Parallel sessions

In March 2020 public engagement in astronomy and space science changed overnight as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. 'Hands on' activities temporarily disappeared, replaced by entirely virtual delivery. As UK schools closed, and everyday life shut down, we saw unprecedented demand for 'lockdown learning' and large audiences taking advantage of easy access to high-profile speakers. At the same time, appreciation of astronomy briefly enjoyed a higher public and media profile. Views of the sky connected many people to the wider universe while confined to their homes, helped by the appearance of an unusually bright comet. Virtual access enables the astronomy community to reach audiences that could not normally attend "face to face" outreach sessions. The carbon footprint of a traditionally highly mobile community also collapsed as international travel became restricted, something that might be a foretaste of a zero-carbon future. These ideals sit alongside the reality of communities without access to the technology needed for online engagement, where children from low-income families could be permanently disadvantaged by months of school closures and poor access to the Internet and devices. At the start of the pandemic the Sutton Trust found that 60% of private schools and 37% of state schools in the most affluent areas already had an online platform in place to receive students' work, compared with 23% of the most deprived schools. Further, around 10% of families had no access to any internet-enabled device at home, and the number who had inadequate access for learning was much higher. We hope that by the time of the conference the world will be moving into an era where Covid is endemic, rather than an acute crisis, and this is therefore an excellent point to take stock of our response to the pandemic and to plan for the future. In this session we will consider topics including: - How virtual engagement in astronomy both enables greater access and constrains it for those on the wrong side of the 'digital divide' and how we should respond - Opportunities and challenges for sustainable public engagement in astronomy as we work towards net zero CO2 emissions - Capitalising on the high public trust in science to enable engagement with new audiences We will invite a range of contributors to the sessions, including academics, school teachers, public engagement specialists, and education policy experts.