Astronomical education for senior citizens is important from the social sciences side. For example, it is known that lifelong education is effective in protecting old people from isolation. Hence, if lifelong education for senior citizens can be enriched in fields with high social interest like astronomy, a major contribution will be made in this regard.

On the other hand, however, there are also unique difficulties in the astronomy education for seniors. As we get older there are serious physical declines, such as that of the eyesight and hearing. Furthermore, the astronomical knowledge that the seniors studied in their school education is rather out of date. The preconceptions based on old knowledge may hinder the understanding of modern astronomy.

In the future, with the gain of the average life expectancy, the elderly population will increase rapidly, especially in developed countries. In addition, the average age of communicators and educators will be also much higher. In preparation for the future, it will be necessary to discuss methods for safely and effectively performing astronomical education for senior citizens by the senior communicators. In this manuscript, we would like to introduce some tips for discussion based on the results of previous questionnaires.

We composed music using light curves of variable stars. We made a questionnaire about the feeling created by this music.

Modern societies have an increasing number of technological developments which are shaping the structure and execution of daily duties. Communities with disabilities have historically experienced restricted access to many opportunities of study, work and leisure, but now the emergence of new resources and appliances is likely to increase the inequity gap unless actions against this are reinforced at different levels in the society. Every person, regardless of any aspect should have an equal right and opportunity to access, engage with and contribute to knowledge, participating actively in the decisions, institutions and processed, and making use of new technologies. Unfortunately, in many cases, access to this is not feasible because the frameworks for inclusive involvement and engagement are not being implemented or are not implemented in an appropriate way. This work highlights the importance to ensure inclusive participation in astronomy education, research and outreach, identifying the barriers preventing people with disabilities to engage and progress in all the aspects that are natural of our scientific field and underpinning the crucial actions that can foster equality, accessibility and inclusivity.

This study explores the role of indigenous women in Malaysia as custodians of astronomical knowledge and their potential contributions to STEM education. Through ethnographic fieldwork with the Semelai community, it was observed that women possess advanced knowledge of stellar positioning, celestial events, and seasonal cycles, often surpassing their male counterparts in these areas. However, this traditional knowledge is undervalued in formal education systems that prioritize Western science paradigms, creating a disconnect between indigenous knowledge and modern STEM curricula. To address this gap, an educational and public outreach (EPO) pilot project was initiated to integrate indigenous and Western scientific paradigms. By involving mothers in STEM learning through cultural and technological tools, the project aims to empower indigenous women as educators and bridge the cultural divide in science education. This approach highlights the importance of embracing pluralistic knowledge systems to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM fields.

Every city in Chile has its own blind and visually impaired (BVI) groups, where members meet to engage in various recreational activities, rehabilitation therapies, and sports (Corporación para Ciegos en Chile n.d.). We have realized that scientific and cultural activities are not usually an option for them. We are also aware that Chile has laws to include BVI children in schools, but these do not guarantee that the education they receive is properly adapted to their needs. Dedoscopio creates opportunities for people to learn about astronomy in an interactive and engaging way. Our main goal is to reach BVI groups across Chile, offering them an alternative to their usual activities. To enhance the quality of knowledge exchange for BVI individuals, we are evaluating our activities using both formative and summative assessment methods. This approach helps us improve and clarify knowledge about astronomy and the latest discoveries in the field. We will present the results of these evaluations, based on the activities carried out this year, using a combination of tactile and sound materials (Bearmejo et al. 2002).

Most tools for astrophysical research was centred on visual display. Even after some studies shows that the use of sound could help the data analysis, and, on another hand, generate more accessibility. This fact motivates the creation of a tool centred on researchers with and without visual impairments. To carry out this challenge on this contribution, a theoretical framework based on visual-impaired people was created and included on the sonoUno software. After that, the accessibility of the tool was analysed with the ISO standard 9241-171:2008.

