WELCOME TO IYA 2009 Catherine Cesarsky ESO President of IAU

International year of Astronomy years since first observation with Galileo telescope Launched by IAU at the General Assembly in Sydney (President: Franco Pacini) Following presentation by the Italian delegation, IYA was endorsed by UNESCO, who is now a co-organizer with IAU Italian delegation at United Nations intending to submit a resolution to vote in early December Support of many countries has been secured.

Goals Global celebration of astronomy: The Universe yours to discover (see brochure) In unison with UN millennium development goals Where? Everywhere! For whom? People of all ages (but particularly young people), all continents, all paths of life

By whom? Mobilizing; Professional astronomers (+ physicists, historians…) Science writers, journalists Planetariums, science museums Amateur astronomers School teachers

In 2009, we would like that: Everybody on earth thinks, at least once, about the wonders of the sky, shares the human wish to reach to the stars and to comprehend them, feels part of the universe. As many people as possible get to gaze through a telescope, be it a cheap Galileoscope aimed at the moon hear/read about astronomy’s contribution to culture, the history of astronomy recent successes of astronomy, future prospects

How? Cornerstones 24 hours of astronomy The Galileoscope Cosmic diary The portal to the universe She is an astronomer

Dark skies awareness IAU/UNESCO Astronomy and World heritage Galileo teacher training Programme Universe awareness The Universe from the Earth, an exhibit of astronomical images

Additional activities? eg. Make a complete census of telescopes (optical, radio) to which public can have access.

Legacy of IYA 2009 World Heritage UNAWE Dark skies protection Teacher training International network of professional and amateur astronomers

Global events Coordinated national events, January 1 st ? (e.g. fireworks, particularly in Sydney) Opening event in UNESCO, Paris, mid- January (content tbd) IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, August 24 hours of astronomy, dark skies event Closing event in Italy (Padova) tbc

This meeting :CAP 2007 Full of relevant talks and material, e.g. Humanizing astronomy Bringing the universe back to earth Inspiring a community Visualizing the invisible, etc etc The presentation by Pedro Russo (IYA 2009 coordinator) and Lars Lindberg Christensen (IAU PR) of the coordination activities And presentations by various SPoCs of the activities in preparation in their countries

Shall we do all of the activities described in the brochure, everywhere? Shall we do even more? We need your opinion, and, even more, your participation! This meeting gives an exceptional chance to all of you to: Accept or criticize current plans Join in one or many of these activities at a local, national or global level Take active participation in a Task force Propose other activities

We, the IYA2009 Working Group, hope that after this meeting the national activities will rapidly take shape and that our global organization will be set on a stronger basis: MAKE IT HAPPEN!