OWSD 6th General Assembly and International Conference kicks off with a colorful opening ceremony
November 08, 2021
The OWSD 6th General Assembly and International Conference opened on November 8 in a ceremony attended by Italian ministers and OWSD high-level donors and partners. The theme of the conference is ‘Women, Science and Development’.
Elena Bonetti, Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, welcomed the participants and assured the organization of the Italian government’s continued support for full participation of women in science and decision-making bodies. “Without the contribution of women,” Bonetti said, “Science would be incomplete, simply lacking a piece of humanity.”
Maria Cristina Messa, Italian Minister for Education, University and Research, deplored the continued underrepresentation of women in scientific research. Women are also less successful than men in accessing research funding, she said, and outlined new rules being put in place aimed at addressing gender inequality.
Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO, spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the participation of women in scientific research, citing the results from an OWSD member survey conducted in June 2020. She called for policymakers to do more to encourage women to embark on a career and in science and to stay the course, rather than leave due to social pressures. “There is too much at stake for gender inequality to remain the norm… We need more science and science needs more women,” she emphasized. She described many ways in which UNESCO is promoting women’s participation.
Other OWSD partners, donors, and eminent guests that attended the opening ceremony:
- the Italian National Research Council, represented by President Maria Chiara Carrozza;
- the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the organization that funds OWSD’s PhD fellowships, represented by Kerstin Jonsson Cissé, Head of the Research Cooperation Unit;
- Canadian International and Development Research Centre (IDRC), represented by Naser Furuqui, Director of Education and Science;
- the Elsevier Foundation, represented by its director, Ylan Schemm;
- the Aspen Institute Italia, represented by Alberto Quadrio Curzio, who is also an OWSD Ambassador;
- The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), represented by its president Mohamed Hassan.
Following opening remarks from the invited guests, OWSD Coordinator Tonya Blowers shared highlights from OWSD programmes (PhD Fellowships, Early Career Fellowships, Awards, and Membership), with testimonials from OWSD members who have benefitted from each of the programmes (Kausila Timsina, PhD Fellowships; Elizabeth Bandason, Early Career Fellowships; Susana Arrechea, Awards; and Rana Dajani, Membership). Rana Dajani, Chair of the OWSD Jordan National Chapter, urged members to reach out to one another for advice and collaboration: "We need to reach out to each other, to learn from each other and support each other...It's not enough that we are just present. We need to have a seat at the table - not just in our countries, not just in the Global South, but globally. And in order to have a seat at the table, we have to have a very strong voice and to speak up. We need to break those power dynamics and to make sure that people hear us."
To wrap up the opening ceremony, the previous OWSD Executive Board handed over to the new one. Outgoing members shared how they have contributed to their regions, and continuing and new members described their visions for the 2021-2025 term. Kleinsy Bonilla, newly elected Vice President for the Latin America and Caribbean region, emphasized her interest in connecting and activating scientific diasporas: "I believe that people like me, women scientists who migrate all over the world, have a great deal to contribute to our countries of origin; and most importantly, we stay very connected and remain intrinsic members of the communities that we have left (but often return to)."
The OWSD 6th General Assembly and International Conference will continue through November 19. The full programme is available here.