The European Astronomical Society (EAS) is a society of professional astronomers working in Europe, with currently around 2500 members. It is supported by a network of affiliated societies: close to 30 national societies in most countries in Europe. Among other activities, the EAS organises an annual meeting which attracts well over 1000 participants and provides a forum for both scientific discussions and collaborations, and discussions about issues of science policy. The EAS Council formally adopted, in January 2018, the report produced by the EAS Ethics Working Group entitled EAS Ethics Statement and Guidelines for Good Practice. It is being used by organisers and participants of the EAS Annual Meeting, and is promoted as a tool for discussion and good practice throughout our field. The Ethics Statement covers a very wide range of topics, including Conduct towards others, Research, Publication and authorship, Peer review, Conflicts of interest, Organisation of and professional conduct at conferences and meetings, Fair recruiting, Widening access to our profession, Recommendations for fair employment practices, and Ethics in publishing. We will outline the history and contents of the EAS Ethics Statement and how it will be further developed, and thus illustrate how a scientific society can provide guidance.

The Asia-Pacific Space Generation Workshop (AP-SGW) provides a platform for students and young professionals to address pressing issues in the regional space sector. During the 5th AP-SGW in 2018, a working group on gender diversity explored the importance of equitable representation in the space industry, focusing on the Asia-Pacific context. This paper discusses the group’s findings on gender disparity trends, the benefits of diversity in innovation and workforce productivity, and strategies to bridge the gender gap. Proposed actions include policy advocacy, inclusive recruitment practices, digital technology adoption, and cultural shifts to empower women and underrepresented genders. By promoting diversity and inclusion, the space sector can unlock its full potential to drive innovation and achieve sustainable development goals.

(COSmos harMONIC) is a sonification project with three primary objectives: data analysis through sound, artistic inspiration, and educational outreach. This contribution focuses on the project’s efforts in inclusive astronomy outreach, particularly within the initiative, aimed at audiences including blind and partially sighted individuals, as well as a broader public seeking alternative ways to engage with astrophysics. strives to create simple, acoustically accessible astronomical cases that are easy to understand. By using sonification to complement visual data, pairs its audio creations with animations to offer a more holistic experience. This contribution presents several examples of these sonifications and reflects on our experiences with diverse audiences. Additionally, it offers insights on the role of sonification in inclusive and multi-cultural scientific outreach.

We developed a flexible extended eyepiece using optical fibres that can be used by people with severe physical handicaps for viewing celestial objects. This eyepiece can be easily attached to small telescopes and its 1-m length allows bedridden people to view through it. The diameter of the fibre bundle is 2.5 mm which provides a 4.3 arcmin diameter field of view with a 2000 mm focal length telescope, or 34 arcmin with a 250 mm focal length. We report on its potential utilisation at hospitals or similar sites and the process of the development in its presentation.

Astronomy is one field that has no boundaries as every human being enjoys the magnificent beauty of the night sky. However, engagement with people in post-conflict countries or regions in terms of astronomy education, development and outreach has been limited due to the absence of peaceful environments in which to conduct these activities. This is due to the impact of low levels of trust created because of conflict. In this presentation, we share the experiences of using astronomy education to foster peace, inclusivity, diversity, and empathy in a bid to create environments of inclusivity with lessons learnt from the July 2019 International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) conference in Cyprus.

Under the framework of the IAU 100th Anniversary, Program Group Network Astronomy for School Education (NASE) has selected “The Power of the Sun” as the key scientific activity for schools and general public. Preparing methods that would allow people to determine the Power of the Sun despite any disability was a major challenge. After evaluating the inclusiveness of the activities that had to develop to achieve the goals, two different methods were used concerning the major difficulties we recognised that would arise during the activities. One method should provide a possibility to be done by people that have any kind of photosensitivity and the other should give blind people the possibility to also measure the solar luminosity.

The workshop to search for candidates for astronomical phenomena from historical documents, was held from 2016. In order to succeed in joint research between astronomy and history, it is important to respect each other’s fields, and when we actually got to know each other’s fields, we realized that a commonality is that research is being conducted in collaboration with not only professional researchers but also citizens. This common premise is thought to have made the workshop work well, and we can expect it to develop into a new form of citizen science.

