The OAD (Office of Astronomy for Development) will participate in the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP 2026) Conference, hosted by the University of the Western Cape from 6-10 July 2026, sharing our work on astrotourism, astronomy for mental health, and hackathons for development.

The South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) is the premier annual gathering of the South African physics community. In addition to core research, the programme includes sessions on physics for development, physics in industry, physics education, outreach, teacher development, and the promotion of women in physics. The 2026 conference theme is “Physics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Towards a Sustainable and Inclusive Future”.

Drs Charles Takalana and Joyful Mdhluli will be contributing to the Scientific Programme with the following talks:

• 7 July, 11:40–12:00 – Astronomy for Mental Health  – Joyful Mdhluli
• 8 July, 15:50–16:10 –  Beyond Stargazing: Astrotourism as a Science-Based Tool for Development – Joyful Mdhluli
• 9 July, 11:20–11:40 –  Developing Data Science Skills Through Collaborative Hackathons: A Case Study of Hack4Dev’s Data Science Hackathon Programme – Charles Takalana
• 10 July, 08:30–09:25 (Plenary) – Astronomy for a Better World: Connecting Knowledge, Society, and Sustainable Development – Charles Takalana and Joyful Mdhluli

The Plenary on Friday, 10 July, will be streamed live on YouTube.