|
International Conference
Women&Technologies®: creativity and innovation
Monday, 9th November 2009
“Leonardo da Vinci” National Museum of Science and Technology
Via San Vittore 21 – Milan
In contemporary Europe, the relationship between women and technologies has become increasingly complex, evolving as it in some contradictory directions. Indeed, when considering how important science and technology are in today’s job market, the lack of women with stable positions in the techno-scientific professions continues to be a problem.
There is certainly no difference in the academic performance of boys and girls. On the contrary, girls boast excellent results in all subjects, both in schools and universities. This notwithstanding, few of them pursue techno-scientific studies. Still fewer begin professional careers in these sectors and only a minority of women reach positions comparable to those of men.
Yet, women have proved that they are not only careful users of technologies – expressing considerable wisdom and creativity in adapting them to their system of social relations and to the requirements of eco-sustainability – but also that they know how to make increasingly relevant contributions to the creation of technologies and innovation.
The 2009 edition of the International Women&Technologies® Conference, of which the Women&Technology Award is an integral part, wants to not only to shed light on this problem, but to help identify a medium-term way to resolve it.
Gianna Martinengo, creator and chairperson of the conference, had already claimed at the close of its first edition that: “[…] technological research requires integrating the contributions of a plurality of disciplines, according to what is known as a ‘holistic approach’: not just logic and maths, but also psychology, the social and cognitive sciences, anthropology, literature. This is where true innovation is born, from the ability to consider different points of view, asking new questions and finding new solutions. Women, as bearers of a vision that always perceives the “humanistic” components of any given problem, can make an original contribution in this sense […]„
Technologies, by way of their cross-disciplinary quality, can represent an ideal locus for the sharing and collaboration of these different disciplines. The move towards systems that are ever more focused on services necessitates this very ability to create dialogue between technologies and people and to integrate typical aspects of social life – such as interaction, dialogue and conversation, reputation – into ICT.
Even in companies and public administrations, the transformation of organisational, communication and economic models requires skills that respond to the needs of individuals, the environment, social interactions and values.
We thus need to orient the new “2015 generation” towards professional choices that contain this transversal element and to support their acquisition of expertise and knowledge through both formal (school and university) and informal learning processes.
This is why, starting from the key concepts of creativity and innovation, Women&Technologies® 2009 will expand the field of discussion to cover the transversal nature of technologies and skills, techno-scientific learning, people and their social and collaborative dimensions.
Women are “inventing” technologies and re-designing the profile of many sciences across the globe.
Their presence in the techno-scientific world has already put consolidated prejudices in jeopardy, while contributing previously smothered intelligence and passion to the sector.
We can only imagine the transformations that could be born from an increase in women’s participation in the formulation and application of policies relating to science and technology.
"I love science too much to deprive her of women's intelligence"
(Roald Hoffmann, Applied theoretical chemistry, Nobel Prize 1981)
Entry is free, but online registration is required.
COMMUNITY AND WEB 2.0
|
