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.

The efficacy of merely setting numerical goals is questionable for promoting diversity. Transparent evaluation criteria and processes need to be established to complement such numerical goals. Various scattered role models for researchers and engineers (gender identity and biological sex: female) can be seen as representative contributors to innovations. This committee aims to index (make visible) universal factors among these role model cases to bridge their existences into innovations by a qualitative research method. We conducted qualitative interviews for four people who are representative contributors to “inclusive innovations”, namely, innovations which benefit our society and help to create a better future. We investigated the following seven main factors (individual and socioenvironmental): General attitudes towards research; networking and multidisciplinarity; appreciation of openness to experience; possessing high motivation; psychological safety; leadership equipped with the ability to discern potentials or being mekiki (connoisseur); and coherency between aim and methods.

In our next steps, we will suggest a new assessment tool with the above seven factors in order to make the best use of a diverse field of researchers and engineers to richly yield inclusive innovation.

In this work I will present some results of my post-graduation masters thesis in 2017. The vocational masters title was “Intercultural Studies, theory and practice for the reception of asylum seekers”. The whole work is based upon a specific activity of public outreach for astronomy with a group of Imams from different Islamic countries, which is an undoubtedly underrepresented group in Europe.

Even though there are more than six million Muslim refugees (most of them from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa) in Italy, they are very often discriminated for their ethnicity, culture and religion; we hence have had difficulties in communicating because of a language barrier and gap in basic scientific knowledge. But the differences are more complex and subtler than these. This is the reason why I tried to do a psycho-sociological analysis of this meeting, going deep into the field of intercultural studies and stressing those aspects as-related to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.

The activity began on Ramadan on 27 May 2017, and was repeated one year later on 16 May 2018.

While doing the report and the analysis of these meetings I stressed not only the astronomical concepts but also the aspects of social psychology that are particularly relevant to intercultural communication, as a greater understanding of certain socio-psychological concepts may increase the effectiveness of such POE activities.

There have been marked advances in astronomy in the last 100 years towards gender equality and the empowerment of women researchers. However, progress has been slow, and disparities still persist around the world. Women represent only about 18% of astronomers worldwide (2019) and are not immune to inequalities such as gender-based discrimination and a lack of equal opportunities. Bullying and harassment are the obstacles that not only women but also men face in their professional careers. We need to pay due attention, too, to LGBTQ requirements. Here, we will share our experiences of problems that exist in Japan and elsewhere and the ways of overcoming them. This report was in part made in collaboration with the former IAU President, Norio Kaifu, R.I.P., and his advice to overcome these problems is involved.

Our main goal of this project is to improve education equality and mental health condition for “left-behind children” through atronomy in South-western China. The target audiences are students especially the left-behind adolescents and their parents, science teachers in local high schools in Pingtang, Guihzou Province in China. We will firstly train teachers with astronomy teaching skills, since school teachers can have direct interaction with students. Then we will train the teachers on how to provide psychology aid to ‘left-behind’ adolescents. Furthermore, we will introduce the career path in astronomy education and research to the students and their parents.

The necessity to make astronomy learning media in Indonesia especially for visually impaired people has resulted in the tool named 3D Planetary of Solar System. The tool was helpful for visually impaired people to know and observe the position of the planets in real-time. The tool would be made by modifying Solar System media learning and compared by several features like touch and audio. The electronic tool used a TTP223 Capacitive touch sensor as an input module, an Arduino Mega 2560 and a YX5300 as the processing module, and, therefore, speaker for the output module. The tool works by touching the input module of the planet and returning the name and information about the planet in audio form. The tool isn’t only for educational purposes, but it can also be used as a substitute for planet observation media for a visually impaired person.

Cultural Astronomy is loosely defined as the study of humans and their relationship to the sky. With the movement to decolonize the curriculum and decolonize the academy happening in various parts of the world, academics along with students are co-creating new ways of being and learning. Inclusive astronomy can be seen as part of or adjacent to this movement, with its goals to transform astronomy to better attract and retain people embodying all types of diversity. This transformation has been framed largely as cultural with some efforts to augment rather than to transform the curriculum entirely. As a cultural astronomer, my research engages the transformation of astronomy both culturally and pedagogically. I will share how my research weaves and threads its way into creating a more inclusive astronomy (yes, I’m using intentionally gendered imagery!).

