Project description
Female researchers take centre stage to promote inclusivity in scientific careers
Despite advancements, women remain underrepresented in STEM fields, facing barriers in visibility and career progression. This gap perpetuates stereotypes and limits diversity in the scientific community and in knowledge generation. To address this issue, the NGO Belgian Women in Science is launching a series of interactive events in Brussels as well as workshops across Belgium. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the WiseNight 2024-2025 project invites citizens to explore cutting-edge research and interact directly with scientists, focusing on space, nature, and key EU missions like climate action and cancer. By fostering inclusivity and showcasing female role models and teamwork in science, the project aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators. The events will take place in landmark institutions which have been conducting research for more than 200 years.
Objective
With this project, Belgian Women in Science, a Brussels-based non-profit organisation, aims to bring women researchers closer to the general public and stimulate the interest in scientific careers among young people with a special focus on gender diversity and inclusiveness. Citizens of all ages will be able to discover research related to nature, space and the 5 EU missions (cancer, soil deal, ocean & waters, adaptation to climate change, climate-neutral smart cities) allowing them to exchange ideas and experiences with scientists about their careers and breakthroughs. To achieve this, we will organize over 100 activities engaging the audience like demonstrations focused on climate change and evolution; art & science exhibitions portraying female scientists, workshops focusing on new trends in science and technology such as water and solar power and food of the future. The European Researchers Night (“Night”) events take place in two inspiring locations in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, also enabling the discovery of historic and natural landmarks where research has been conducted for almost two centuries. The ‘Researchers at Schools’ (“Schools”) workshops take place in schools, with a special focus on reaching vulnerable children. In addition, some workshops will be organised at a Brussels university campus, where students can become researchers & innovators, and in the two musea (Museum of Natural Sciences “Museum” and the Planetarium of Belgium “Planetarium”). Our awareness campaign will be one of the successful key points in this project. A dedicated media plan has been designed and a specialized press office will be involved to promote the activities at national level, also promoting our outreach events throughout the whole year on social media channels. In order to evaluate the impact, we will analyse the target audience reached; measure the increase of knowledge and promotion of the researcher's figure; and understand the level of appreciation.
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium