On Saturday 11th February, the second International Day of Women and Girls in Science will be celebrated and the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of the University of Cantabria (IBBTEC), a joint CSIC-UC-Government of Cantabria institute, has planned several activities, organised by its Scientific Dissemination Unit.
In the week leading up to the event, scientists from the research institute will visit different educational establishments in the region to discuss, with both male and female students, their work and the role of women in science.
Furthermore, on the 11th itself, the First IBBTEC "Women and Girls in Science" Contest will take place, via Twitter (link to rules).
On this day, between 10:00 and 20:00, the @IBBTEC account will post clues about women scientists for participants to find out their names, in the shortest time possible, thus making their contributions to scientific progress visible.
The contest is open to participation by the general public and there will be two categories: one general category and another category for teams formed by Secondary Education pupils from Cantabria. Registration must be carried out via the following link and the deadline for registration is the 10th February, 15:00 hours.
At the end of the day, the first tweet received with the correct name for each scientist, is given one point. The winning team is the team with the most points. The winners will receive a certificate and the winning team from Secondary Education can also carry out a "special visit" of the IBBTEC centre.
INTERNATIONAL DAY
In order to achieve access and full, equitable participation in science for women and girls, and also gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, in 2015 the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim the 11th February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (document). Thus, this year the second edition of this commemoration will be celebrated.
The United Nations encourages participation through educational and public awareness activities in order to promote the full participation, on equal terms, of women and girls in education, training, employment and decision-making processes in science, eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, including in the fields of education and employment, and overcome the corresponding legal, economic, social and cultural barriers by, amongst other things, promoting the establishment of policies and curriculums in the field of science, including school syllabuses, accordingly, to encourage a greater participation of women and girls, promote women's career prospects in science and recognise their achievements in this field.
