracing a pan-African approach. One such project is the African VLBI Network (AVN), a future array of radio telescopes made from transformed communications antennae across the continent. The first success of this project is at the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI). Much developmental work is being done to equip students, researchers, and engineers in the field of radio astronomy to ensure the success of this project.
At the closing ceremony it was announced that the 34th IAU GA will be held in Santiago, Chile, the third time the GA will be hosted on the South American continent. In 2027 the 33rd IAU GA will take place in Rome, Italy, where it was also held for the inaugural GA in 1922 and the 8th GA in 1952. The conference was formally concluded with the South African delegation handing over the IAU flag to the Italian delegation as a symbol of passing the torch on and marking the conclusion of a successful event.
In his closing speech, Kevin Govender spoke about the challenges and triumphs of pushing this event to the forefront of hybrid conferencing. He quoted former president Nelson Mandela who said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” In a showing of gratitude he called everyone involved in the organisation and running of the 2024 IAU GA onto stage so that they could be properly recognised for their hard work. This included tens of volunteers, technical staff, financial workers, logistics managers and many many more. This was a lovely highlight of his goal to center humanity at this conference.
As the minister highlighted in his opening remarks at the beginning of the conference, South Africa is not an island on the African continent, it is an integral part of it. South Africa is happy to host the IAU GA on behalf of the continent as there is consistent and intentional collaboration with African nations. Much work has been done by AfAS to include other African countries in this event. It is certainly, without a shred of doubt, time for Africa.
(photos: Jayde Bhana)