The ASCL attended and presented at last month’s 2026 African Astronomical Society (AfAS) meeting in Kasane, Botswana. Held over the week of March 22-27, the meeting also offered pre-conference workshops on science communication, astro-tourism, and other topics in addition to a two-day hackathon.

The meeting itself had both plenary and breakout sessions, with 30-minute presentations during most of the morning plenary sessions and 15-minute talks during the breakouts. Breakout sessions had two tracks, Science & Engineering, and Education, Development, & Outreach, and AstroLab sessions were held nearly every day. There were also Special Sessions focused on, for example, the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), EAS/AfAS Collaboration, and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), and poster sessions were held every day. With the meeting’s hybrid set-up, remote presenters were incorporated seamlessly into the presentations. Materials for nearly every talk and poster are available for download on the meeting website.

It was exciting to learn of new projects, catch up on existing projects, and to see the push for astro-tourism, development, and growing capacity on the continent. It was also thrilling to be driving down the road one night after dinner and come across a hippo just doing its thing next to the road, and a few kilometers down the road, see buffalo right outside the car windows!