From Strength to Strength since 1974

The Commonwealth Association of Science, Technology and Mathematics Educators (CASTME) was established in 1974 as an NGO recognized by the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is a member of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education (CCfE).

Additionally, the Education Award, the Protect Our Planet Award, and the Community Award are given in collaboration with Philip Harris and Findel.

CASTME has members throughout the Commonwealth and regional groups in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. Its advisers are based in Australia, Canada, India, Malta, Mauritius, and Nigeria.

CASTME seeks to encourage networking and links between Commonwealth countries through a network of regional meetings, conference papers, and its website.

CASTME aims to share best practices in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education for all age groups, demonstrate the relevance of STEM to local environments, and promote the relationship between them.

These aims are met within informal teaching and learning sites and communities, as well as within schools, colleges, and universities.

CASTME’s mission in the Commonwealth is to promote the teaching and learning of STEM in a social and locally relevant context and ensure that access to such learning is universally available. It produces a twice-yearly newsletter to disseminate CASTME activities worldwide and holds a biennial memorial lecture in London in memory of Dennis Chisman, whose vision established CASTME.

CASTME supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG4(Education) and SDG5 (Gender).

One of CASTME’s projects is encouraging mothers and carers of young pre-school children to recognise the everyday science in their lives and point such to children, hence increasing the science experiences of both the adults and the children, as well as their communication literacy skills. It is interested in the science inherent in play, particularly in less affluent areas.