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Astronomical outreach and education in marginalised and indigenous communities: astronomy as a tool for social development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2025

Arianna Cortesi Open the ORCID record for Arianna Cortesi [Opens in a new window] ,
Claudia Mignone ,
Alan Alves-Brito ,
Gracy Moreira ,
Claudia Magnani ,
Nilson Moreira ,
Guilherme Moreira ,
Roberto Romeiro ,
André Victor  and
Maria Clara Herdinger Lourenço
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Arianna Cortesi
Affiliation:
Instituto de Fsica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Observatório do Valongo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Claudia Mignone
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Rome, Italy
Alan Alves-Brito
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Gracy Moreira
Affiliation:
Organização Cultural Remanescentes de Tia Ciata, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Claudia Magnani
Affiliation:
Independent Researcher
Nilson Moreira
Affiliation:
Organização Cultural Remanescentes de Tia Ciata, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Guilherme Moreira
Affiliation:
Organização Cultural Remanescentes de Tia Ciata, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Roberto Romeiro
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
André Victor
Affiliation:
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Centro de Tecnologia e Ciências Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Maria Clara Herdinger Lourenço
Affiliation:
Observatório do Valongo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gabriela Rufino Travasso
Affiliation:
Observatório do Valongo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ana Gomes
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Lorena Anastácio
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Abstract

The way we look at the sky is connected to the cosmological paradigm embraced by the society we live in. On the other hand, several astronomical concepts reinforce the idea of a common humanity. Yet, scientific outreach is frequenty reaching out only to a specific part of the world population, often excluding people living in extreme social vulnerability, victims of violence and prejudice, fighting for their lives and for the right of living according to their traditions. We present two outreach projects, developed in Brazil, funded by the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), i.e. “Under Other Skies” & “OruMbya”, which tackle the importance of ethno-astronomy, and the collaboration with leaders and cultural agents of marginalised communities. We also describe an educational project born in the favela of Cantagalo Pavão Pavãozinho (PPG), in Rio de Janeiro, during the COVID19 pandemic, which started a collaboration with local educators and artists to offer classes of astronomy and English language to children in the favela.

Keywords

Astronomical outreachastronomy for developmentSocial Development Goals

Information

Type
Contributed Paper
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 19 , Symposium S384: Planetary Nebulae: A Universal Toolbox in the Era of Precision Astrophysics , December 2023 , pp. 379 - 390
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Astronomical Union

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