ASP2026 Meeting

Tuesday 23 Jun 2026, 12:55 → 14:25 UTC

Bobby Samir Acharya (Abdus Salam Int. Cent. Theor. Phys. (IT)), Christine Darve (European Spallation Source), Fernando Ferroni (Sapienza Universita e INFN, Roma I (IT)), Ketevi Adikle Assamagan (Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)), Mounia Laassiri (Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA))

video1939507944.mp4

Summary of the meeting on June 23, 2026

Participation: there were 100 Zoom connections from students, lecturers, LOC and IOC.

The recording of the meeting is available here. 

Salient points:

1. We request that international travelers add their itineraries and dietary restrictions in the table for students and table for lecturers. With this information, the LOC will arrange for epople to meet you at the airport with a sign "ASP2026". On arrival, look for that sign and follow that person.
2. If you have problems during your travel, such as delays or cancellations of flight, let us know promptly. 
3. Use this site to check if you need a visa fro Kenya. If so, apply and obtain the visa before traveling. 
4. The LOC will setup a WhatsApp group for communications.
5. We will cover airport transfers in Kenya for all international participants. In addition, we will cover full room & board for the students. 
6. The students received a letter invitation from the LOC. This letter specifies the address of the venue and where the students will  stay. Students may use that letter if needed to board their flights.
7. International students should have received travel insurance coverage from the ICTP. We are in contact with the ICTP to make sure that the insurance covers the full period of travel. If by June 29 an international student has not received the travel insurance document, let us know. 
8. We advise international participants to get vaccinated against yellow fever. We further advise them to consult their medical doctor before traveling. Bring your vaccination card with you during your travel.
9. We expect Kenyan students to arrange their own transportation / to from the venue, arriving on July 5th in the afternoon and departing on July 19.
10. Local students from Nairobi should show up and stay at the venue for the entire duration of the events. We don't accept students staying home and commuting daily.
11. Students with infants should talk with us about the arrangement needed to bring infants to the venue.
12. Students selected for online participation should participate online even if they are present in Nairobi.
13. The weather in Nairobi is expected to be "cold" that time of the year. Please travel prepared. Use your phone to check updated weather information in Nairobi.
14. Credit cards are widely accepted in Kenya but you are advised to also carry cash in British Pounds, Euros or Dollars, that you exchange there.
15. You may use Wifi on your phone for communication like WhatsApp. But if you want a SIM, this should be arranged after arrival. Don't arrange this on arrival at the airport because it may introduce delays for the airport transfer arrangements. 
16. You may bring your laptop. To connect your device (phone, laptop, etc) to electrical outlets, please check online what kind of power adapters are necessary for Kenya. Buy and bring such adapters with you. 
17. ASP2026 will consist of 4 activities.
    1. A scientific program for students, July 5-19, 2026.
       1. Please browse the agenda. It contains plenary and a parallel activities.
       2. A student may choose the parallel activities of interest. If you don't find your interest or major in the activities offered, please selected the ones closest to your interest.
       3. We must be able to locate you in a parallel session or in the plenary session.
       4. Attendance will be checked for eligibility to receive a certificate of the end of the event.
       5. Please, on daily basis, arrive on time at the lecture hall.
       6. Know beforehand which activities you are going to follow and arrive at the locations timely. 
       7. We will have sign-up sheets for various parallel activities. Lecturers will know how many participants to expect. 
    2. A scientific program for high school teachers, July 6-11, 2026. We expect about 80 teachers; they may have some activities in plenary with the students. 
    3. A Forum to discuss with policymakers in physics education and research on July 10, 2020. This is a formal event; please dress formally for the occasion.
    4. A physics outreach for high school students, July 13-17, 2026. Some of our lecturers will journey to selected high schools and do activities for high school students. 
18. Online participation
    1. Online participants will receive a Zoom link. There will be Zoom breakout rooms for parallel activities. But some activities may not be effective for online participation, e.g. a hands-on physics instrumentation.
    2. Daily activities will be carried out in Kenya time (ETA). if you are participating online, please make sure to properly convert into your time zone. 
    3. We will check the Zoom meeting information for the levels of online participation: the numbers of Zoom connections and the duration of the connections.
    4. We will set some minimum level online participation to be eligible for receiving a certificate of participation.
    5. Internet connections to participating online is at your own charge. 
19. Lecturers with specific needs about lecturer room logistics should contact Prof. Njeri Mburu.
20. Regarding the Ebola situation. Out of an abundance of caution regarding the Ebola epidemic in the DRC and Uganda, we informed students from these countries to attend ASP2026 online; they should not travel to Kenya for ASP2026. We don't have lecturers from these countries either. To the best of our knowledge, there will be no participants (student or lecturer) from the affected regions. We are monitoring the situation daily and will communicate promptly any pertinent information as they become available.

 

There will be no other general meeting of this kind. However, you may communicate with us by email. Safe travels to the in-person participants. We look forward to seeing you in person or online for a successful ASP2026.

 

13:00 → 13:30 Information from the LOC

Speaker: Ms Mary Simiyu (University of Nairobi)

13:30 → 14:00 Information from IOC

Speaker: Dr Ketevi Adikle Assamagan (Brookhaven National Laboratory (US))