250
appreciated the visibility and importance that their island was gaining thanks
to astronomy.
A number of important experts in astrophysics, biology, the environment,
lighting, tourism, education, and even lawyers met in La Palma in 2007.
There were more than 200 participants. The President of the Canarian
Government, the Minister for the Environment, the Vice-president of the
European Parliament, the President of the Biosphere Reserve of La Palma, the
Director of the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences of UNESCO, and
I presided over the inaugural session.
Animated, productive, and heated discussions and working groups were
formed. A document approved by the conference was drafted in Spanish and
English, and was distributed worldwide as the ‘Declaration in Defence of the
Night Sky and the Right to Starlight’. It was presented in a solemn public
ceremony in the patio of the San Francisco Convent (converted since the IAC
inaugurations of 1985 into a museum and cultural centre). It was a huge
success.
The IAC organized a series of parallel popular astronomical events in various municipalities on the island, with conferences and even a touring
Cosmoneta van of the Museum of Science and the Cosmos. There were also
two exhibitions in Santa Cruz de la Palma. One, ‘Astronomy for All Publics’,
demonstrating the Gran Telescopio Canarias, whose first light was scheduled
for the following summer, was presided over by the King and Queen of Spain
in the San Francisco Convent in Santa Cruz de La Palma. There were models
and large-format photographs of both the telescope and Roque de los
Muchachos Observatory. The other exhibition, Cosmocolor was held at Salazar
Palace and exhibited the best photographs of the sky obtained by amateurs
who had participated in the Fotocósmica contest, also organized by the IAC.
To hammer the nail home, in 2009 we organized in La Palma an international meeting of experts in the patrimony of humanity, intelligent lighting,
nocturnal sky protection, Starlight Reserves, and star tourism. The title of the
meeting was ‘Where the Earth Meets the Universe’. It was another success
with wide technical and media coverage.
The ‘Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight’
began with a series of considerations and principles based on socio–cultural
realities and international resolutions, such as the United Nations Universal
Declaration of the Human Rights of Future Generations, which says: ‘Persons
belonging to future generations have the right to an unspoilt and uncontaminated earth, including the right to a clear sky’.
I cannot resist mentioning that the phrase ‘including the right to a clean
sky’ is the result of a discussion I had many years ago with Commander
F. Sánchez
appreciated the visibility and importance that their island was gaining thanks
to astronomy.
A number of important experts in astrophysics, biology, the environment,
lighting, tourism, education, and even lawyers met in La Palma in 2007.
There were more than 200 participants. The President of the Canarian
Government, the Minister for the Environment, the Vice-president of the
European Parliament, the President of the Biosphere Reserve of La Palma, the
Director of the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences of UNESCO, and
I presided over the inaugural session.
Animated, productive, and heated discussions and working groups were
formed. A document approved by the conference was drafted in Spanish and
English, and was distributed worldwide as the ‘Declaration in Defence of the
Night Sky and the Right to Starlight’. It was presented in a solemn public
ceremony in the patio of the San Francisco Convent (converted since the IAC
inaugurations of 1985 into a museum and cultural centre). It was a huge
success.
The IAC organized a series of parallel popular astronomical events in various municipalities on the island, with conferences and even a touring
Cosmoneta van of the Museum of Science and the Cosmos. There were also
two exhibitions in Santa Cruz de la Palma. One, ‘Astronomy for All Publics’,
demonstrating the Gran Telescopio Canarias, whose first light was scheduled
for the following summer, was presided over by the King and Queen of Spain
in the San Francisco Convent in Santa Cruz de La Palma. There were models
and large-format photographs of both the telescope and Roque de los
Muchachos Observatory. The other exhibition, Cosmocolor was held at Salazar
Palace and exhibited the best photographs of the sky obtained by amateurs
who had participated in the Fotocósmica contest, also organized by the IAC.
To hammer the nail home, in 2009 we organized in La Palma an international meeting of experts in the patrimony of humanity, intelligent lighting,
nocturnal sky protection, Starlight Reserves, and star tourism. The title of the
meeting was ‘Where the Earth Meets the Universe’. It was another success
with wide technical and media coverage.
The ‘Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight’
began with a series of considerations and principles based on socio–cultural
realities and international resolutions, such as the United Nations Universal
Declaration of the Human Rights of Future Generations, which says: ‘Persons
belonging to future generations have the right to an unspoilt and uncontaminated earth, including the right to a clear sky’.
I cannot resist mentioning that the phrase ‘including the right to a clean
sky’ is the result of a discussion I had many years ago with Commander
F. Sánchez