Initial Activities

1. Produce a set of Commission web pages that as a minimum contain:
   • List of officers - DONE
   • The Washington Charter - DONE
   • Links to manuals, guides about astronomy communication
   • Links to books
   • Course materials
     • Giving public lectures
     • Media training
     • Media training training
   • Examples of good communication products
   • Arrange the third CAP meeting in 2005 - DONE.
   • A repository of copyright-free public outreach materials that can be exploited by all outreach organisations signing an agreement (promising to follow rules of good conduct - e.g. clear acknowledgements etc.)
   • A list of astronomical events suitable for 'communication purposes'
   • Links to important outreach organisations/offices and people - NOW OPEN.
   • Glossary of public outreach terms
   • Discussion fora
2. Endorse the Washington Charter and disseminate information about it: Drafting, circulating, and getting support for a letter to funding agencies, observatory directors, department heads and deans, and other employers of astronomers to encourage them to regard outreach and communication as an important part of our job and theirs. - DONE
• Endorsement form (Name, organisation, "I endorse the Washington Charter") - DONE
3. Co-sponsor general workshops on public communication, like "Communicating Astronomy with the Public". - DONE
4. Organize workshops at existing meetings for scientists on how to communicate with the public, on how to deal with the press (media training) etc. Examples include the British National Astronomy Meeting April 2004), the AAS meeting (June 2004) and the Canadian Astronomical Society Meeting (June 2004). Certainly there would a workshop at the 2006 IAU General Assembly.
5. Liaising with other organizations and societies, for instance IPS (the International Planetarium Society), AAAS and others.