IYA2009 Organisation

IYA2009 will promote and facilitate the creation of international networks to foster a global appreciation of the role and value of science and astronomy as a unifying activity for humanity. IYA2009 will start up, connect and support networks of professional and amateur astronomers, educators and astrophysicists from all over the world, so that all these valuable sources of knowledge can be shared. The networks of hundreds, if not thousands of astronomical organisations, nationally and internationally, will be one of the legacies of IYA2009 that will last far beyond the year 2009.

The activities of IYA2009 will largely take place at the national level: after only nine months, a significant global network has already been created. This network has reached 135 countries and a total of 140 are eventually expected to join, making it possible to reach out to 97% of the world’s population.