TOWARDS A RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE I.U.A.A.
A short reminder of past actions. The International Union of Amateur
Astronomers was born in 1969, following a proposal of Patrick Moore (U.K.), Oto
Oburka (Czechoslovakia) and Ulf R. Johansson (Sweden) during the Thirteenth
General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) in Prague, in
1967.
There was great
enthusiasm and widespread agreement among amateur astronomers on the need for
an organization such as the I.U.A.A. We had applications for membership from
countries all over the world.
Our own General
Assemblies followed one another every three years and many Presidents, Officers
and Officials worked tirelessly on behalf of our Union.
Problems arose
when some Officers, misunderstanding the aims of the Union, proposed to
organize observing programmes. This was entirely at odds with the intention of
the founder members that the I.U.A.A. should promote international
collaboration among amateur astronomers, while avoiding any possible overlap of
activities with the work of existing organisations. The obvious result was that
after a relatively brief period the I.U.A.A. lost its credibility and thereby
the participation of some important international astronomical organizations.
We look back
with regret to that first period of our Union, because while the I.U.A.A. was
becoming better known and some important work was achieved, much hard work was
to no avail. However, one important thing that came about was a “Mutual affiliation between the International Astronomical
Union (I.A.U.) and the International Union of Amateur Astronomers (I.U.A.A.)” [official
documentation signed on 18 February 1983 in Charleroi, Belgium, by R. M. West,
General Secretary of the I.A.U., J. P. Swings, Assistant General Secretary of
the I.A.U., K. J. O’Brien, President of the I.U.A.A. and L. Baldinelli,
Vice-President of the I.U.A.A.]. Also, our Union was officially registered in
Canada, the country of residence of the then President, K. J. O’Brien.
The following years were unfruitful, owing perhaps to a lack of
confidence on the part of some of the elected Officers, and the I.U.A.A.
survived – in name only – thanks to the perseverance of a few individuals who
passionately believed in its ideals and refused to write the Union off.
Now, as we are
entering a new millennium, may I, as a founder member of the Union, the person
responsible for organizing the Inaugural General Assembly (Bologna, Italy,
1969) and the Union’s first President, express the hope that we can find a way
forward?
Some basic
concepts should be restated before to try again:
a) The IUAA is a non-profit-making organization, whose aims are (from its
Constitution) “to co-ordinate the activities of amateur astronomers throughout
the world” and “to promote the study of astronomy in all its aspects”.
b) The Union should consist principally of Corporate Members (astronomical
organizations), together with Individual Members (at a nominal rate).
c) The Union should collect information
on all kinds of amateur astronomical activities, but with an absolute exclusion
of observational data. Its aim should be the global circulation of this
information for the benefit of the astronomical community (both amateur and
professional). Obviously today, 30 years after the foundation of the Union, we
have more facilities at our disposal with such things as electronic mail.
We
(the recently elected Council) seek your agreement to the proposal that the
Union be reactivated. Please send us your ideas, proposals, advice, suggestions
and willingness to collaborate. We will also take into account any constructive
criticism against “resuscitating” the Union.
The President, Dr Luigi Baldinelli
CP 1630, I-40100 Bologna BO,
Italy