Research and Education in Basic Space Science: The Approach Pursued in the UN/ESA Workshops

Abstract

Since 1990, the United Nations in cooperation with the European Space Agency is holding annually a workshop on basic space science for the benefit of the worldwide development of astronomy. These workshops have been held in countries of Asia and the Pacific (India, Sri Lanka), Latin America and the Caribbean (Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras), Africa (Nigeria), Western Asia (Egypt, Jordan), and Europe (Germany, France). Additional to the scientific benefits of the workshops and the strengthening of international cooperation, the workshops lead to the establishment of astronomical telescope facilities in Colombia, Egypt, Honduras, Jordan, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay. The annual UN/ESA Workshops continue to pursue an agenda to network these astronomical telescope facilities through similar research and education programmes. Teaching material and hands-on astrophysics material has been developed for the operation of such astronomical telescope facilities in an university environment.