A workshop to brainstorm pandemic-era outreach methodologies in astronomy and related fields

Abstract submission deadline has been extended till 10 July

Last date for submission of abstract (brief description of talk) : 10 July 2021
Last date for registration (without abstract submission): 31 July 2021

As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the community of science educators, like everyone else around the world, have had to adapt to the loss of personal interactions. The first few months after the COVID outbreak saw a number of groups taking to the format of online webinars. These proved very effective, but soon led to a very large number of videos that were available. We are now realising that normalcy, as we knew it, is not going to come soon. This, coupled with ‘zoom fatigue’, necessitates a reimagining of the methods many of us have been adopting so far. Astronomy outreach, in particular, suffers greatly from the absence of sky observing sessions with telescopes, since it is the visual appeal of looking through an eyepiece that enthuses young students.

Not only is the over-reliance on online interactions limiting, they also exclude a majority of people who do not have access to sufficient bandwidth. Many astronomy and science popularisers have, over the last year, come up with innovative methods of interacting with the public outside of the webinar mode. There is a need to understand these, and share and improve on them amongst ourselves. We also need to go beyond a simplistic view of communication methods as either online or offline. Instead, we need a diversity of tools that cater to a diversity of situations, e.g. low or high bandwidth, physical gatherings of a handful or a larger number of people, use of media in new forms etc.

This workshop is meant to bring together the outreach community in astronomy and related fields, to share our ideas on possible ways of engagement, as well as have a discussion on the path ahead. Lastly, we are aware of the irony of having this workshop in a purely online mode, but we hope that this event will generate new ways of doing so in the future.

The first day will be devoted to talks, and we hope to have discussions and break out sessions on the second day. Please email us your suggestions for these discussion sessions at outreach at iiap dot res dot in.

We invite submissions for short presentations on innovative ways of outreach in astronomy and related fields, which go beyond just online talks. We welcome presentations both on your recent work as well as your new ideas, which can cater to differing techno-economic situations. Please register for the workshop, and submit your abstract (that is, brief description) of your talk. If you have any questions, you can contact us at the email above.

Themes of the workshop

  • Using old media in new ways
  • Initiatives in regional languages
  • Institutional outreach and education
  • Engagement with urban and rural students
  • Engagement with scientists and research institutions
  • Imagining new media strategies
  • Outreach in local communities by science popularisation groups


Partners: Homi Bhabha Centre for Scientific Research, TIFR & Public Outreach and Education Committee of Astronomical Society of India

This workshop is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Rathnasree Nandivada, who was constantly creating new ways of engaging with students.