The proportion of female researchers in Japan is low, and many institutions are implementing a range of measures to improve the gender balance. We discuss the past, present, and future of the gender equality at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). We show the change of the proportion of women in NAOJ from the graduate-student level to the senior-staff level. The number of female researchers in NAOJ is gradually increasing, but it is still low compared with similar institutions in other countries.

Parenting support is one of the measures for the promotion of the gender equality in NAOJ. The supporting system is highly valued by younger researchers irrespective of gender, and significantly contributes to retain and attract young researchers to NAOJ.

Reading impairment has been empirically associated with advantages for certain specific skills involved in the analysis of images, and given that astronomy is a highly visual science, we investigated whether such capabilities may be enhanced among astronomers.

Here we examined the visuospatial abilities of 30 astrophysicists with and without a reading impairment, and compared their response with those of 74 high school students (novices). The task involved the analysis of simulated microwave spectra. (The angular span of the spectra was varied as a condition in the experiment.) As expected, the professional astrophysicists outperformed the novices, but while the performance of novices deteriorated as the span angle was broadened, performance improved in the experts. Notably, this contrast between expert and novice was especially pronounced in the scientists with a reading impairment, suggesting that those with a reading impairment may use different strategies for visual processing. (No such effects of reading impairment were observed in the novices.)

In a second study, we administered a survey [Lefly Pennington(2000)] examining the incidence of reading impairment among 148 professional astrophysicists at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and 75 similarly accomplished academics at the Harvard Business School (HBS), selected at random. We found that, depending on the criteria used for reading impairment, the incidence of reading impairment is considerably higher among astronomy professionals compared with academics in business. Together, these studies suggest that astrophysics is a profession favorable to those with a reading impairment.

The Parkes radio telescope, known affectionately as “The Dish”, is located ∼ 380 km west of Sydney, Australia, and has been in operation since 1961. The Dish is an iconic 64-metre parabolic antenna, with receiver systems capable of observing from 700 MHz to 26 GHz, with bandwidths up to several GHz, and it is part of the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility. The Dish has been the inspiration for generations of astronomers, continued to be at the forefront of radio astronomy and technology research, and, for more than 10 years, provided educational experiences through the PULSE @ Parkes programme. The high impact science conducted by Parkes has included: Surveys of atomic hydrogen, molecular lines and masers; the first detections of fast radio bursts; and the searches and determinations of long-term timing of pulsars (for which PULSE @ Parkes contributes to). We present the current and future plans for STEM-oriented education and outreach engagement with the telescope, making radio astronomy inclusive to a diverse audience, particularly for people who would not otherwise have access to facilities, such as students in remote communities.

On behalf of the project team, I report our inclusive design workshop at the Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory (NHAO). In the workshop, participants including people with visual or hearing impairments were asked to propose ideas to improve astronomical activities in the observatory. Some of the proposed ideas are presented. Benefits from inclusive design are also discussed.

This research is motivated by the hearing impaired students curiousity to the astronomy, however the learning media of astronomy in Indonesia special schools are still limited. The purpose of research are to develop Indonesia astronomical sign language and visualization media which effective to be used. The visualization media has been developed, accompanied by textual explanation and colorfull illustrations. The visualization media can be used by children with hearing impaired, as well as by children without physical disorders.

Scientific and technical words in Astronomy are often absent in many sign languages. To alleviate this problem, we present the first online dictionary which includes a comparative list of signs which can be used especially in sign language for countries in which they have not been yet defined. After a brief summary of the history and evolution of the sign language in France, we show that many common signs can be adopted as universal, taking into account the individual heritage of each country.

Inclusive astronomy initiatives have been gaining momentum across Latin America, aiming to make the discipline accessible to individuals with disabilities. This study maps and analyzes demonstrative experiences from various countries, highlighting efforts in science dissemination, development of tactile and audio materials, and the adaptation of physical spaces and technologies. Initiatives span academic, governmental, and international collaborations, showcasing a range of approaches from basic accessibility solutions to innovative universal design methods. Challenges include ensuring sustained funding, creating regional networks, and integrating inclusive practices within astronomy institutions. This paper proposes a classification system for inclusive actions and offers insights into future opportunities for equitable access to astronomy.