I discuss the second IAU Strategic Plan for the decade 2020–30 in the context of the overall evolution of the IAU in recent past decades. This article shows how the IAU has evolved dramatically since WW2. It is hardly recognizable in terms of its original organization and goals of a century ago. What was once an inward-looking body engaged purely with the procedures of astronomical research is now a dynamic and outward-looking organization, interacting with people, especially students and the public.

A large part of this success must be attributed to the IAU’s unique body of individual members, whose number has grown strongly in recent decades. It is the individual members, especially through the Commissions and Working Groups, who have promoted these enormous changes in the outlook of the Union. This is a model for other scientific unions to follow, and especially for the work to promote the careers of women in science, for promoting the careers of young astronomers, for bringing students into astronomy or into science in general, for helping people with disabilities to have careers in astronomy, for engaging with the public, and for helping to develop astronomy and science in developing countries.

Looking to the future, the IAU’s new Strategic Plan for the years 2020 to 2030 has five major goals for the coming decade: 1. The IAU leads the worldwide coordination of astronomy and the fostering of communication and dissemination of astronomical knowledge among professional astronomers. 2. The IAU promotes the inclusive advancement of the field of astronomy in every country. 3. The IAU promotes the use of astronomy as a tool for development in every country. 4. The IAU engages the public in astronomy through access to astronomical information and communication of the science of astronomy. 5. The IAU stimulates the use of astronomy for teaching and education at school level.

Future developments will also be engaging with the large number of amateur astronomers and helping to promote astro-tourism, which is perhaps the new frontier now growing rapidly around the world. The Strategic Plan is a blueprint for forging a social revolution in astronomy and for using astronomy as a tool for building a progressive society.

When we talk about Astronomy, we normally do not take into account that we are using a cultural specific way of understanding the sky. Astronomers, either professional, amateur or just lovers of the sky nowadays tend to approach the sky from the point of view of modern science. There, we approach the sky as something that needs to be explored, understood and explained.

However, this vision was not always like that, or even in other cultures is/was completely different. For centuries, the human being has comprehended the sky, its changes and constancies, as part of their world, as part of the environment, as part of their everyday life.

In this paper, I review a few of these different ways of approaching the sky in several cultures, from the Near East to Rome or the Andes and how we can use them today for education, outreach and heritage management.

We developed a method to identify potential astro-tourism sites by considering parameters characteristically relevant to astronomical observation such as air quality, dark sky quality, annual average cloud coverage, as well as terrain feature. Applying this method on Indonesia by perusing data from Geographic Information System and applying Multi Criteria Decision Analysis we identify a number of potential astro-tourism sites. We cross correlate this with Indonesia Tourist Destination to produce a list of recommended sites. Fulfilling the astrotourism criteria is one sure way towards sustainable tourism.

The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is a new reserve created in 2012 by the International Dark-Sky Association in the central South Island of New Zealand, and covers over 4300 square kilometres around Mt John University Observatory. It is the first such reserve to be recognized at gold tier level and is the largest dark sky reserve in the world. Astro-tourism in the new reserve will be a prominent activity in the coming years.