The Galileo Teacher Training Programme (GTTP) team in Portugal, still in the scope of IYA2009 national plan of activities and with the support of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, has promoted the first GTTP training session for Portuguese speaking African countries (PALOP is the acronym in Portuguese). The session had 6 participants from: Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Prince. The Portuguese team was composed by astrophysicists and Galileo Teachers (GT). During one week the group had the opportunity to be exposed to several different types of tools and resources starting from the very simple ones, with very simple material ending with a robotic telescope observing session.

The International Year of Astronomy 2009/Mani Bhaumik Prize for Excellence in Astronomy Education and Public Outreach has been awarded to From Earth to the Universe (FETTU). This award recognises FETTU’s important contribution in improving public awareness of astronomical achievements, and in stimulating the use of astronomy for the promotion of scientific education and culture in 2009.

Three additional projects from the very high quality field were selected as runners-up in the contest. The first runner-up is Around the World in 80 Telescopes with The Galileoscope and Galileo Teacher Training Program sharing the second runners-up prize, for their outstanding contributions to all aspects of education during IYA2009.