The Astronomical Society of Malta together with the Tumas Fenech Foundation for Education in Journalism and the Institute of Maltese Journalists shall be organising a half-day seminar on the theme of Astronomy and Science in the Media.
 
This seminar shall also be held on the occasion of the International Year of Astronomy.  The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global effort initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery.
 
Everyone should realise the impact of astronomy and other fundamental sciences on our daily lives, and understand how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society. IYA2009 activities are taking place locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. National Nodes in each country are running activities throughout 2009 which will establish collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers, science centres and science communicators, involving 141 countries around the world.
 
During this seminar an international project “Moon for all Mankind” will be launched.  This project involves several countries around the world in order to photograph the moon in the spirit of Apollo 11 “in peace for all mankind”.  The final collage of images of the moon and an animated feature will then be distributed around the world as collaboration between the different countries taking part.
 
This seminar shall be held on Saturday 4 July 2009, at the Halland Hotel, Tal-Ibraġġ and the programme shall be as follows:
 
09:00 - Session 1 - Introduction to astronomy – Alexei Pace
09:35 - Session 2 - Bad astronomy in the media – David Pace
10:10 - Session 3 - The Apollo Missions – Gordon Caruana Dingli
10:45 - Session 4 - Presentation on Nebulae & Galaxies and on the Moon for all Mankind initiative by Leonard Ellul Mercer
11:30  End of seminar
 
The seminar is open to journalists and other interested persons. Those wishing to attend should send an e-mail to: alexei.pace@g.mail.com by Tuesday 31st June.