The African Space policy, which was initially proposed in 1979, became a reality in October 2017. Through Earth observations, navigation and positioning, satellite communication, Space science and Astronomy, the African Union hopes to address challenges of Africa. Strategies have been laid to facilitate coordination of African nations in offering technology support for building, launching and maintaining African satellites.

In order for Space technology to be used as a means to attain sustainable development goals and improve standards of living, policy makers and the youth need to be informed about current trends and advances in outer Space affairs. This would ensure building and sustaining capacity.

This research aims at creating a platform through which the views of youth on Space science in general, the Space policy and its relation to sustainable development will be obtained. For this survey to be made on a large scale via several platforms, a baseline survey was done through a random group of youth from the age of 13 years to 35 years in Kampala, Uganda. This group of people had a varying level of education ranging from Secondary school to Postgraduate studies. The survey was made basic so as to use the output in designing a larger survey that will be designed based on the results obtained.

This baseline survey showed that of the 204 participants, 40% have a general understanding of Space Science, only 14% were aware of the African Space Policy and 73% could relate Space Technology to Socio-economic development in Africa.

Some of the concerns mentioned included a need for public sensitisation, introducing courses in the Education system and facilities that ensure proper training and dissemination of knowledge and skills in Space science and technology.

Introduction

Space Technology Agency, a private company in Uganda was recently established to provide products and services in Space Technology that will facilitate a sustainable socio-economic development in collaboration with existing bodies. One of the company’s pillars is training and sensitisation of policy makers and the general public on the vital role of Space Science towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (UN_2015). The successful implementation of the African Space Policy (AU-2017) hinges strongly on an understanding of its vitality and urgency to African nations.

In the months of June, July and August 2018, Space Technology Agency sent out an online survey to all young people (13 to 35 years) who had signed up for the “Space Tech Hub” cite.

Initially, a large number of responses were projected, but the limitation towards Internet access in the country proved a challenge. Preparations are under way for a broader survey that will be done physically in schools, universities and youth gatherings.

The Baseline Survey

A Google form was used for this baseline survey due to the ease in accessing and filling the form from any device connected to Internet (KSU, 2018). Even though it has been argued that Google form is underdeveloped compared to other online platforms (Survey Monkey, 2018), it was assessed to be sufficient for this baseline survey. Participants were requested to consent and fill in the survey anonymously. Errors resulting from duplicate or multiple responses were minimised by providing one chance to fill and/or edit the form per Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

A total number of 204 participants and their age distributions are shown in Figure 2, ranging from 13 to 35 years. Participants who had basic knowledge on what Space Science is were 40%, 32% were not sure and 27% did not know. When asked about the African Space Policy, only 14% knew what it was, 18% were not sure and 68% had no idea of its existence.

It was important to find out if the participants can relate Space Technology and socio-economic development. 73% of the respondents agreed that advances in Space technology lead to improvement in the areas of; communication, security, geo-location, weather monitoring, knowledge sharing, agriculture, climate change, monitoring natural disasters, research and technology, building and launching of satellites, employment, natural resources monitoring and Space tourism. 24% were not sure and 3% were not aware of such a correlation (Figure 1).

The highest education levels of participants were categorized as Secondary, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Tertiary education (Figure 3). The Secondary level had 2.9%, Tertiary, 8.6%, Undergraduate, 71.4% and Postgraduate, 17.1%. Typically, Secondary education runs from 13 to 17 years, Undergraduate studies for 17 to 25 years and above 25 years, Postgraduate studies. However, there are individuals that enroll into Tertiary institutions immediately after Secondary school.

Concluding Remarks

The baseline survey revealed that youth who have attained university education understand the need for Space Technology advancement in sustainable development.

This is an indicator that all university programs that have components related to SDGs, should incorporate basic or in-depth knowledge on Space Studies.

It is also important for all individuals involved in policy making and planning to be trained in the use of Space Science tools for sustainable results.

Some participants expressed the belief that Space exploration is not within Africa’s reach, even though a number of African nations are currently “Space active”. Current Nano-satellite technology has made Space activities cost effective and is a great stepping-stone that some African nations are taking.

This baseline survey is a precursor to a larger survey, which will contribute towards the African Space Strategy in terms of training and sensitization. A combination of similar surveys from all African nations is vital tool in planning for the African Space Agency.

REFERENCES

UN, 2015. “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. United Nations– Sustainable Development knowledge platform. Retrieved 23 August 2015.

The African Union, AU-2017, AFRICAN SPACE POLICY: towards social, political and economic integration. Approved at the second ordinary session for the specialized technical committee meeting on education, science and technology (stc-est) 21 October to 23 October 2017, Cairo, Egypt.

Kent State University, KSU., 2018.  Statistical & Qualitative Data Analysis Software: About Google Forms https://libguides.library.kent.edu/statconsulting/googleforms (accessed in September 2018)

Survey Monkey, 2018, “How SurveyMonkey Is Better than Google Forms.” https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/surveymonkey-better-thangoogle-forms (accessed September 2018).