209
I was delighted to hear these words from the mouth of this renowned Nobel
laureate. It was more or less what we had been thinking all along. It felt like a
pat on the back for the strategies we had been following at the IAC from its
very beginnings.
A direct recompense for our efforts is to sense the popular acceptance of the
IAC in the Canaries in the form of the tangible pride felt by the islanders for
their Astrofísico. This both encourages and protects us. On more than one
occasion popular movements have prevented governments of the day from
causing us too much harm, as mentioned in Chap. 12.
I cite two awards by way of illustration. Both awards are in recognition of
the research work of the IAC, its efforts in developing technology, its training
of personnel, etc., but they are also closely linked to our continuous striving
to communicate our activities and science in general.
In 2005 the IAC was awarded the first El Mundo Canaries Prize, granted
jointly by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and the newspaper El Mundo. As
reported in that newspaper, ‘Few institutions on the islands have achieved
such a status beyond the Archipelago as the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias, a body which, from its headquarters in La Laguna and its observing
centres on the peaks of La Palma and Tenerife, has obtained the maximum
possible yield from the spectacular conditions of the Canarian skies’.
The IAC was awarded the Canaries 2007 Prize by the Canarian Government
for ‘building fraternity among peoples, contributing to collaborations with
other countries, and aiding the progress of humanity’. The prize calls attention to the international visibility that the IAC’s scientific activity gives to the
Canaries and rewards its great efforts in the popularization of astrophysical
topics in Canarian society.
As I said at the beginning of this chapter and underline now, all that has
been described here is the work of very many people, and I hope it continues
to be so.
We are all aware of the tragedy that is about to befall us with climate change.
I am convinced that only if the blight of humanity is capable of immersing
itself in a culture of the latest scientific knowledge and of acting accordingly
will this world perhaps avoid catastrophe. If not, all that will remain is to
await the impact of a giant asteroid so that life can begin all over again on this
ill-used planet. Let us enter into reason!
20 Bringing Astronomy to the Public (1986–Present)
I was delighted to hear these words from the mouth of this renowned Nobel
laureate. It was more or less what we had been thinking all along. It felt like a
pat on the back for the strategies we had been following at the IAC from its
very beginnings.
A direct recompense for our efforts is to sense the popular acceptance of the
IAC in the Canaries in the form of the tangible pride felt by the islanders for
their Astrofísico. This both encourages and protects us. On more than one
occasion popular movements have prevented governments of the day from
causing us too much harm, as mentioned in Chap. 12.
I cite two awards by way of illustration. Both awards are in recognition of
the research work of the IAC, its efforts in developing technology, its training
of personnel, etc., but they are also closely linked to our continuous striving
to communicate our activities and science in general.
In 2005 the IAC was awarded the first El Mundo Canaries Prize, granted
jointly by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and the newspaper El Mundo. As
reported in that newspaper, ‘Few institutions on the islands have achieved
such a status beyond the Archipelago as the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias, a body which, from its headquarters in La Laguna and its observing
centres on the peaks of La Palma and Tenerife, has obtained the maximum
possible yield from the spectacular conditions of the Canarian skies’.
The IAC was awarded the Canaries 2007 Prize by the Canarian Government
for ‘building fraternity among peoples, contributing to collaborations with
other countries, and aiding the progress of humanity’. The prize calls attention to the international visibility that the IAC’s scientific activity gives to the
Canaries and rewards its great efforts in the popularization of astrophysical
topics in Canarian society.
As I said at the beginning of this chapter and underline now, all that has
been described here is the work of very many people, and I hope it continues
to be so.
We are all aware of the tragedy that is about to befall us with climate change.
I am convinced that only if the blight of humanity is capable of immersing
itself in a culture of the latest scientific knowledge and of acting accordingly
will this world perhaps avoid catastrophe. If not, all that will remain is to
await the impact of a giant asteroid so that life can begin all over again on this
ill-used planet. Let us enter into reason!
20 Bringing Astronomy to the Public (1986–Present)