Scientific organisations with incorporated diversity and inclusion programmes provide direct benefits to the individuals and working groups within the organisation. The goals of this paper are as follows: 1) To report the findings of studies that research the benefits of diversity in an organisation; 2) To illustrate a model of inclusion in the workplace; 3) To explain how these programs can positively impact working groups in observatory operations. Examples of ongoing diversity and inclusion activities at observatories managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) are outlined. These practices and agents of diversity and inclusion are effectively leveraged to develop the diversity, equity, and inclusion plan of AURA’s NSF-funded nighttime facilities. The current status of this strategic plan is discussed.

There are two obvious barriers in the implementation process of astronomical education and public outreach in China. One is the lack of astronomy teachers and public outreach educators. The other is that the material of astronomical education are not rich enough and mostly outdated. Using internet and big data technology, astronomers and science educators are trying to break these barriers. The concept of a World-Wide Telescope was first mentioned in an article published on Science (2001) and the authors proposed the goal of making the internet act as the world’s best telescope. In 2008 Microsoft Research launched the astronomical data visualization platform named WorldWide Telecope (WWT) and made it open-sourced in 2015. In China, the Chinese Virtual Observatory (China-VO) takes the leading role of the development and the promotion of WWT platform. By the end of 2019, 11 WWT teacher training workshops had been held and three national WWT tour contests had been organised. Over 500 science educators and public outreach practitioners participated in these programmes. In 2018, the fully localised and function-enhanced China-VO WWT was launched and tons of new astronomical data were added in 2019. It is now widely acclaimed in the Chinese science education community whether in big cities or rural areas. With massive astronomical data and the unique tour production function design, WWT becomes an ideal platform for astronomy education. To some extent, it breaks the barriers of traditional science (especially astronomy, physics and geography) education.

This paper presents an overview of outreach programs and methods designed to increase the accessibility of astronomy and the STEM fields. These strategies are designed to foster disability inclusion and equitable education for diverse learners.

The Portuguese Language Office of Astronomy for Development (PLOAD) was established in 2015 by the International Astronomical Union with the goal of promoting astronomy as a tool for sustainable development in Portuguese-speaking countries. In this work I present a global perspective of the PLOAD actions, highlighting the Brazilian experience and discussing some of our main results and prospects.

The Mutlimessenger Diversity Network (MDN) is a nascent project funded by the National Science Foundation in the United States to establish a community of representatives from multimessenger astronomy research collaborations focused on increasing equity, diversity and inclusion in the field. The goals of the MDN are to share knowledge, experience, training and develop resources and practices around broadening participation in astronomy and astrophysics. This proceeding provides a brief introduction to the project and the participating collaborations. The structure of the MDN, based on community of practice theory, is described. Examples of the first outputs from the MDN and information on how to access resources and/or join are provided.

Using sound to represent data (data sonification) and exploiting the unique characteristics of sound and human hearing can provide a powerful means to enhance scientific discovery in large datasets, rapid real-time data analyses, high dimensional analyses, and to filter signals from noise. Data sonification can be used to expand, accelerate, and validate discovery for sighted, blind and visually-impaired researchers and provides capabilities to improve the quality of everyday life. We describe improvements to StarSound for 1D and multi-dimensional analyses, introduce VoxMagellan for 2D image, plot and graph analyses, discuss applications in astronomy and for low signal-to-noise ratio data, often present at the leading-edge of science. We find that data sonification can successfully push scientific research forward and expand research accessibility to the blind and visually-impaired community, while promoting STEM careers.

A national network connecting various kinds of activities of astronomy for inclusion in Japan is now growing and becoming more international after the establishment of the Universal Design Working Group (UDWG). The UDWG members developed multi-modal astronomy textbook and 3D-printer models for the visually impaired, and also held a series of symposia.