The scientific impact of JWST speaks for itself. The images captured by the telescope in turn captured the imagination of people all around the world. JWST serves a purpose to expand human knowledge. The question that arises is whether such an impact on humanity is truly universal, or whether it is only the few that benefit from it. In a global society as unequal as ours it is inevitable that the impact of a project such as JWST will be more pronounced in some parts than others. It remains our responsibility to be intentional about maximising those impacts and enabling them to reach as much of humanity as possible.
Astronomy as a whole has embarked on initiatives that try to maximise the positive impact of the entire field on society. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) (www.iau.org)), representing the world’s astronomers, has made it its mission “to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation”. In realising this mission it has established several global offices: (i) the Office for Astronomy Outreach, to communicate the science of astronomy to as many people as possible; (ii) the Office for Young Astronomers, to train the next generation of professional astronomers; (iii) the Office of Astronomy for Education, to stimulate the use of astronomy in the science education landscape; and (iv) the Office of Astronomy for Development, to use astronomy to realise developmental benefits to society. The latter is the main subject of my contribution.
The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) (http://www.astro4dev.org) was established in 2011 through a partnership between the IAU and the South African National Research Foundation. Its vision from the start was simply “Astronomy for a Better World” and it aimed to help further the use of astronomy as a tool for development by mobilizing the human and financial resources necessary in order to realise the field’s scientific, technological and cultural benefits to society. In order to achieve this, it was essential that it be built on foundations rooted in humility. There is no way that one office, or one field of science, could possibly achieve the envisaged benefits to society on its own. As such the OAD established 11 regional offices and language centres which would drive these goals within a particular geographic or cultural region of the world, with each regional office understanding better the local needs of communities “on the ground”. The OAD also established partnerships across fields, bringing in the social sciences as much as possible to help formulate and implement activities aligned with the goal of using astronomy to benefit society.
Out of over 200 projects funded through the OAD (with IAU funding exceeding a million Euro over the last decade) emerged three so-called flagship projects which are being driven with extra attention: (i) astronomy for economic development, including areas such as astronomy tourism in rural communities; (ii) astronomy for mental health, involving psychology and mental health expertise; and (iii) astronomy knowledge and skills, using especially data tools, techniques and infrastructure to address development challenges. These have all been ways in which astronomy as a field in general has been set up to enable a positive impact on society. Any astronomy project including JWST is thus able to contribute to some of these areas.
Taking a look at the special case of Africa, it is clear how a field such as astronomy can be used intentionally to drive societal development. The African astronomy community has been steadily growing over the years, with numerous major infrastructure projects across the continent. The most significant of these has been the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) in South Africa which has generated some of the most significant radio astronomy images in the world. Other countries hosting astronomy infrastructure include Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Namibia and others. What has been significant with the growth of astronomy on the continent, as seen through the rise of the African Astronomical Society (the continent’s professional body of astronomers), is the intentional inclusion of societal impact along with the growth of the field of astronomy. This is highlighted in the preparations towards the first IAU General Assembly on the African continent (Cape Town, 6-15 August 2024), which has three main pillars: (i) accessibility, including making the entire meeting open access; (ii) impact, specifically with regard to societal benefit from hosting the meeting in Africa; and (iii) sustainability, ensuring that the environmental footprint is kept to a minimum and in any event “worth it”.
JWST has influenced us all. It is clear that a project as large as JWST can have a significant impact on society, and we are already seeing it in many parts of society. We just have to be intentional in driving such societal benefit globally. And in order to do so, humility is imperative.