Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The potential of astronomy for socioeconomic development in Africa

Nature Astronomy volume 2, pages 511–514 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Since 2013, the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development has been funding and nurturing astronomy-for-development projects across the globe. In Africa, these projects aim to use astronomy to stimulate educational, technological and socioeconomic development.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: The reach of the IAU’s astronomy-for-development initiative.
Fig. 2: An illustration of science for development, where astronomy is only a part of the broader contribution of science towards the SDGs.

SDG icons courtesy of UN/SDG

References

  1. World Inequality Report 2018 (World Inequality Lab, 2017); https://go.nature.com/2LxR693

  2. Higher Education (World Bank, 2017); https://go.nature.com/2Mb20mv

  3. Jobs for Youth in Africa: Catalyzing Youth Opportunity Across Africa (African Development Bank, 2016); https://go.nature.com/2JrEWhg

  4. World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision (United Nations, 2017); https://go.nature.com/2LBUGPN

  5. Empowering African Women: An Agenda for Action (African Development Bank, 2015); https://go.nature.com/2Jl3NYi

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Office of Astronomy for Development is a joint partnership between the International Astronomical Union and the South African National Research Foundation, with strong support from the South African Department of Science and Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Astronomy for Development, c/o South African Astronomical Observatory, Observatory, South Africa

    Vanessa McBride, Ramasamy Venugopal, Munira Hoosain & Kevin Govender

  2. Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Vanessa McBride

  3. Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Tawanda Chingozha

Authors
  1. Vanessa McBride
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ramasamy Venugopal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Munira Hoosain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tawanda Chingozha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kevin Govender
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanessa McBride.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

McBride, V., Venugopal, R., Hoosain, M. et al. The potential of astronomy for socioeconomic development in Africa. Nat Astron 2, 511–514 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0524-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0524-y

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing