Understanding the influence of solar variability on the Earth's climate requires knowledge of solar variability, solar-terrestrial interactions and observations, as well as mechanisms determining the response of the Earth's climate system. A summary of our current understanding from observational and modeling studies is presented with special focus on the “top-down” stratospheric UV and the “bottom-up” air-sea coupling mechanisms linking solar forcing and natural climate variability.

This Focus Meeting was about the global developmental impact that all aspects related to astronomy can deliver. The interdisciplinary nature of the meeting made it relevant to all IAU Divisions and the professional astronomy community in general. The manner in which the strategic plan has been designed and the way in which OAD implements it allows for input and innovation from the professional community both to develop the astronomy field globally and to stimulate the developmental benefits arising from the astronomy field. IAU members have played a key role in every stage of implementation of the strategic plan, from its ratification, through to strong participation in its implementation. This meeting served to report back to them in terms of progress, as well as seek input from them in terms of shaping the way forward.

I shall review the content of the IAU Strategic Plan (SP) to use astronomy as a tool for stimulating development globally during the decade 2010 - 2020. Considerable progress has been made in its implementation since the last General Assembly.

The ambition of the IAU's decadal strategic plan is to use astronomy to stimulate development globally. The Office of Astronomy for Development was established in 2011 to implement this visionary plan. This talk will reflect on the past, present and future activities of the office, and describe the status of implementation of the plan at this halfway point in the 2010- decade.

Astronomy for development projects conceive of development in very broad terms and seek to affect a wide range of social outcomes. The histories of education, development economics and science communication research indicate that positive social impacts are often difficult to achieve. Without a scientific approach, astronomy's potential as a tool for development may never be realised nor recognised. Evidence-informed project design increases the chances of a project's success and likely impact while reducing the risk of unintended negative outcomes. The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) Impact Cycle is presented here as a possible framework for integrating evaluation and evidence-based practice in global Astronomy outreach and education delivery. The suggested framework offers a way to gradually accumulate knowledge about which approaches are effective and which are not, enabling the astronomy community to gradually increase its social impact by building on its successes.

In 2012, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), through its Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), established the three Task Forces which drive global activities using astronomy as a tool to stimulate development. These Task Forces are: (i) Astronomy for Universities and Research; (ii) Astronomy for Children and Schools; and (iii) Astronomy for the Public.

A brief description of International Aerospace School (IASS) is given.

Science and technology play a key role in economic development; and Universities have a direct stake in this process. A knowledge-based economy requires scientific and technological expertise that is strongly influenced by the strength of training in science and technology. However, in Uganda not many students opt for science subject at higher levels, and subsequently in the University. Therefore, there is need to encourage and motivate students to study science subjects in order for this to be successful. This can be achieved through introduction of stimulating subjects such as astronomy in the university curriculum. Astronomy is considered as the most appealing subject and an excellent tool for conveying scientific knowledge to young students. In this paper, the role that astronomy has played to motivate and interest students to study physics in Mbarara University of Science and Technology, in Uganda, is discussed.

The West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers (WAISSYA) is a week-long program for university science students and teachers from West Africa to develop their interest in astronomy. The first summer school was held in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2013; the second Summer School was held in Nsukka, Nigeria, in July 2015. West Africa has a large number of students interested in science, but a paucity of facilities or interest from funding bodies in developing West African astronomy. Our broad goals for the WAISSYA program are: (1) to introduce West African students to astronomy; (2) to exchange ideas about teaching and learning in West Africa and abroad; and (3) to continue building a sustained astronomy partnership between West Africa and Canada. We now briefly describe three defining aspects of WAISSYA 2015.

This presentation describes the web-based Teaching Radio Interferometer being built on the campus of the University of Cape Town, in South Africa, to train the future users of the African VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) Network (AVN).

Space Awareness (EUSPACE-AWE) will use the excitement of space to attract young people into science and technology and stimulate European and global citizenship. Our main goal is to increase the number of young people that choose space-related careers.

