By Karla Sofia Garcia, Women and Girls in Astronomy Coordinator
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Women, especially Black, Indigenous and Latine women, “remain under-represented in physics and astronomy”, according to the American Institute of Physics’ 2019 report on Women in Physics and Astronomy. Awarding projects centering women, girls, and underrepresented genders in astronomy is just one small step toward bridging this gap.
Implemented by the North American Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (NA-ROAD) and the International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for Outreach (IAU-OAO), the Women and Girls in Astronomy Project (WGAP) will target aspiring astronomers and current professionals alike, establishing a network to uplift, educate, connect with, and provide opportunities to women and girls.
As a newly established project, this mini-grant initiative is
our very first act toward making a significant impact in communities
with limited or no access to astronomy.
Ten unique astronomy projects will be selected and awarded $1,000 USD mini-grants. The projects must take place in Canada, United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, or Greenland. Projects are encouraged to approach astronomy from a unique lens, including, but not limited to, scientific, social, technical, cultural, and artistic perspectives.
If you are wondering who we are expecting applications from, the answer is... anyone! As Program Coordinator, I would personally love to see a variety of projects, targeting, for example, young girls in the Caribbean, early career women in Mexico, retired women in Canada. We are really leaving the projects up to the imagination, and the idea of what the project can be is very moldable depending on what the individual or group has identified their community needs. As long as there is a passion for astronomy, anything is possible.
Projects can be of any length as long as they are completed by December 1, 2023 and their needs fit within the $1000 USD grant. The projects can be activities, programs, workshops, exhibits, websites, events, to name a few. For example:
- a one-time astronomy programming workshop (or series of workshops) run by an undergraduate for their college community;
- a short-term program for retired women looking to gain basic knowledge on astronomy, for which the grant would cover the lecturer;
- an astronomy art activity for kids to paint galaxies while learning about them, for which the grant is used to pay for art materials;
- an event/showcase/exhibit that centers women in astronomy; or
- paying for accessible astronomy equipment for a community center which would be used to host a special event or activities.
We are thankful to the Heising-Simons Foundation for supporting the NA-ROAD Women and Girls in Astronomy Program, and we are excited to see applicants’ creativity and to witness great ideas in action!
Project proposals will be accepted until Sunday, April 16th at 11:59 EDT. The full details can be found in English, Spanish, and French in the images below. Proposals can be submitted in any of these languages through the Google Form (English), which includes four key questions to answer about the proposed project. Links to the Google Forms are also in Spanish and French.
For questions, please send an email to wgap_at_aui.edu. Be sure to share with your networks, colleagues, students, or any individual you believe would be a great fit for the WGAP mini-grant!
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