Name: (REF MP09) Policy Roundtable: "Women's Movements in African Science, Technology, and Innovation"
Start: 2021-12-09T09:00:00+0100
End: 2021-12-09T11:30:00+0100

The AERAP Africa-Europe Science Collaboration Platform will organise a roundtable discussion on 8-9 December 2021 to consider the contribution of science to the priorities for the EU-Africa summit, currently scheduled for 17-18 February 2022 under the French Council Presidency of the European Union (1 January -30 June 2022). The purpose of the meeting will be to promote awareness of the contribution of collaborative research and development as a critical aspect of EU-Africa relations and collaborations while recognising the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which provides a critical narrative.

The general topics that will inform the discussions include:

The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, NDICI, also known as Global Europe, needs to reflect the enormous potential of collaborative and inclusive science to address the policy objectives addressed by the instrument, including digital transition and the Green deal; the Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation is a key paper: the Communication is intended to ....serve as a guide in implementing the international dimension of the new EU programme for civil research and innovation, Horizon Europe, and its synergies with other EU programmes, in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe. For example, the Communication does not address the impact of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has extraterritorial application and its implications for research collaboration, particularly in medical science and health research.
Accelerate an inclusive approach to collaborative research, recognising Africa leadership and the untapped potential of women and girls to contribute to science and innovation. This needs to start with a more cohesive approach to policymaking and regulation.
Consider how to leveraged synergies between funding mechanisms led by the EU and development finance provided by the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and others;
Raise awareness of the unforeseen and unintended impact of EU regulations on potential research collaborations. These include data privacy, the General Data Protection Regulation, the In-vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR), the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and the Clinical Trials Regulation. Good regulation cannot act as a barrier between you and African researchers. African nations need to build their enabling regulatory environment and pursue regulatory compliance with the EU. There is also an urgent need to create an enabling environment for trust relationships;
Indigenous knowledge needs to be recognised as a force for good and part equation when promoting Africa-Europe science collaboration, including developing relevant information services and linking indigenous knowledge to data capacities; patent data and WTO TRIPS Art. 66.2 is key also;
We will also consider the importance of the SDGs in this context, including enabling local and community (Local 2030) science and efficacy part of the global response.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) met in Kigali, Rwanda, on 26 October 2021, took stock of progress regarding the priority areas adopted during the last AU – EU Summit held in 2017, in Abidjan. The Communique provides some guidance on priorities for the EU-AU Summit on 17-18 Feb 2022.

AERAP is a response to the European Parliament Written Declaration 45 on Science Capacity Building in Africa. This call was repeated by the Heads of State of the African Union through their Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.407 CXVIII. AERAP encourages policymakers to understand the need for an enabling policy and regulatory environment for science cooperation with Africa and championing leadership in Africa and Europe to demonstrate science’s contribution to society and address shared global challenges.

Communication from the Commission on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation

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(REF MP09) Policy Roundtable: "Women's Movements in African Science, Technology, and Innovation"

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Abstract
Considering the latest report of the UNESCO and UN-WOMEN, the number of female researchers in the world (both part- and full-time) is on average < 30% (UNESCO, 2019). For most countries, this number becomes even lower when STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields are considered. Therefore, globally we are facing a significant gender gap in science. In Africa, most of the countries have a number of female scientists below 25%. Many factors may be responsible for the low number of female scientists (e.g., poverty and lack of access to education, social constraints, cultural biases and beliefs, lack of female mentors and role models, etc.), but the final result is that these difficulties mean we are losing huge potential that could benefit our society. We will never be able to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without giving our best in empowering girls and women in all aspects of our society, including science. Over the past years, many societies of African women in science arose, trying to build stronger networks between women and to improve many of the challenges that women in science are facing. This session aims to give more visibility to different woman's movements in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, and to get their recommendations regarding the needed policy support instruments. In addition, these recommendations will be provided to policymakers through input for the EU-AU Summit on 17-18 February 2022. In particular, it will explore how synergies between Horizon Europe and the NDICI programme can be realised to support female researchers in Africa. It will also explore how a more inclusive approach is needed to decision-making, including more women in the decision-making process for science policies.

