1. Catherine Cesarsky ESO President of IAU
WELCOME TO IYA 2009
Catherine Cesarsky
ESO
President of IAU

2. International year of Astronomy 2009
400 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.

3. 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

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

5. 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

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

7. 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

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

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

10. Global events
Coordinated national events, January 1st? (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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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!