On September 12-13, 2024, the tenth meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Astronomy was held in Kazan. It was organized by Kazan  Federal University (KFU) and the V.P. Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

It is worth noting that on the threshold of the BRICS Working Group meeting, KFU also hosted the international scientific conference “BRICS Intelligent Telescope and Data Network”.

The opening of the Working Group meeting was attended both by representatives of the traditional “five” BRICS countries and by the delegates from the new member states.

Albina Kutuzova, BRICS STI Coordinator from the Russian Federation, addressed the participants with welcoming remarks. “Astronomy is the oldest and one of the most beautiful scientific disciplines. BRICS countries have a rich experience of cooperation, especially in the field of joint research in astronomy and technology. Joining efforts together with government agencies, academic institutions, research organizations and leading companies, our countries are actively developing the science of astronomy, developing new technologies and introducing scientific knowledge to the general public,” said the representative of the Ministry.

The members of the Working Group were also welcomed by Mr. Dmitry Tayursky, First Vice-Rector, Vice-Rector for Education of KFU.  He reminded the participants of the upcoming celebration of the 220th anniversary of the Kazan University this year, noting that astronomy has been studied at the university since the early 19th century.

The participants of the event reported on the national astronomical infrastructure of their countries, operating telescopes, as well as on the national policy in this field. Special attention was paid to the discussion of the implementation of the BRICS Intelligent Telescope and Data Network initiative. The flagship project involves the creation of a network of astronomical and related intelligent data network. This will leverage the existing and under-construction telescopes of the BRICS countries, as well as utilize the opportunities provided by other space-based and ground-based multi-wavelength facilities of the BRICS countries.

During the meeting, Yaroslav Sorokotyaga, representative of the Secretariat of the BRICS STI Framework Programme made a presentation on the activities of the BRICS STI Framework Programme. According to the statistics, since 2016 six joint calls for proposals have already been held, with 157 projects receiving support. Special attention was paid to the mechanism for launching BRICS STI flagship projects – an important tool for potential support of the initiative to create an intelligent network of telescopes. Following the discussions, the parties decided to raise the issue of funding the flagship project at the BRICS STI Senior Officials Meeting which is to be held on September 26, 2024 in Moscow.

As a result of the meeting, the parties reached consensus on sending information on projects open for international cooperation to the Secretariat of the Working Group in order to publish the data on the official website of the Working Group. In addition, the new BRICS member countries pledged to appoint national coordinators by the end of November 2024 to enhance the effectiveness of the Working Group’s activities.

During the discussion and approval of the final resolution of the meeting, the participants discussed the prospects for the development of the BRICS Astronomical Magazine. New member countries were invited to submit their experts to be included in the editorial board of the journal. It was recommended to all member countries to consider the possibility of translating the journal into national languages in order to broaden the range of readers and increase the attractiveness of the journal for scientific communities.

At the end of the meeting, the participants called for closer cooperation with representatives of other areas of science, technology and innovation cooperation, as the agenda of the astronomy experts closely overlaps with the activities of the BRICS Working Group on ICT and High-Performance Computing, as well as the BRICS Working Group on Research Infrastructures and MegaScience Projects.

The participants of the Working Group supported the proposal of the Brazilian side to hold the next (eleventh) meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Astronomy in 2025.

The event was another step towards strengthening international cooperation in science and technology among the BRICS member countries.

More information on the BRICS Working group on Astronomy activities can be found at https://www.bricsastronomy.org/.