Regions

The implementation would follow a regional approach with the following being the definition of the regions:

1. Region 1: North America
   
   
2. Region 2: Latin America (including Central America and the Caribbean)
   
   
3. Region 3: Europe
   
   
4. Region 4: Middle East and North Africa
   
   
5. Region 5: Sub-Saharan Africa
   
   
6. Region 6: Central Asia
   
   
7. Region 7: Far East and South-East Asia
   
   
8. Region 8: Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand)

This regional approach would result in an astronomy development structure containing:

1. International Office: headed by the co-ordinator - FTE
   
   
2. 8 Regional Hubs: this would usually be a group of people in the region who have links with the IAU and a relatively well established astronomy programme
   
   
3. Country Nodes: each country should have a team of people addressing the development of astronomy in their country – this team could be the same as the IYA national nodes
   
   
4. Email Networks and Communication Structures: there would be 3 main networks that one would communicate with through email discussion lists, telecons, skypecasts, meetings, etc.:
   
   

   a. Regional Hubs

   b. Country Nodes

   c. Open network of individuals interested in development of astronomy