Sub-Group Name
Hospitals, Children’s Homes, Nursing Homes and Prisons
Coordinator: Joao Retre
Sub-Group Description
The scientific knowledge produced by astronomy is universal and should be accessible to all. A particular group of people to which astronomy science communication activities are mostly inaccessible to is people in hospitals, living in nursing homes or prisons. The allure of astronomy can awaken a fascination for the Universe and science in general and has the potential to improve the quality of life of this group of people. The IAU Sub-Working Group for Hospital, Nursing Homes and Prisons, seeks to bring astronomy to people living in these environments and to build tools, strategies, and resources to enable equality and inclusion of our target group.
Sub-Group Goals
– Use Astronomy as a way to improve the quality of life of people living in specific environments as hospitals, nursing homes and prisons.
– Establish an international reference network, composed of institutions and individuals who have specific astronomy programs and activities directed to our target group.
– Enhance and support the work of the international network by identifying specific needs in the community and providing tools to develop projects and initiatives.
– Assemble and provide a free and publicly available repository of best practices, experiences, tools and resources related to astronomy initiatives in hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.
– Build upon pre-existing projects and experiences in order to contribute to the advancement of existing initiatives and encourage the creation of new ones.
– Contribute to the different fields across inclusion, by working closely with other sub-groups of the IAU WG on Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion.