Good science can be done with small instruments. Very productive research in the area of short period interacting binary systems has been conducted by the authors with PMT’s and small CCD cameras attached to 0.28 m to 0.9-m instruments. A summary of important results over the past fourteen years is presented along with current work on the interesting semidetached and contact solar type systems TY UMa, V523 Cas, CN And, VZ Psc and BE Cep. Light curve asymmetries in CN And, BE Cep and possibly others indicate the presence of gas streams. This may signal that they are undergoing evolution into contact, an important but rarely observed stage in binary star evolution. Period studies are presented for each of the systems, documenting interesting orbital histories. V523 Cas and TY UMa display large period changes giving evidence of a light time effect due to a third body. This research has been largely supported at the local level and by small research grants from the American Astronomical Society.

We report the activity of continued and sequential cooperation among Asian countries/regions, especially in East Asia. Such efforts started in 1990 from a small-size China-Korea-Japan meeting on star-forming regions. Being aware of the importance of cooperation among those neighboring countries, participants agreed to hold sequential “East Asian Meetings for Astronomy (EAMA)”. The 1992 meeting entitled “Millimeter-Wave and Infrared Astronomy” was held in Korea, the 1995 meeting entitled “Ground-Based Astronomy in Asia” was held in Japan, and the 1999 meeting entitled “Observational Astrophysics in Asia and its Future” was held in China. These meetings achieved quite high activity with 100-200 participants, each. An important product of those meetings was active exchange between young astronomers, including graduate students. The primary aim of these meetings/activities was to promote small but practical cooperation in the field of astronomical instrumentation, as well as to widen the contact among Asian astronomers. An East-Asian co-experiment to search for good sites for a possible “Asian Observatory” was among such efforts. The close cooperation between Japan, China (Peoples’ Republic and Taipei) and Korea, on millimeter and sub-millimeter wave technology is another good example of joint developments of new instruments.

Several developing countries of the Third World have been actively interested in astronomy, as is evidenced by the membership of the IAU. The enthusiasm of individual astronomers from these countries is, however, not matched by the resources available to them to pursue their interest in astronomy, in teaching as well as research, at an above-threshold level. Major problems requiring solutions are (i) isolation from the mainstream work, which leads to research work which is not quite relevant or realistic, and to teaching based on outdated knowledge; (ii) lack of financial resources, leading to shortage of books and journals in the library, insufficient computing power, out-of-date instruments, as well as inability to participate in essential activities like schools, workshops, and major international conferences and symposia; and (iii) lack of hands-on experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation that often leads to good scientists being turned away from astronomical observations towards abstract theories.

Experience of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy and of the inter-university centres in India, like the IUCAA at Pune, has shown that limited resources can be made to go a long way by sharing, networking and intelligent use of communications technology. Based on the above experience, this proposal envisages setting up a Third World Astronomy Network (TWAN) under the auspices of the IAU, within the wider ICSU-umbrella with support from the UNESCO as well as participating nations. The TWAN will operate with a few key institutions as local nodal points of a wide network. The objectives of the proposed TWAN and the role of the Nodal Institutions (NIs) are spelled out in this proposal, along with the budgetary support required.

Providing adequate security for equipment is probably a problem in all parts of the world, but needs special consideration in developing countries. Social and economic conditions are very different so that implementation of advice sought from experts who are unfamiliar with local conditions can lead to disasters.

The need for adequate security must be taken into account while considering factors such as type of equipment, the site for the equipment, budgetary provisions, personnel etc.

Some examples of situations that may arise will be given in order to provoke discussion and raise the awareness of participants on this important issue.

Astronomers from non-English-speaking countries, who form a sizeable proportion of the astronomical research community, are obliged to communicate the results of their investigations in a language that is not their own. Consequently, good science is frequently masked by poor command of English, which can create an unnecessary barrier to the communication of scientific results. A suggested method of surmounting the language barrier is the setting up of scientific editorial services in at least the major astronomical centres. It is further argued that journal editors, rather than scientific referees, should be responsible for judging the linguistic and stylistic quality of articles presented for publication. The peer-review system would then be restricted exclusively to the scientific rather than linguistic content of papers presented.

