{"id":552,"date":"2025-09-26T06:30:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T06:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/?p=552"},"modified":"2025-09-26T06:47:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T06:47:21","slug":"skaos-impact-highlighted-to-g20-during-week-of-engagement-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/skaos-impact-highlighted-to-g20-during-week-of-engagement-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"SKAO\u2019s impact highlighted to G20 during week of engagement in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Representatives of the world\u2019s largest economies were briefed on the societal impact of the SKA Observatory and its partners in a week that culminated with a visit to the South African SKA site.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first time the SKA Observatory (SKAO) was invited to participate in a series of G20-related events on the occasion of South Africa\u2019s presidency of the prestigious international forum.<\/p>\n

The G20 brings together 19 of the world\u2019s biggest economies as well as the European Union and African Union to discuss economic, development, and social issues. Together, the nations represent 85% of the world\u2019s income, three quarters of international trade, and over half of the world\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

Addressing the G20<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond was invited to address the G20 Research and Innovation Ministerial Meeting in Pretoria, the first opportunity for the observatory to highlight both its science and socio-economic impact directly to the Science Ministers of each country, over half of which are taking part in the international organisation. In his speech, Prof. Diamond highlighted the benefits radio astronomy has brought to society \u2013 including the awarding of three Nobel Prizes and the development of Wi-Fi \u2013 and the role the SKA Observatory is playing in helping to address societal challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith its 16 participating countries spread across five continents, the SKA Observatory is truly testament to the power of science to have a positive impact,\u201d said SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond.<\/p>\n

The observatory is responsible for building and operating two of the world\u2019s largest radio telescopes, one in South Africa, and the other in Australia, and has its headquarters in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn building these two giant, complex cutting-edge machines, this unique global collaboration of nations is also tackling some of society\u2019s biggest challenges,\u201d he added,\u00a0\u201clike providing decent work, economic growth and quality education, driving innovation, embracing cleaner energy, preserving Indigenous culture and heritage, protecting life on land as well as dark and quiet skies, and striving for a truly diverse workforce, all themes that feature prominently on the G20 agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

A first SKAO Ministerial Council<\/strong><\/p>\n

Later that day, SKAO member states and observers held their first ministerial-level council meeting, where commitment to the observatory as a tool to advance scientific knowledge, foster international cooperation, and drive socio-economic impact was reaffirmed.<\/p>\n

The meeting was an opportunity to brief the ministers and representatives on the current status of the project, as well as its impact.<\/p>\n

Participating countries are already benefiting from close to 900 million euros in industrial contracts allocated so far, as well as the development of a global research and computing ecosystem around the project.<\/p>\n

G20 representatives visit the South African SKA site<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a high-level visit to the South African SKA site in the Northern Cape took place, co-organised by the SKAO, the South African Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI), and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).<\/p>\n

Delegations from 26 countries were welcomed on site by DSTI, the SKAO, the\u00a0National Research Foundation and SARAO in front of South African and international media.<\/p>\n

The visit offered a unique opportunity to highlight to representatives of the world\u2019s largest economies how investment in radio astronomy and the SKA Observatory are bringing tangible benefits for society at a time of increased competition and challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAstronomy has been a strategic priority for South Africa, and the SKA project embodies this vision. It\u2019s more than a scientific endeavour, it\u2019s a driver for socio economic transformation, and a catalyst for developing the next generation of scientists, innovators, and engineers,\u201d said Dr Mlungisi Cele, Director-General of DSTI.<\/p>\n

Visitors interacted with beneficiaries of various support programmes funded by SARAO as well as international partners, from local school children taking part in international robotics competitions, newly trained night sky guides to support a nascent astronomy tourism industry and rangers to help manage the Meerkat National Park, as well as established and aspiring artists contributing to the SKAO\u2019s Cosmic Echoes astronomy art exhibition that will soon travel internationally.<\/p>\n

The event also highlighted the work of the International Astronomical Union in support of the United Nations\u2019 sustainable development goals, from projects that leverage astronomy to support development in underserved communities, to advocating for the protection of dark and quiet skies for society in the face of increased numbers of satellites in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

Delegations also had the opportunity to see up close a variety of key telescope hardware being manufactured across SKAO member countries.<\/p>\n

The SKAO is making excellent progress constructing the 197-dish SKA-Mid, located in South Africa and the 130,000-antenna SKA-Low, in Australia. Both telescopes have recently \u2018opened their eyes\u2019 on the Universe as the systems are being slowly brought into operation, with five dishes now assembled on the site in South Africa, alongside the 64 existing MeerKAT dishes and the 14 new MeerKAT Extension dishes provided by Germany and Italy; across in Australia 12,000 antennas have now been deployed.<\/p>\n

At its core, the construction of the SKA telescopes is driven by ambitious science goals that will fundamentally alter our current understanding of the Universe over the coming decades, positioning the SKAO as one of the world\u2019s premier international research infrastructures of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Mr. Khaya Mntsantsa was part of the international media contingent invited by SKAO<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Representatives of the world\u2019s largest economies were briefed on the societal impact of the SKA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":555,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions\/555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}