Officials during the event
Qatar University (QU) is distinguished in keeping pace with world events, especially those related to science in various fields. In this regard, QU recently held the International Day of Women and Girls in Science for the fourth consecutive year, which is organised annually by Unesco on February 11.
The celebration this year came under the theme: “Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Water Unites Us”. This event was organized at QU with efforts from Research and Graduate Studies Sector and in cooperation with the Unesco office in Doha and Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science.
This celebration comes from QU’s belief in the role of women and their active participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as their prominent role in creating practical and community-based solutions for the preservation of natural resources, especially water, and in educating generations about its importance.
Prof. Mariam Al-Maadeed, Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies, applauded Qatar’s achievement in terms of laws and legislation as well as providing women with various types of support and opportunities, opening the doors for education and employment, and enabling them to contribute actively to development and reaching the highest positions in leadership. She added that choosing water as a theme for this year represents the first natural wealth for life on Earth, and the sixth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in appreciation of the importance of water for all its uses and its increasing need with the economic and population development of societies.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anna Paolini, Director of the Unesco Regional Office in Doha and Unesco Representative in the Arab States of the Gulf and Yemen, said, “Building collective and local competencies and providing opportunities for women, men, girls and boys to reach their full potential is of paramount importance to meet today’s challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, deteriorating ocean health, and epidemics.”
As keynote speakers, Dr. Mai Al-Ghanem – Senior Biologist, Department of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Municipality, and Dr. Marwa Al-Ghanem, Head of the Environmental Laboratory Department - Monitoring Department and Environmental Laboratory at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change participated in this year’s event.
The event included a panel moderated by Dr. Noora Al-Shamari, Senior Research Assistant at the Environmental Sciences Center, Qatar University, with the participation of several female specialists and researchers; Reema Tayyem, Professor of Human Nutrition at the College of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Zahrah Saif Al Abri, Research Assistant in Unesco Chair on Aflaj Studies-Archaeohydrology, Nizwa University, Oman, Mashael Almas, Engineer at the ConocoPhillips Global Center for Water Sustainability, Noor Bader, Research Assistant at the Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Fatima Al-Mesnad, Head of Community Awareness and Development, Kahramaa.
A number of themes were discussed during the panel discussion, including water and heritage, water innovation, and applications.
The event also honoured several female researchers at QU who were distinguished by their research efforts on the topics of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), as well as honoring Dr. Nuura Adam Abdi, Research Associate at Qatar University’s Biomedical Research Center, winner of the 2021 L’Oréal-Unesco Prize in Dubai.
Munera Al-Kuwari, Administrative Affairs Expert at the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science stressed that “raising women’s awareness of the importance rationalization of water has become an important demand, and a joint responsibility undertaken by all relevant State institutions and civil society organizations. This will ensure women’s effective participation in various fields of sustainable development, and investing their capabilities in formulating policies, programs and plans for the use of water.”
