From 25 to 28 June 2019, Thai educators and outreach professionals gathered in NARIT Regional Observatory for the Public, Chachoengsao to attend the first national inclusive astronomy workshop in Thailand.  

The workshop received nearly 40 Thai professionals from around the country that attended the four-day workshop hosted by the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT). The international invited speaker was Beatriz Garcia, the IAU National Outreach Coordinator for Argentina and leader of the IAU project Hands in the Stars, the first International comparative list of astronomical words in sign languages. She delivered a set of workshops covering visual impairments and deaf or hard-of-hearing hands-on activities, including activities with tactile constellations, magnitudes and surface temperature and designing and learning astronomy sign language (five astronomy words), and more.   

“With this workshop, NARIT in close collaboration with the IAU OAO, intends to promote inclusive astronomy outreach and educational actions centred in providing professional training for the Thai national outreach practitioners.” says Wichan Insiri, the National Outreach Coordinator for Thailand and IAU100 national representative.  

The participants also experienced an inclusive observation session and a planetarium show, by organized by national speaker Mr.Suwanit Wutsang, NARIT Regional Observatory for the Public, Chachoengsao. Inspiring Stars panel exhibition and several tactile resources from the Japanese exhibition “Touch the Universe” in an exhibition at the Japan Braille Library in Tokyo earlier in the year can also be experienced during the workshop by the participants.

This is a joint organization by the NARIT, IAU100 celebrations and IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, under the framework of the IAU100 Global Project Inspiring Stars. After previous editions in Belgium, Italy, Ethiopia and Chile, the IAU100 inclusive astronomy program will continue during 2019, In September and October, the Inspiring Stars exhibition will be hosted in Italy and culminating with the first IAU Symposium on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to be hosted in Japan in November.