A Refuge in the Stars: Outcomes from the Amanar Project Column Keywords astronomy for peace, Western Sahara, Sahrawi refugees, Amanar project 33 CAPjournal, No. 28, November 2020 Sandra Benitez Herrera IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias sandra.benitez.herrera@gmail.com Felipe Carrelli UFRJ - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro felipecarrelli@gmail.com Eduardo Monfardini Penteado National Outreach Coordinator for Brazil (OAO - NOC Brazil) monfpent@gmail.com Andrea Rodríguez-Antón Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit)-CSIC rodriguezantonandrea@gmail.com Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias nayrare@gmail.com On behalf of GalileoMobile and the Amanar Task Force Introduction Forty-four years after a failed process of decolonisation from Spain, the invasion of their country by Morocco, and the establishment of a peace plan by the United Nations, half of the Sahrawi population continue to be refugees (Bárbulo, 2011) , despite the promise of a self-determination referendum that never happened. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees1, 173 600 Sahrawis reside in the refugee camps, in territory provided by Algeria, in a situation that is both provisional and permanent. The fve camps are named after the main Sahrawi cities under Moroccan occupation: Ayoun, Smara, Bojador, Auserd, and Dajla (see the map in Figure 1), and their management is administered by the Sahrawis themselves. Fresh food, water, medical, and hygiene supplies are limited, and the Sahrawi families depend on international humanitarian aid to survive. In education, the Sahrawi schools face various challenges, such as the quality of teaching, Amanar: ‘Under the Same Sky’, is a project that aims to use cultural aspects of astronomy to encourage common understanding and bridge two communities from the Canary Islands and Western Sahara. The Sahrawi people fed their country due to armed confict more than four decades ago and continue to face harsh living conditions in refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. This project sought to empower and inspire these people, especially the youth. Amanar was selected as a special project for the centenary celebrations of the International Astronomical Union. The project was organised by GalileoMobile in collaboration with the Canarian Association of Friendship with the Sahrawi people and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias as well as other astronomical institutions and volunteer associations. The success of this collaboration shows how both the scientifc community and civil society can mobilise to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Figure 1. Map of the Western Sahara region. Two-thirds of the country is currently under the occupation of Morocco and is divided from the Sahrawi-controlled area by a 2700 km wall. Credit: European Council of Foreign Relations.