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!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hearing impairments affect more than 6% of the world’s population. Many in the astronomical community likely experience invisible handicaps due to both themselves not being aware of their impairment and due to the prevalence of societal barriers, mainly the widespread cultural dependence on sound. We consider the removal of societal barriers a gold standard in the accommodation of those with hearing impairments. Such accommodations do not make the assumption that the impacted person is deprived of normal functions, but rather that society is at fault through its ideals of normality. In practice, this means that those with hearing impairments should not have to rely on auditory information to partake in astronomical settings. The culturally deaf should be provided access to astronomy in their own signed languages. We highlight that such accommodations may benefit the wider community. We conclude by remembering that deaf astronomers have been behind great discoveries in the history of astronomy, and that diversity is a strength to all.

When the world thinks of the Caribbean, the first things that come to mind are of vacations and wedding destinations. It is all about sun, sand and seas and very little about skies. Can astronomy have any role to play in the Caribbean? This paper summarizes the status of Astronomy in the English-speaking Caribbean region noting the opportunities and challenges.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With over 50 years of active research in Nigeria, Astronomy is still faced with various challenges, in particular poor funding from government and the prevailing harsh economic condition. Despite these challenges, there is a recent growing interest of the younger generation in astronomy which comes mainly through astronomy outreach programme, biennial summer schools and annual conference of the astronomical society of Nigeria. Electric power supply has remained a long-lasting problem and contributes immensely, especially in rural communities, to the hindrance faced in areas of education like astronomy which can not progress without the use of computers for data visualisation and analysis. As a matter of fact, cultural astronomy already exist and is well recognised in these poor communities.

The amazing credit card size 5V DC battery-powered Raspberry Pi computers and Virtual Observatory(VO) will play a major role in doing modern astronomy in these communities despite these hindrances. We target the less privileged students in six rural secondary schools (located in 6 different states) by bringing to their doorsteps astronomy using low cost but effective tools. Various hands-on astronomy exercises were carried out with the VO tools. We discuss our experiences with the students and teachers with this pilot project which at the same time promotes not only astronomy but also Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). We intend to expand the number of schools covered through grant from IAU and donations of the Raspberry Pi computers from astronomy enthusiasts and organisations.

(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.

The female ratio in science field, including astronomy, is still quite low in Japan. We, the Astronomical Society of Japan, are making efforts to equalise the gender balance. In this paper, we summarise our statistics, member’s thinking shown in our questionnaire, the history and accomplishments of the day-care system during annual meetings, and other activities.

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 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.

Gender inequality in science is a widespread phenomenon which in the most obvious distinct ways men and women are treated differently. Astronomical spaces are naturally concerned with the technical, objective, and provable and rarely try to make sense of meanings around social justice concepts which include gender, equality and inclusiveness. These are thought to be not “scientific” nor to add any value to the science enterprise. Using a feminist qualitative approach, and drawn from my Master’s Thesis, my research employs a gender lens in exploring and mapping ways in which better science could be produced and current models enhanced through use of interdisciplinary methods, in particular, gender studies. I present the nuances around gendered dynamics, attitudes, ideologies, values and knowledge systems that exist within astronomy and astrophysics institutions paying specific attention to the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). I reveal the implicit and explicit ways in which SAAO spaces and practices are gendered and hierarchized, and the extent to which ‘astronomy as a specific discipline within science’ remains highly masculinized, and subsequently exclusive to some whilst marginalising and excluding certain bodies within the space, at times in very symbolic and covert ways. By focusing on studies on power, feminist critiques of science and institutional culture in other South African sectors, especially higher education, the study deconstructs a field that has been relatively neglected in South African feminist studies of gendered institutional culture. My findings are transferable and could be applicable to other astronomical institutions.

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.

Astronomy is a democratic and fair science. People feel curious and fascinated about the Universe, regardless their culture or abilities. Modern astronomical observation are also “impartial” with regards to sensory abilities, because they are made of numbers, representing the physical features of the observed object. Those numbers are often converted into visuals. Indeed, they could be converted into any attribute of any representation, such as sensory stimuli in multi-sensory representations, offering an effective common ground for inclusion and equity. In Italy, the working group for outreach and education of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) is greatly concerned with designing and creating brand new inclusive outreach and educational practices with essential help of experts and disabled people. Besides significant efforts for the inclusion of physical and sensory impairments, we have also implemented important actions aimed at easing social and cultural inclusion. These activities need attentive design and step-by-step evaluation in order to prevent the unconscious introduction of barriers of any kind. We have started many fruitful partnerships, both with the capillary and vast national network of amateur astronomers and with educators and tutors for specific disabilities, with the aim of developing professional standards in the field of inclusion through astronomy.