Olayinka Fagbemiro - Taking Advantage of the Dark Skies to Popularize Astronomy in Nigeria.

Olayinka is currently a Ph.D. student of Geoinformatics at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) Abuja, Nigeria. She has an extreme passion for impacting youth and stimulating their interest in astronomy. In fact, she has spent the last 13 years carrying out STEM advocacy programs across Nigeria. Her presentation will address the issues surrounding astronomy’s apparent unpopularity in Nigeria, especially the government’s lack of interest in developing a curriculum and making astronomy a STEM subject taught across high and elementary schools. It will also provide insight into Nigeria’s unique dark skies, an invaluable asset that has been vastly underutilized.