About

Astronomy is the most ancient discipline of science and one of its unique features is its multicultural roots. This stems from the fact that every person in the world has a profound relationship with the sky and the stars. This session explored the relationship between astronomy, culture and society; appraised the value, relevance and significance of indigenous astronomy. This predates western academic astronomy by thousands of years. This session concludes by revisiting challenges experienced in the teaching of indigenous astronomy and appropriate pedagogical approaches were shared.
Some of the challenges noted are the absence of indigenous astronomy content in school curricula in many countries, inaccurate representation, constant description of this knowledge and practices as irrational and absence of training and support for teachers. Reflexivity, recognition of epistemological diversity and willingness to engage in intercultural dialogues are imperative for the successful teaching of indigenous knowledge.
Appreciating multiple facets of different astronomies allows us to better understand how human ideas and models of the sky are generated. The teaching of indigenous astronomy presents us with an excellent opportunity to rehumanize science and society