The central hub of the IAU IYA2009 activities is the Secretariat established by the IAU to coordinate the IYA2009 activities during the planning, execution and evaluation of the Year.

Secretariat's Mission Statement
• To assure the correct implementation of the IYA2009 vision, goals and objectives
• To plan, execute, coordinate and evaluate the global IYA2009 activities, projects and events
• To liaise continuously with the Single Points of Contacts, Task Groups, Official Partners, Sponsors, Associates, Media Partners and Event Sponsors to ensure the progress of the IYA2009 at all levels.
• To serve the astronomy community, media and society with respect to all global IYA2009 issues

IAU Coordinator for IYA2009

Pedro Russo Pedro coordinates the implementation of the IYA2009 globally. He is the first point of contact for international matters re. IYA2009. Pedro supports external requests from Single Points of Contact, journalists, scientists and the general public, prepares generic and event-related outreach material, and interfaces with the hundreds of national and organizational IYA nodes. Bio: He obtained his University degree in applied mathematics/physics/astronomy and his Master’s Degree in geophysics from the University of Porto, Portugal. Before assuming his current position, as IAU Coordinator for IYA2009, he spent one year and half working with data from the Venus Monitoring Camera onboard ESA’s Venus Express. In the meanwhile Pedro has been working with different international organizations, like Europlanet (European Planetology Network), IAU Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public and EGU Earth and Space Science Informatics Division. Contact details: E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Phone: +49 (0) 89 320 06 195 Fax: +49 (0) 89 320 2362

IYA2009 Coordination Assistant

Mariana Barrosa Mariana supports the planning, coordination, preparation, implementation and revision of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and other joint programming processes. Bio: She obtained degrees in International Relations (University Fernando Pessoa, Portugal) and Cooperation and Managemanet of non-profit organizations (ISAG, Portugal) and a Master’s Degree in Communicating Science (University of Glamorgan, UK). Before assuming her current position, she worked as assistant manager for Navegar Foundation in Portugal and was involved in several space science projects in Europe.

Lars Lindberg Christensen Lars manages the IYA2009 Secretariat, i.e. oversees the strategy of the project, the economy (incl. fund raising) and ensures a smooth daily workflow. Bio: Lars is a science communication specialist heading the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre group and the IAU Press Office in Munich, Germany. There, he is responsible for public outreach and education for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in Europe and for the IAU Press Office global activities. He obtained his Master’s Degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Before assuming his current position, he spent a decade working as a science communicator and technical specialist for Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen. Contact details: E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Phone: +49 (0) 89 320 06 306 Fax: +49 (0) 89 320 2362