Project 1: 100 HOURS OF ASTRONOMY: Consistent with the global project, this project will take place on 2-5 April 2009, which will include 100 continuous hours of astronomical activities. Activities will start in the morning by presenting planetarium shows to the kids and instructors in schools, in addition to presenting simple solar observation to the public. Then some lectures and documentary shows follow, which will be presented publically to wide spectrum of people. Nights will witness heavy observational events from sunset to the early morning.

Coordinator: Mr. Mouhammad Assiri

Project 2: GALILEOSCOPE: This project is held in Syria in consistency with the same global project, which is aimed at giving the opportunity to the greatest number of people to have their first look at the wonders of the sky through the telescope, exactly as Galileo did 400 years ago. Most of us remember the impressive feelings that invaded his entity when he stared at the moon or at a giant planet, such as Jupiter or Saturn, for the first time. We would like to give this chance to the largest number of Syrians and in all regions of the republic. We will mount telescopes in public places and invite all people to participate. Our team will be ready to make all necessary statistics in order to count the number of people who will have their first look through the telescope in 2009. Activities will be held twice weekly from April to October.

Coordinator: Mr. Abdullatif Khalidi

Project 3: COMSMIC DIARY: In this project we will try to introduce contemporary Syrian and Arabic astronomers and astronauts, although few, to the public through media and trying to arrange meetings with the public and publish information about them in the media.

Coordinator: Ms. Amani Nabhani

Project 4: PORTAL TO THE UNIVERSE: In this project in Syria we aim to construct the largest portal to all astronomy websites on the internet and in Arabic language. This will be accomplished as part of the continuous update of the official website of SAAA, which contains now only limited number of links.

Coordinator: Mr. Mhd Firas Safadi

Project 5: SHE IS AN ASTRONOMER: In Syria we will try to enhance women’s role in educating people in astronomy by focusing on the role of women as mothers and teachers. We will also highlight the most famous names of female astronomers in the world and introduce them to the public.

Coordinator: Ms. Turkia Jbour

Project 6: FIRST ASTRONOMY WEBSITE FOR KIDS IN ARABIC: This would be one of our most important projects for IYA 2009, which is aimed at enhancing the relationship between kids, astronomy, and the internet. It may be surprising to know that there is not any astronomy website directed to school-age children in Arabic language so far. We will try to construct and publish the first such website ever, which includes a thorough explanation of the various astronomical topics that children should know. All information will be presented in the simplest and most attractive form, with special concentration on graphics and animations. The Committee will also try to popularize this website among children, teachers, and schools in the whole Arab world.

Coordinator: Ms. Dana Akil

Project 7: ARABIC ASTRONOMICAL HERITAGE: We want to reawaken the Arabic astronomical heritage by collecting more in-depth information about the important astronomical sites in Syria and educating the public about them. In addition to that we will publish the information in media and focus on the ancient Arabic astronomers.

Coordinator: Mr. Khaled Ani

Project 8: GALILEO TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM: This project is consistent with the global project, in which we will educate instructors and teachers further in astronomy in order to convey this knowledge to the pupils and students in schools and universities.

Coordinator: Mr. Wisam Husein

Project 9: UNIVERSE AWARENESS: We will introduce astronomy directly to the kids inside schools and during the study time. We depend on direct presentations and explanations in our portable planetarium in hope that we cover the largest possible number of schools in 2009.

Coordinator: Mr. Mohammad Modawar

Project 10: FROM EARTH TO THE UNIVERSE: We want to present the universe in its most beautiful pictures to the public through galleries which contain the most famous and impressive landscapes of the cosmos. This is aimed at attracting to astronomy those who were not interested in this science. We also want to boost our ability to capture astronomical views by widening our use of astrophotography and building distinctive collections.

Coordinator: Mr. Haitham Shatti

Project 11: DEVELOPING ASTRONOMY IN SYRIA: We have a real need for improving the concept of astronomy in many parts of this country, and many departments are in real need of education and astronomical equipment. We will try to help as much as we can in expanding the concept of astronomy in Syria.

Coordinator: Mr. Samir Biazid

Project 12: SCEINTIFIC EXPERIMENTS: This project will be held in the context of global experiments, of which Syria would be a part. We have so far arranged for participation in two experiments: The Position of the Sun and the Earth’s shape and The Distance to The Moon.

Coordinator: Mr. Abdulnaser Mostafa