The brand-new Fukuoka City Science Museum on Japan’s Kyushu Island has been chosen to host the International Astronomical Union (IAU) conference “Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2018” (CAP 2018).

The CAP Conferences Working Group of IAU Commission C2 issued an international call for proposals to host CAP 2018 in August 2016. Five countries submitted full proposals by the October deadline: Armenia, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States of America. All five proposals were very strong, but the one from Japan stood out from the rest and was selected as winner of the call.

Local organisation of CAP 2018, to be held March 24-28, will be led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Fukuoka City, supported by a very strong national and local team of astronomy communicators, city officials and other partners.

Fukuoka City Science Museum will open in October 2017 to bring science to all citizens of, and visitors to, the city. It aims to make science accessible to the public and to provide an environment where children can express their creativity and receive support to follow their dreams for the future.

CAP 2018 will be the eighth conference in the series. Since 2003, CAP conferences have facilitated the exchange of ideas and best practices in astronomy and space communication and informal education. The conference helps strengthen the local community of professionals by connecting them to the global network of astronomy communicators and giving them access to the latest trends, lessons learnt from other parts of the globe and ongoing projects they can tap into.

Contacts:
Oana Sandu
SOC co-chair of CAP 2018
ESO education and Public Outreach Department
+49 89 320 069 65
osandu@partner.eso.org

Sze-leung Cheung
SOC co-chair of CAP 2018
IAU International Outreach Office
+81 422 34 3896, cell: +81 80 9274 2454
cheungszeleung@iau.org

IAU CAP Conference Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CAPconference/

IAU CAP Conference mailing list
http://www.eso.org/lists/listinfo/capconferences

The International Astronomical Union (IAU, http://www.iau.org) was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. Its individual members — structured into Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups — are professional astronomers from all over the world who are active in professional research and education in astronomy. The IAU has more than 10,000 members in 98 countries worldwide. The IAU is responsible for naming stars, planets, asteroids and other celestial bodies and collaborates with other scientific organisations all over the world.