African Astronomy education and outreach tour: Summer 2024

Hi everyone, I'm Veronica! I work as a researcher in Groningen and run my own company "Astrochemist Veronica" giving astronomy lessons to children.

This summer I will be attending the International Astronomical Union (IAU) general assembly in South Africa. As this is the first IAU general assembly in Africa, they have encouraged attendees to travel the continent and give guest lectures and public talks throughout Africa.

As a passionate science communicator, I immediately contacted many of the hosts and set up a travel plan. Everyone was happy to host me and help me connect with local students, but I would need to bring the funding.

Because I am in the final year of my postdoctoral project, I don't have enough funding left in my grant to cover the whole tour. I applied for grants from LKBF (€1200) and the IAU (~€550) to add to what I have left in my travel budget (~€2500), but I will still be short of my expected costs by about €4000.

This is the reason I am turning to the community. I aim to reach hundreds of children and educators on this trip to 8 locations in South Africa and Namibia and I believe that I will be able to achieve this goal with your support.