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The Town Hall of Santa Cruz de la Palma and the Cabildo are now creating
a Science Walk in the new seafront promenade with stars commemorating,
Hollywood style, the names of famous scientists who promote the island
through their observations at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. I was
very pleased to read in the press that the Nobel laureate Samuel Ting has been
awarded one of these stars. In the words of the current President of the
Cabildo: ‘It is a source of great pride to see the wide consensus and support
that many kinds of institutions and the public at large in declaring La Palma
to be the island of the stars. It is a well-earned and established trade mark that
distinguishes us as a singular destination in a regional, national, and international context’.
It has been a long and arduous journey. More than thirty years have passed,
but the reward is a welcome one.
I have already mentioned, with reference to the Starlight Conference of
2007 and the La Palma Declaration, that these have helped us in finally establishing the Starlight Foundation for the popularization of astronomy. In 2009
the Foundation was presented for registration and delivered its statutes to the
Canarian Registry for Foundations. But its registration was not completed
until 2011, a mere two years of bureaucracy—not bad going!
The Starlight Foundation was established to popularize astronomy and
manage, boost, and disseminate the philosophy and principles contained in
the La Palma Declaration. It was created by the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias and a firm called Corporación 5 (C5), with a majority holding by
the latter, precisely so that its legal character would that of be a private company, thereby avoiding bureaucratic red tape. Specifically, the IAC put up
5000 euros and C5, 6000 euros. The creation of a foundation with a capital
less than 30,000 euros is not normally permitted, and it was difficult to convince the authorities that we would make up the shortfall in the Foundation’s
social capital in the future, this being one of the reasons behind the formal
establishment of the Foundation.
The activities pursued or promoted by the Foundation are fundamentally
based on the spreading of scientific knowledge in general culture through
astronomy and the protection of the starry sky as a top level scientific, cultural, environmental, and touristic treasure. It strives to ensure that uncontaminated skies are also seen as a natural resource for the economic development
of depressed regions. As a matter of fact, astrotourism is on the rise and presupposes intelligent illumination, energy saving, and the protection of many
nocturnal species.
A basic tool for fulfilling these objectives is the international system of certifications created by the Foundation with the backing of UNESCO, the
F. Sánchez
The Town Hall of Santa Cruz de la Palma and the Cabildo are now creating
a Science Walk in the new seafront promenade with stars commemorating,
Hollywood style, the names of famous scientists who promote the island
through their observations at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. I was
very pleased to read in the press that the Nobel laureate Samuel Ting has been
awarded one of these stars. In the words of the current President of the
Cabildo: ‘It is a source of great pride to see the wide consensus and support
that many kinds of institutions and the public at large in declaring La Palma
to be the island of the stars. It is a well-earned and established trade mark that
distinguishes us as a singular destination in a regional, national, and international context’.
It has been a long and arduous journey. More than thirty years have passed,
but the reward is a welcome one.
I have already mentioned, with reference to the Starlight Conference of
2007 and the La Palma Declaration, that these have helped us in finally establishing the Starlight Foundation for the popularization of astronomy. In 2009
the Foundation was presented for registration and delivered its statutes to the
Canarian Registry for Foundations. But its registration was not completed
until 2011, a mere two years of bureaucracy—not bad going!
The Starlight Foundation was established to popularize astronomy and
manage, boost, and disseminate the philosophy and principles contained in
the La Palma Declaration. It was created by the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias and a firm called Corporación 5 (C5), with a majority holding by
the latter, precisely so that its legal character would that of be a private company, thereby avoiding bureaucratic red tape. Specifically, the IAC put up
5000 euros and C5, 6000 euros. The creation of a foundation with a capital
less than 30,000 euros is not normally permitted, and it was difficult to convince the authorities that we would make up the shortfall in the Foundation’s
social capital in the future, this being one of the reasons behind the formal
establishment of the Foundation.
The activities pursued or promoted by the Foundation are fundamentally
based on the spreading of scientific knowledge in general culture through
astronomy and the protection of the starry sky as a top level scientific, cultural, environmental, and touristic treasure. It strives to ensure that uncontaminated skies are also seen as a natural resource for the economic development
of depressed regions. As a matter of fact, astrotourism is on the rise and presupposes intelligent illumination, energy saving, and the protection of many
nocturnal species.
A basic tool for fulfilling these objectives is the international system of certifications created by the Foundation with the backing of UNESCO, the
F. Sánchez