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UNIVERSE AWARENESSInspiring Young Children

Carolina Ödmancarolina.odman@unawe.org

Johannesburg, May 7, 2007

• Initiative for a worldwide scientific culture.

• Expose very young (ages 4 - 10 years), underprivilegedchildren to the inspirational aspects of astronomy.

– Broaden the minds of the children

– Enhance their understanding of the world

– Demonstrate the power of rational thought

UNIVERSE AWARENESS (UNAWE)

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MOTIVATION

• Beauty and size of the Universe excite Young Children

• Basic knowledge of the Universe is a Birthright

• Ages 4 - 10 are crucial for Child Development

• Knowledge about the Universe can broaden the mind

• Why young and underprivileged children?– Need is greatest

– Cognitive disparities increase with age

– Cultural differences less pronounced

• Science– Investigation, curiosity– Ambassador for all

sciences– Development of

technology

• Culture– History

past & in the making!

– Cultural heritage

• Multidisciplinary– The big questions

• FUN!– Beautiful images

– Extreme conditions

– Unreachable yetavailable to all

Astronomy for Peace Education

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GOALS OF UNAWE

• Communicate the beauty and scale of the Universe toyoung children– Excite and broaden their minds– Help develop a “world view”

• Use inspirational astronomy to develop cognitive skills

• Reach large numbers of children

• United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)– Universal Primary Education– Gender Equality in Primary School

PRINCIPLES OF UNAWE

• Inspiration is paramount– Emphasis on play and entertainment

• Bottom-up approach– Driven by the needs of the local cultures and educators

• General approach– Earth awareness and citizenship, membership of a diverse

human family

– Awareness of the Sun, planets, solar system, galaxy, Universe

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CHARACTERISTICS OF UNAWE

• Underprivileged children in diverse environments– Basic, intermediate, advanced

– Europe (e.g. inner cities) and Emerging countries

• Modular and phased– Will take account of stages in child development

• Exploits ethnic heritage of astronomy– Intangible cultural heritage

INGREDIENTS OF UNAWE• Material

– Games, Cartoons, Songs, Hands-on material– Developed by professionals– Translated into various languages and cultures

• Teacher Training– Coordinators in each target country– Tailored to each country and community

• International Network– Platform for Outreach professionals and volunteers worldwide– Exchange of ideas, experience and materials

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• 2009– Several developing countries and EU member states– Activity for the International Year of Astronomy…

TIMELINE

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013PREPARATIONPREPARATION

DEVELOPMENTDEVELOPMENT

IMPLEMENTATIONIMPLEMENTATION

EVALUATIONEVALUATION

Washington Charter on EPO

• Washington Charter adopted in 2003revised in 2005applied in 2009?...

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Washington Charter

For Funding Agencies[...]

Encourage international collaboration on public outreachand communication activities

For Professional Astronomical Societies[...]Endorse standards for public outreach and communication

Make public outreach and communication a visible andintegral part of the activities and operations of therespective societies

UNAWE as of October 2006

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UNAWE, A GLOBAL INITIATIVE

Chile, Colombia, India, Indonesia,Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, SouthAfrica (and neighbours?), Spain,

Tunisia, United Kingdom, Venezuela

Team of >20 nationalities

PILOT PROJECTS 2006:VENEZUELA& TUNISIA

• Venezuela– UNESCO Schools network– Astronomy community– Ministry of Science and Education

• Tunisia– Science City– Teacher training and travelling “Astro-Bus”– Ministries of Family Affairs and of Education

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PILOT PROJECTS 2007:COLOMBIA& INDIA

• Colombia– Street Children– Amazonian forest orphans– Government programmes

• India– Tamil Nadu Science Forum– Science popularisation Activists– Children, women, communities involved

UNAWE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

• Numerous initiatives around the world– Often isolated

– Growing interest and feedback for UNAWE

• Platform for communication and community– Exchange of ideas, experiences, material

– Announcements

– Think-tank for bottom-up approach

– Outlet for UNAWE ideas & materials

– Inclusion of other partner countries

– Independent spin-offs

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UNAWE in SA

• Diverse Communities– Rich cultures

– Numerous languages

• Similarities in needs– Across the country

– With other UNAWE countries (India)

• Existing Infrastructures and programmes

• Ongoing Development (KAT, SKA, etc.)

• Community development philosophy associated withlarge scientific projects

It’s easy

• Lunar Eclipse March 2007– Skypecast

• Sutherland - Preston April 2007– Skype Video Chat

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Concrete Project Plan

• A group coordinating UNAWE - SA

– Identify communities to involve

– Identify means of delivery

– Identify synergies with existing programmes

• ==> Strategic plan

• Dialogue with implementers

– Also exploit the international dimension of UNAWE

• Funding opportunities

• Coordination with the International Office (Leiden, NL)

Essentially any activity that specifically

•Targets 4-10 year olds•Is inspirational rather than strictly educational•Reaches out to the underprivileged•Includes cultural & folkloric astronomy

Is a UNAWE activity

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Possible Benefits from UNAWE

• International dimension– For Children

– For Educators

• Social agenda

• Scientific culture

• Democratisation of science

• IYA 2009 Opportunity

UNAWE SA

• HumanDevelopmentIndex in Africa

Source: Globalis

SA plays a

leadership role

in sub-saharan

Africa

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MORE INFORMATION

http://www.UNAWE.org/email odman@strw.leidenuniv.nl