In alignment with our commitment to celebrate the International Day of Girls and Women in Science, we launch a call to highlight the invaluable contributions of women astronomers, through the design of engaging infographics, created with the assistance of generative AI tools. We encourage creativity and inclusivity while maintaining a respectful and professional environment.

This is a joint international initiative of the Athena Community Office, the X-IFU and WFI consortia, and the EU H2020 XMM2ATHENA  and  AHEAD2020 projects.

Please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Participants: Everyone can participate. A maximum of 2 contributions will be accepted per participant.
• Subject Matter: Submissions must focus on real women astronomers and their research. Infographics should showcase the astronomer’s name and representative image (not necessarily resembling her real image) and relevant data, highlighting their achievements and contributions to the field. Ensure all information presented is accurate and up-to-date.
• Respectful Representation: Submissions must avoid hypersexualized depictions, nudity, or any form of degrading imagery. Emphasise professionalism and celebrate the intellectual achievements of the represented astronomer.
• Originality: Submissions must be original and not violate any copyright or intellectual property rights. Plagiarism will result in disqualification.
• Technical Specifications: Any or all parts of the infographic can be generated by any AI tool, promoting creativity in representation. Additional graphic design tools can be used to fill the infographic with relevant information about their research. 
  • To inspire your creativity, we provide you with an example image illustrating this announcement. We emphasize that this is a generic representation and does not feature a specific astronomer’s name, though. Add the real astronomer’s name clearly in your infographic!
  • Images should be of high quality, with a resolution suitable for clear viewing on various platforms.
• Submission Deadline: All entries must be submitted by the 2nd of February at 17 CET to be considered for the contest.
• Judging Criteria: Entries will be judged on creativity, clarity, accuracy, and adherence to the guidelines.
• Prize: The winner will receive a merchandising pack of the projects and public recognition with the publication of the winner (submission name) on social media and the websites of the different projects involved in the initiative.
• Acceptance of Rules: By submitting an entry, participants acknowledge and accept these contest rules. Results of the competition will be published through the projects/consortia communication channels in the first week of February.
  • Personal data like address or email will not be published in any case and will only be used to contact the winner. Copyright: The projects will have the right to use the submitted material for its communication activities
•  Disqualification: Entries that violate these rules will be disqualified.

How to participate: fill in this form with the required data and attach the infographics (images larger than 4Mb will not be accepted); if you don’t have a Google account and would like to participate, please contact ACO.

Show us your creativity and help us to show the contributions of women to astronomy!