For further details contact Leanne O’Donnell leanne.odonnell@physics.ox.ac.uk
Public talk
'Astronomy development in Africa: progresses, failures and lessons'.
Professor James Chimueze (University of South Africa)
The fundamental role of astronomy is to satisfy our curiosity about our universe. Facilities like the
Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), MeerKAT telescope (and upcoming Square Kilometre
Array, SKA) and many other initiatives including the African VLBI Network (AVN) and the African
Millimetre Telescope (AMT) have changed the astronomy landscape of the African continent in the
last two decades. How much progress has the continent made in astronomy research and
development? Are Africans truly participating in the co-creation of knowledge using astronomy
facilities in the continent or merely hosting them? Is astronomy being used as a lever to drive any
form of development on the African continent? This talk will explore astronomy development in
Africa, highlighting some of the progresses made and expanding on the failures as well as the lessons
learned.