Location:Home>Events
 
TWOWS International Conference Opens in Beijing
 

Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa, opened the proceedings of the TWOWS General Assembly and International Conference in Beijing.

Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa, set the scene for the TWOWS 4th General Assembly and International Conference in Beijing, China, with a stimulating opening speech.Pandoor._crop.JPG
"China’s phenomenal economic growth serves as a source of inspiration for much of Africa,” she began. “It gives African countries renewed hope that we too can lift our citizens out of poverty.

"China’s economic transformation has been associated with increased investment in science, technology, and engineering,” she continued, adding that Chinese President Hu Jintao is an engineer; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is an engineer, and almost every single Chinese official in a position of real power is a university graduate with an engineering degree.

"Enter the office of any head of any Chinese state-owned entity, and you will find an engineer,” she went on, “but he will in all probability be a man. Even here in China, and I am sure most of the developing world, women’s scientific skills and abilities are still underutilized.

Women are still under-represented in the fields of science and technology. Women are still under-represented in top research managerial positions. Women are still under-represented in science, technology, and innovation policymaking.

"The challenge for Africa, and the developing world, is to ensure that the gender imbalance in the practice of science, technology and innovation activities is addressed.”

Pandor went on to note that the involvement of women in science, technology, and innovation activities is critical in ensuring that the full diversity of a nation is utilized in providing expertise and in contributing to the development of nations.

"In South Africa, we have been promoting women in S&T for a long time through a number of initiatives including the South Africa Reference Group on Women in Science, SET for women, the Department of Science and Technology Women in Science Awards, Women in Physics and the recently launched TWOWS National Chapter by the Academy of Science of South Africa among other initiatives,” informed Pandor.

"We have seen that these initiatives provide a much needed platform for the interaction of women scientists, and for encouraging girls to take up science education and careers.

"South Africa’s R&D capacity has improved over the recent past, but we will have to increase the number PhD graduates five-fold over the next 10 to 20 years in order to build the sort of knowledge-intensive economy that we need to improve the quality of our lives.

"We can reach that goal, if we boost the participation of women in SET.

"But at the moment, only one in three published scientists is a woman, and she is younger and less qualified than her male colleagues.

"Some practical interventions are already in place: the provision of equipment grants; special conference funding; workshops in publication and writing skills; postgraduate grants and research fellowships for women, special concessions for study leave (including lecturing replacements), as well as active institutional communication about research opportunities.

"Many of these initiatives are aimed, rightly so, at young researchers in general, but we have to make certain that there is a clear bias towards women in these programmes.

"Without incentives that support and recognise women in research, significant change is unlikely to take place,” concluded Pandor.OpeningPresenters_crop.JPG

She then urged TWOWS members, organisations, and networks gathered in Beijing to strengthen existing national initiatives in this area and to encourage the formation of these in countries where none exist.

Finally, she called attention to the requirement of encouraging young girls to take on science subjects and careers.

"Mentoring and role modelling have been shown to provide necessary encouragement tools for young girls to close the achievement gap,” she said. “They provide young girls with the opportunity to step outside of their current conditions and hope for a better life, give them the tools to do better, to want more, and the ability to make those changes happen.”

Pandor then urged the distinguished women scientists gathered at the TWOWS conference become role models and mentors to girls in their respective countries.

"I would like to encourage TWOWS and its National Chapters to further implement this critical responsibility in shaping the future of STI for the developing countries,” she said, adding that while there was a need for workshops and conferences on the 'gender in science issue’, the more these continue means the more we are failing to obtain a balanced representation of women in other scientific meetings.

"It is also important for TWOWS and its networks to continually ask themselves what they are doing to ensure that S&T is improving the lives of women, increasing their incomes, contributing to poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs as science should also be for the benefit of women and society at large,” concluded Pandor.

"I close by calling on TWOWS, its friends and TWOWS members to continue to support young women scientists and to celebrate the contributions of women to science.”

 
 
Copyright © 2002 - 2010 Chinese Academy of Sciences Email: cas_en@stimes.cn Add: 52 Sanlihe Rd., Beijing China
Postcode: 100864 Tel: 86 10 68597289 Fax: 86 10 68512458