While one of the IAU's missions is to “serve as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them” (†), the participation of the public in the naming of celestial objects has been a little-known, but decade-long tradition of the IAU.

The IAU Division C Commission 55, Communicating Astronomy with the Public, played an active role in Union affairs within Division C, Education, Outreach and Heritage. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) vested considerable responsibility for its public outreach efforts in Commission 55 (C55), Communicating Astronomy with the Public. This article briefly recounts the origin and history of C55 over the past decade, and describes the work of C55 until it became Division C Commission C.C2 in 2015. As stated on our website, http://www.communicatingastronomy.org, C55 was founded on the principle that “it is the responsibility of every practising astronomer to play some role in explaining the interest and value of science to our real employers, the taxpayers of the world.” While this was true a decade ago, when the Working Group that eventually became C55 first took shape, it is even more true today, when funding for the astronomical sciences (and science more generally) is under threat on nearly every continent.

A good fraction of the Commission 55 (C55) Organizing Committee met in Beijing in August at the XXVIII IAU General Assembly, where C55 organized Special Session 14 (SpS14) entitled “Communicating Astronomy with the Public for Scientists.” During our C55 business meeting, and again during an impromptu gathering a few days later, we discussed changes in the IAU's organizational and programmatic structure and how these changes might affect C55. This report summarizes key points and offers some ideas about what we're calling “C55 v2.0.” For background and reference, see the C55 website at http://www.communicatingastronomy.org.

In the article by Crabtree et al., published in Transactions IAU, Volume XXVIIIA there was an error in the list of authors. Pedro Russo was not included in the list of authors on the organizing committee. The editors apologise to Pedro Russo for this error. The correct authorship is published below:

• PRESIDENT: Dennis R. Crabtree

• VICE-PRESIDENT: Lars Lindberg Christensen

• PAST PRESIDENT: Ian Robson

• ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Oscar Alvarez Pomare, Augusto Damineli Neto, Richard T. Fienberg, Anne Green, Ajit K. Kembhavi, Pedro Russo, Kazuhiro Sekiguchi, Patricia Ann Whitelock, Jin Zhu

Commission 55 was approved at the IAU General Assembly in Prague following the great success of the Communicating Astronomy Working Group, which had been set up in 2003. It resides within Division XII and the mission statement of the Working Group has been incorporated into the Commission:

• • To encourage and enable a much larger fraction of the astronomical community to take an active role in explaining what we do (and why) to our fellow citizens.

• • To act as an international, impartial coordinating entity that furthers the recognition of outreach and public communication on all levels in astronomy.

• • To encourage international collaborations on outreach and public communication.

• • To endorse standards, best practices and requirements for public communication.

Since its formation at the XXVI General Assembly in Prague in 2006, amazing progress has been made by Commission 55, all due to the work of the key activists and enthusiasts. The web-page for the Commission contains a wealth of information and is one of the key foundations and tools for the Commission. The web address is http://www.communicatingastronomy.org

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) launched 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) under the theme, The Universe, Yours to Discover. IYA2009 marked the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical observation through a telescope by Galileo Galilei. It has been, and still is, a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with a strong emphasis on education, public engagement and the involvement of young people, with events at national, regional and global levels throughout the whole of 2009. UNESCO endorsed IYA2009 and the United Nations proclaimed the year 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy on 20 December 2007. These proceedings aim to give a brief account of IYA2009, from its inception to the present and how its legacy will influence the future of astronomy communication on a planet-wide scale.

While expecting a huge increase of interest in the IAU as a result of the planet definition issue on the agenda of the IAU XXVI General Assembly, Prague, Czech Republic, August 2006, the Executive Committee appointed Lars Lindberg Christensen as Press Officer in June 2006. He will stay on the job till at least the IAU XXVII General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2009.

Commission 55 was approved at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague, 2006, following the great success of the Working Group Communicating Astronomy, which had been set up in 2003.

Division XII consists of Commissions that formerly were organized under the Executive Committee, that concern astronomers across a wide range of scientific sub-disciplines and provide interactions with scientists in a wider community, including governmental organizations, outside the IAU.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1922 to “promote and safeguard astronomy . . . and to develop it through international co-operation”. The IAU is funded through its National Members. Almost all of the funds supplied from the dues are used for the development of astronomy.

The Working Group on Communicating Astronomy with the Public is under Division XII - Union-Wide Activities. Formed in early 2004, this Working Group has been very active in establishing itself and promoting its core goals.