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Time for Arab Women to be Recognized Globally: Forum
The country’s leadership has greatly empowered Emirati women and they are on a par with their male counterparts, participants of a seminar were told here on Sunday.
It is high time the work of women from all Arab nations is acknowledged on the international scene, said Professor Sehamuddin Galadari, Vice-Provost for Research and Graduate Studies at UAE University (UAEU.)
He was among the speakers at the 2013 L’Oréal-Unesco Pan Arab Fellowships for Women in Science programme hosted by the university.
“Most importantly, these award winners act as role models encouraging more Arab women to be engaged in science and therefore continuously making significant contributions in the field of technology and science,” he said.
The world of science needs women, and it is for this reason that L’Oréal and Unesco joined forces to form this programme, he said. The programme aims to celebrate the phenomenal achievements of the Arab region’s women scientists and to reward them and empower them to further contribute to the world of science.
Following the success of the L’Oréal-Unesco Pan Arab Fellowships for Women in Science since its launch in 2010, the programme was extended to include candidates from 17 Arab countries, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen.
The fellowships are granted to ten exceptional Arab women scientists with each new Fellow receiving €15,000 (Dh73,534) in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of science and to further progress her career.
This year’s programme has been organised in cooperation with the UAE National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The ceremony to award the winners will be held in Dubai in November.
Dr Hussam Al Olama, NRF Director, said his organisation was keen on the joint effort to support and reward scientists, researchers and inventors following the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership to foster research collaborations.
“Emirati women play a primary role in academic and research, and have made distinguished and effective contributions in competitive international research programmes, therefore we look forward to this year’s participation in the 2013 L’Oréal-Unesco Pan Arab Fellowships Programme ‘For Women in Science’ which aims to honour distinguished Arab women in science, expose their scientific capabilities and elevate their status,” he added.
The 2013 L’Oréal-Unesco Pan-Arab Regional Fellowships applications are now open for all Arab female scientists who are active in the fields of material sciences, life sciences, engineering, and mathematics. They, however, have to meet the criteria of being resident of any of the 17 countries within the programme, and have completed their PhD before June 24 2011, and be under the age of 40.
Eligible women scientists are encouraged to submit their applications online by registering at www.forwomeninscience-panarab.org
Aftab Kazmi
Gulf News