At the initiative of the Wife of the President, Elizabeta Gjorgievska, and on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls Scientists, a panel discussion was held today in the premises of the Center for Transfer of Technologies and Innovations – INOFEIT within the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies – FEIT at UKIM.
Addressing the audience, the Wife of the President expressed satisfaction that this event is growing into a tradition and that it is a promotion of women and girls in the scientific field.
“This year, this day is dedicated to achieving the Goals for sustainable development and internationalization of women and girls in science, as well as connecting women scientists in society, in politics and science, to create a synergy and greater representation of women”, Gjorgievska said.
The Wife of the President said that our country, North Macedonia, is one of the leaders in terms of the number of women and girls with the highest degrees, master’s degrees and graduations, i.e. there are 52.3% of women and girls in science, but in their further development, women do not reach the maximum of their potential, so in the higher ranks the percentage of women and girls in science decreases.
Emphasizing that this year this day is also dedicated to women and girls with disabilities who are engaged in science and how they deal with the difficulties they encounter on their way, Gjorgievska said that, in terms of achieving the goal of the United Nations – Leave no one behind, we must also pay attention to these women and girls.
The event was addressed by the Minister of Education and Science, Jeton Shaqiri, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador David Geer, Hristina Spasevska, Vice-Rector for education at UKIM, Kaltrina Zekoli Shaqiri, assistant professor of family law at the “Mother Teresa” University-Skopje and representative of “Women in Science Network”, Ema Ananievska, graduate pianist and postgraduate student in special education and rehabilitation, specific learning disabilities, Gordana Georgieva, doctor-specialist in plastic and reconstructive surgery, Simona Nikolova, doctor-technologist in rubber and gum technology and product and project manager at Technoguma-Nikolov.
The present female scientists and the online participants discussed several topics related to their personal and professional challenges in daily scientific research work, as well as the achievements in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
This year the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science aims to connect the international community with women and girls scientists, strengthening the links between science, politics and society in establishing strategic positioning in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals and in reviewing the permanent high-level policy forum which will also include a science workshop for blind girls and a session by fellow blind scientists on “The Science of Braille: Making Science Accessible”.