GalileoMobile is a non-profit, itinerant, science outreach initiative that brings Astronomy closer to young people in areas with little or no access to outreach programs. We perform astronomy-related activities in schools and communities we visit and encourage follow-up activities through teacher training workshops and the donation of telescopes and other educational resources. GalileoMobile also extends its impact to a worldwide audience through deliverable products. Our work is shared worldwide through the production of documentaries, books and a wide range of Internet resources (OfficialWebsite - www.galileo-mobile.org - and Blog, Facebook page, Google+,Twitter, Youtube and Vimeo). GalileoMobile is an unprecedented initiative promoting science knowledge and the interaction beyond borders through Astronomy while raising awareness for the diversity of human cultures, conveying the message of “unity under the same sky”. We take advantage of the local astronomical culture of the visited communities to establish a dialogue between different ways of understanding the world and to share different types of knowledge (historic, scientific, anthropological . . .), encouraging a process of mutual learning.

When an area of education, and more particularly the research within this area, is aimed to development, one of the basic requirements is the existence of a regular publication that accounts for the scientific production in that area. This study aims to analyze 10 years of Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA) [http://www.relea.ufscar.br/].

Task Force 3 is focused on public outreach. A number of projects have been funded by the OAD in the past, and in this meeting, the opportunity was provided for both funded projects as well as other non-funded projects with similar objectives.Three projects were presented during the session which sparked discussion in this area.The following outlines the talks.

The preparation for The International Year of Astronomy 2009 stirred our interest in preparing star parties in Mexico. The lunar eclipse of February 20th 2008 was the perfect event for the first massive observation in Mexico City that attracted over 25,000 people. To accompany this event there were additional attractions: a massive astronomical lecture, more than 100 telescopes were set up for people to watch the sky, exhibits of astronomical images, children hands-on projects, rock concert, dance performance, and chats with astronomers. Already in 2009 a collective program was organized to involve more than 30 sites in Mexico to hold star parties at the same time once a year. These star parties were more in the spirit of science fairs, that include lectures, astronomy exhibits, children projects, as well as concerts and other cultural displays. The scope of each one of them depended on the local support from volunteers and from the local authorities. After the International Year of Astronomy the group that organized these star parties decided to continue its activities. The main attraction in these fairs has been the opportunity to see the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn (if observable) through a telescope. For this program the presence of the amateur astronomers has been crucial. They have brought their instruments to the sites and have generously taught the public how to look through the telescopes and pointed out to the interesting features on the sky.

A country-wide awareness campaign was conducted in India on the trail of Comet ISON, which built upon the networks created during IYA2009, thus maximising its reach.

The first IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Task Force 3 project on light pollution is described along with evaluations and recommendations for future projects.

At the 2012 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Office of Astronomy for Development announced a number of exciting new partnerships to assist with the IAU's decadal strategic plan (2010--2020). These landmark decisions included establishing a new coordinating centre that aims at using astronomy as a tool for development in East Asia. The agreement covers two important functions. One is known as a Regional Node, which entails the coordination of astronomy-for-development activities in countries within the general geographical region of East Asia. The other is known as a Language Expertise Centre which deals with all aspects relating to (mainly) the Chinese language and culture. The impact of the latter may obviously spread well beyond the geographical region to other parts of the world. Here we provide an update of the achievements and aims of the East Asian Office of Astronomy for Development.

Astronomy is the science in which we study about everything in the universe, in which we derive the properties of celestial objects, planets, stars, galaxies and so on. These properties deduce the laws by which the universe operates. Astronomy is a remarkable subject which has had a profound effect on the human curiosity and inspiration. So, Astronomy can be used as powerful tool for the development of human resources and human capacity buildings on Science and Technology.

In the developing world astronomy had been treated as the science of elites. As a result of this overwhelming perception, astronomy compared with other applied sciences has got less attention and its role in development has been insignificant. However, the IAU General Assembly decision in 2009 opened new opportunity for countries and professionals to deeply look into Astronomy and its role in development. Then, the subsequent establishment of regional offices in the developing world is helping countries to integrate astronomy with other earth and space based sciences so as to progressively promote its scientific and development importance. Gradually nations have come to know that space is the frontier of tomorrow and the urgency of preeminence on space frontier starts at primary school and ascends to tertiary education. For this to happen, member nations in east African region have placed STEM education at the center of their education system. For instance, Ethiopian has changed University enrollment strategy to be in favor of science and engineering subjects, i.e. every year seventy percent of new University entrants join science and engineering fields while thirty percent social science and humanities. Such bold actions truly promote astronomy to be conceived as gateway to science and technology. To promote the concept of astronomy for development the East African regional office has actually aligned it activities to be in line with the focus areas identified by the IAU strategy (2010 to 2020).