The scientific Editorial Service of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, in operation since 1996, is briefly described in this context.

The problems and rewards of shipping astronomical books to libraries in developing countries are discussed, with particular reference to the author’s own experience from his base at the Royal Astronomical Society.

The acquisition of books and journals for a scientific library is costly. To ensure that this is a cost-effective process, consideration must be given to the arrangement, care and preservation of the collection. The books should be stored in a designated library area. Items acquired by purchase or donation must be catalogued, and a loan record kept. Besides regular library routines, attention must be given to the protection and preservation of the collection. Among the factors that contribute to the deterioration of library materials are temperature and humidity within the storage area, air pollution, dust, light and pests. Unchecked, they may cause serious damage to library materials at a very fast rate. If they are controlled, deterioration is greatly reduced.

The use made of electronic access to journals by astronomers in some developing countries is estimated and compared with the use made of it by astronomers in developed countries.

Astronomers nowadays have a wealth of sophisticated publishing software at their fingertips, but are they achieving acceptable standards of presentation?

Non-commercial astronomical publications have been freely distributed worldwide to relevant institutions for more than a century. Astronomers have considered collaboration a very important aspect of their work and, to assist them, librarians have established a supportive international network.

An electronic newsletter was launched in Latin America with the purpose of fostering communication and collaboration between the national astronomical communities. The unique characteristics of this newsletter are presented, together with the first results and plans for the future.

IAU membership is a good indicator of a nationally organized astronomical community. Although IAU membership statistics for Africa continue to be very poor, other indicators (such as publications) suggest that there are many individual scientists in Africa who are attempting research or promoting education in astronomy. The Working Group on Space Sciences in Africa seeks to support these individuals through various means. This poster provides an overview of astronomy in Africa and the activities of this Working Group.

The beneficial effects of road lighting are often seen as very important. They relate to reducing road accidents and some forms of crime but also enhance the social safety of residents and pedestrians and the amenity for residents. Road traffic in developing countries is much more hazardous than in industrialized countries. Accident rates in ‘low’ income countries may be as much as 35 times higher than in ‘high’ income countries. Thus, it might be much more cost-effective to light roads in the developing world than in the industrialized world. Fighting light pollution is more pressing in developing countries as most of the major high-class astronomical observatories are there. Astronomical observations are disturbed by light from outdoor lighting installations, part of which is scattered in the atmosphere to form ‘sky glow’. The International Lighting Commission CIE has published a Technical Report giving general guidance for lighting designers and policy makers on the reduction of the sky glow.

With clear skies most of the year, low levels of light and industrial pollution and location (we can see 96% of the celestial sphere) Zimbabwe is an excellent place for astronomy. For nearly 100 years a small but dedicated and talented band of amateur astronomers have been making hundreds of observations of occultations and variable stars, and contibuted 10% of the global total of reports to the International Halley Watch. The Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (Harare Centre) is 25 years old and the largest telescopes (mostly ‘home-made’) in the country are owned by members. Active preparations for the next two solar eclipses include site selection, coordination or safaris and free distribution of information packs and over 100 000 eclipse viewers to all schools. If the economy doesn’t collapse, good government and respect for law and order return, the planes keep flying and fuel shortages end, we look forward to welcoming hundreds of eclipse watchers to a dramatic 3 minute spectacle on 21 June 2001.

The Special Session closed with a general discussion led by a panel consisting of R.K. Kochhar (India, moderator), M. Gerbaldi (Prance), A. Ubachukwu (Nigeria) and M.C. Pineda de Carias (Honduras) and then opened to general participation. The account given here has been prepared by the Editor from summaries provided by the four panellists, notes taken during the discussion and records of the questions and answers provided by the other participants.