Dr Sisco Auala

Dr Sisco Auala is a Senior Lecturer/Researcher at the Namibia University of Science and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in community-based tourism development from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. Her research interests include Dark Sky Tourism/Astro tourism, Indigenous Astronomy, and Community Development. Before entering the academic space. She has spent more than 20 years working in the tourism sector in Europe, South Africa, and Namibia. She worked for the USA Millennium Challenge Account -Namibia, where she managed sustainable tourism projects working with indigenous communities. In 2019, she was a judge for the Africa World Travel Market Responsible Tourism Awards held in Cape Town, South Africa. She is an associate member of Astro Accel, a USA National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative pioneering a global interdisciplinary network for accelerating synergies through research on astronomy for culture, education, engagement, and communication. She is a member of the African Astronomical Society. She is also currently the chairperson of Eco-Awards Namibia, an alliance of the private sector and government organizations that run a sustainable tourism certification program for Namibia. She also serves as a member of the editorial board for the Namibia Scientific Society Journal, the oldest academic and scientific journal in Namibia, which was published for the first time in 1925. She is appointed as an editorial board member for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) CAP Journal of Astronomy Communication. She is a Patron of a community education initiative in the informal settlement of Katutura, Windhoek - Hatika Adult Education Centre. Awarded the International Dark Sky Defender Award for 2025 by the Dark Sky International Organization based in the USA. ********* PODCAST: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Sustainable Tourism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmWIMwgP5Ls ********* PODCAST: Dark Sky Tourism and Astronomy in Namibia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUBi3UCU68s