spaceEU partners are working closely with European Union and national policy makers to promote the role of education and public engagement in the space strategy for Europe. In addition, spaceEU has been working with textbook publishers for the uptake of space content in science textbooks around Europe.
Advocacy actions at EU and International Level
spaceEU Policy Briefings
The spaceEU project advocates for the integration of educational priorities with public engagement strategies in policies that further long-term interests in the European space sector. The policy briefings presented here are based on the expertise and experience of spaceEU consortium members, spaceEU Advisory Board members including experts in gender, inclusion and diversity, and a literature review of European space policy documents and best practices regarding inclusive education and diverse public participation.
Diversity is paramount to a thriving European Space Sector Policy Briefing
New trends and challenges in the European space sector require practitioners in education and the space sector to shift their focus, strategies, and roles, and to include greater emphasis on
inclusion and diversity, whether defined by gender, age, class, disabilities, special needs, socio-economic background or other characteristics. We highlight the need for European space policy in Horizon Europe to embed education and social inclusion that will improve the diversity, creativity and innovation in the space sector. We clarify the role of education as a key building block for this vision of an inclusive, diverse and innovative space sector. Furthermore, we take the position that engaging with diverse perspectives will lead to a more literate and well-informed society, as well as more creative and sustainable space-related policies, research agendas and governance structures.
Public Engagement with the European Space Sector Policy Briefing
The European space sector has an impact in the daily, contemporary life of European citizens and is supported with public money. All citizens should therefore be given the opportunity to understand, appreciate and co-develop the European Space programme. The development of a dedicated public engagement strategy within the European space sector is important for shaping public perceptions and a scientifically literate society, generating enthusiasm and support for the space programme, and to achieve greater social inclusion.
We point to elements that must be addressed, including infrastructure accessibility needs, such as education costs, locations for engagement activities, and other aspects, such as programmes for open and transparent communication.
UN75 Event: Astronomy - a Unique Educational Tool for furthering the SDGs and Stimulating a Global Perspective
On 28 September 2020, spaceEU co-organised with the International Astronomical Union European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (E-ROAD) the online UN Dialogue Astronomy - a Unique Educational Tool for furthering the SDGs and Stimulating a Global Perspective as part of the ISC ScienceDigital@UN75 online conference in the context of the United Nation's 75th anniversary in 2020.
The event featured high-level opening addresses from Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and from Barry Andrews, Irish MEP and member of European Parliamentary Delegation for Relations with South Africa. Other speakers included:
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Declan Kirrane, Coordinator, EU Africa Radio Astronomy Platform;
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Kevin Govender, Director IAU Office of Astronomy for Development: Astronomy for development and the flagship project on Astronomy for Humanity;
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Michelle Willebrands, Coordinator European Regional Office of Astronomy for Development: Astronomy education for global citizenship in Pale Blue Dot;
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Lydia Ruprecht, Specialist UNESCO Global Citizenship Education: The UNESCO global citizenship education framework;
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Orla Doyle, Associate Professor at the School of Economics University College Dublin: Early childhood interventions;
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Cecilia Scorza, Coordinator for public outreach and school contacts at physics faculty LMU Munich: "Astronomy for Climate" educational box;
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Premana Premadi, Researcher and teacher at Bosscha Observatory Indonesia: UNAWE and Astronomy education in Indonesia.
Space Science for Societal Challenges Workshop
On 22-23 October 2020, spaceEU co-hosted with the H2020 Our Space Our Future project the Lorentz Center's Space Science for Societal Challenges Workshop to explore how different players in the European space sector can collaborate more effectively to address societal challenges. The online workshop involved around 100 major European stakeholders in the space sector in the fields of policy, industry, research, education and public engagement.
During the workshop, participants discussed models for collaboration in the space sector, including the benefits of a potential “Space-KIC” (Knowledge and Innovation Community) as an example of a structure that supports the sharing of knowledge, expertise and opportunities. KICs are pan-European partnerships created under the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) that bring together industry, policy, research and education to harness research and entrepreneurship to address societal challenges, create quality jobs and grow the sector.
Panelists of the workshop included:
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Lucille Baudet (Space Generation Advisory Council)
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Cynthia Bouthot (Space Commerce Matters)
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Katharine Bowden (UK Space Agency)
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Fiorella Coliolo (Scientific communication expert, co-author of "Space for our planet" project)
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Suzan Commandeur (Lorentz Center)
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Maria Vittoria D'Inzeo (Policy officer, EC RG for Defence Industry and Space – DG DEFIS)
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Ewine van Dishoeck (International Astronomical Union President)
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Jeremy Hallakoun (AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe)
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Markus Häuser (euconvest)
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Tania Johnston (Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre / European Southern Observatory, Germany)
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Martijn Leinweber (Space Business Innovation Centre Noordwijk)
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Sara Lucatello (Council member European Astronomical Society)
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Chiara Manfletti (ESA Policy and Programme Coordination)
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Vanessa McBride & Tawanda Chingozha (IAU Office of Astronomy for Development)
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Mónica Miguel-Lago (European Association of Remote Sensing Companies)
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David Patterson (World Wide Fund for Nature)
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Mary Ritter (EIT Climate-KIC)
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Pedro Russo (spaceEU / Leiden University)
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Wendy Sadler (Our Space Our Future / Cardiff University)
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Monica Talevi (Head of STEM Education & Outreach Unit at ESA Education Office)
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Remco Timmermans (Social Media for Space)
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Danny Vandenbroucke (Spatial Applications Division KU Leuven, Belgium)
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Chris Welsh (International Space University)
The workshop outcomes are published by both spaceEU and Our Space Our Future as a White paper "A Collaboration Model for the European Space Community: Learnings from the EIT KIC Model" including recommendations from space sector stakeholders for policy-makers.
Watch Workshop Sessions recordings:
Session 1: Space for societal challenges: the role of Space to advance the SDGs
Session 2: The European space sector and policy landscape
Session 3: The Future of the space industry ecosystem
Session 4: Collaboration between space and astronomy research and the space sector
Session 5: Space education, training and skills
Session 6: Public engagement with the European space sector and concluding remarks
Textbook Publishers
Among its advocacy actions, spaceEU liaised with the European Educational Publishers Group (EEPG), a group representing educational publishers from all over Europe, who presents a strong network that deals with educational matters at all levels from local to global. This included the attendance to the internal Annual Meeting for EEPG members in Frankfurt (Germany) in the framework of the 2019 Frankfurter Buchmesse, the largest book fair worldwide. Around 30 representatives from 19 European educational publishing houses learnt about the spaceEU project and how different space resources for education can fit into existing curricula subjects. Moreover, spaceEU was also present at the 2019 Guadalajara International Book Fair in Guadalajara (Mexico) and discussed opportunities for publishers to use spaceEU resources and other space educational materials.
Space Education Resources Booklet for Publishers
This booklet contains a small sample of the extensive library of open-source classroom activities and teacher resources developed by various space education projects across Europe. Both space science researchers and education professionals have been involved in their development. These activities integrate space topics into a broad range of school subjects, including science, math, history, language arts, and more. This abundance of high quality space educational resources can easily be integrated into textbooks and online resources to uniquely enrich their content. The activities in this booklet are curated from the collections of Universe Awareness, Space Awareness, Scientix, the European Space Agency, AstroEDU, and other sources. A more complete listing can be found on the spaceEU website at: www.space-eu.org/educators.