Session organiser and chair: Mirjana Pović
(Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), Ethiopia; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Spain; African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA))

Session structure:
2hrs - series of 10min presentations
20-30min – open discussion

Detailed program:

Time (CET) Speaker Presentation of Women in Science Movements in Africa
9:00 - 9:10 Mirjana Pović Session introduction
9:10 - 9:20 Aster Tsegaye Society of Ethiopian Women in Science and Technology (SEWiST)
9:20 - 9:40 Sophie Dabo-Niang African Women in Mathematics Association (AWMA)
9:40 - 9:50 Suereta Fortuin South African Women in Science and Engineering (SA WISE)
9:50 - 10:00 Somaya Saad African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA)
10:00 - 10:10 Marie Chantal Cyulinyana Rwandan Association of Women in Science and Engineering (RAWISE)
10:10 - 10:20 Ezzoura Errami African Association of Women in Geosciences (AAWG)
10:20 - 10:30 Tana Joseph Astronomy in Colour
10:30 - 10:40 Rajaa El Cherkaoui Science by Women/Women for Africa, Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)
10:40 - 10:50 Jennifer Thomson Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)
10:50 - 11:00 Anissa Belfetmi and Sabrina Absalon Algerian Woman in Science (ALWIS)
11:00 - 11:10 Iroka Chidinma Joy African Strategy - Women in Physics Forum
11:10 - 11:30 All speakers Common discussion

Speakers

Mirjana Povic

Assistant Professor, Space Science and Geospatial Institute (SSGI), Ethiopia

Mirjana Pović (1981, Serbia) is an assistant professor at the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), an associate researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain, and an honorary lecturer at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda... Read More →

Sophie Dabo-Niang

Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Lille

Sophie Dabo-Niang is full professor of Applied Mathematics at University of Lille (North of France), chair of EMS-CDC (European Mathematical society-Committee of developing countries), scientific officer of CIMPA (International center of pure and applied mathematics), member of AWMA... Read More →

Somaya Saad

Professor of astrophysics, Astronomy Dept. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG)

Somaya Saad: Full professor of astrophysics, at Astronomy Dept. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG). She received her M.Sc and Ph.D in astrophysics from Cairo University. Her research interest focuses on the field of stellar astrophysics, Physics of hot... Read More →

R. Cherkaoui El Moursli

Vice-President, Network of African Science Academies

Prof. R. Cherkaoui El Moursli received her PhD in Nuclear Physics at the University Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France. Early 1982, she joined the Faculty of Sciences, University Mohammed V, Rabat as a research-professor. Later in 1996 she was serving as a head of the Laboratory of... Read More →

Marie Chantal CYULINYANA

Science and Technology Foresight Analyst, National Council for Science and Technology (NCST)

Dr. Marie Chantal CYULINYANA is a Science and Technology Foresight Analyst at National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), prior to this position she was a lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Science and Technology (UR-CST). She is a co-founder and current president... Read More →

Jennifer Thomson

Emeritus Professor, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town

Jennifer Thomson (PhD Rhodes) is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town. She held a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard, was Associate Professor in Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand, visiting scientist at MIT... Read More →

Iroka Chidinma Joy

Chief Engineer, Engineering and Space Systems Division (ESS) of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) which is the Nigerian Space Agency

Iroka Chidinma Joy is a Chief Engineer in the Engineering and Space Systems Division (ESS) of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) which is the Nigerian Space Agency.She is a UNOOSA Space Ambassador, Learner; a Change-agent; a Bridge-builder; and a Mentor, She... Read More →

Ezzoura Errami

Dean of the Polydisciplinary Faculty, Université Cadi Ayyad (Morocco)

Prof. Ezzoura Errami is the Dean of the PolydisciplinaryFaculty of Safi. She is also a lecturer/researcher with a strongacademic grounding in Earth Sciences and over 17 years’ experience ininternational geoscientific professional organizations. She is Presidentof the African Association... Read More →

Tana Joseph

astronomer

Dr. Tana Joseph is a South African astronomer, with a researchfocus on binary star systems outside of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Sheobtained her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University ofCape Town. In 2013, she completed her PhD at the University ofSouthampton before... Read More →

Anissa Belfetmi

Postdoctoral researcher, Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology Department at Harvard Medical school

Anissa was born and raised in Algeria, where her love for nature and Science let her pursue Biology studies. After completing a Bachelor in Biochemistry, in 2012, at Badji Mokhtar University Annaba, she went to France for a Master's in Cell and Molecular Biology at Sorbonne University... Read More →

Sabrina Absalon

Assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine

Sabrina was born and raised in France, among a multicultural family with a French mother and a Kabyle Father. Her passion for understanding how Nature works led her to pursue a Ph.D. at the University Pierre and Marie in Dr. Philippe Bastin's Lab at Pasteur Institute Paris, where... Read More →

Thursday December 9, 2021 09:00 - 11:30 CET

Policy Roundtable

AERAP Science Preview of EU-Africa Summit