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42% of getS.E.T.go! readers think that the development of a 3D touch screen is a great idea and an exciting development for science. |
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17% are indifferent. |
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40% think it’s a waste of money and a gimmick. |
It is estimated that South Africa’s new Science & Technology Train, which is currently under development, will reach 14 000 learners each year.
Transnet Rail Engineering at Koedoespoort will complete the train’s renovations.
Grassroots development starts above
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Kevin Govender, the Director of the OAD, with Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor, at the launch of the new OAD Global Office. |
A visionary plan to use astronomy to stimulate global development took a step forward in April when the Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor, launched the Global Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in Cape Town.
The OAD is a partnership between the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and South Africa’s National Research Foundation, and it aims to coordinate a range of worldwide activities that use astronomy as a tool for education and development.
This forms part of the IAU’s plan titled “Astronomy for the Developing World” to stimulate development at all levels including primary, secondary and tertiary education, science research and the public understanding of science. The OAD will build on the success of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and the new global office will be housed at the SAAO head office in Cape Town.
“In South Africa, people in the astronomy field, from those working on the ground to the highest levels of government, share the vision that astronomy will play a significant role in the development of society,” said Minister Pandor at the event.
IAU President, Professor Robert Williams, spoke of the incredible potential that astronomy has to influence the developmental aspirations of Africa and the rest of the world. “It is appropriate that this global coordinating office be situated in sub-Saharan Africa as this is a focus region for the IAU’s strategic plan,” he said.
Kevin Govender, the Director of the OAD, said that one of the most fundamental things people have in common is the drive to live a better life. “This is what ‘development’ means in the context of this office,” he said. “Making a better life for all human beings and making the world a better place to live in.”
He added that all societies, cultures and groups of human beings also have in common a deeply embedded connection with the sky.
“We may have forgotten about the incredible power of astronomy, the incredible role that astronomy has played in shaping the human mind. All that power is not efficiently harnessed,” he said.
The OAD’s task will therefore be to use the broader amateur and professional astronomy community to realise the incredible potential of astronomy for development.
Read the full content of Govender’s interesting and touching address at www.saao.ac.za/fileadmin/files/news/OAD_Launch/Kevin_Govender_OAD_speech.pdf