Kigali, November 23 2020 – Today, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), together with Portia Ltd, will host a virtual ceremony to kick off the 18th Gender Summit (GS18). Organized on the side lines of the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) and under the framework of the Gender Summit Africa series, GS18 will run from November 23 to December 02 under the theme of “Agriculture through the Gender Lens: From Surviving to Thriving in a Climate Changing World”.
“Our commitment to scientific excellence goes hand in hand with a deliberate approach to promote gender equity and inclusion, dovetailing with SDG 5 which sets out to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, said Lydie Hakizimana, AIMS CEO. “To apprehend issues affecting men and women unequally, we work to ensure that our programs are gender-sensitive, by making gender mainstream across all our initiatives. Ensuring fuller participation of African women in research, innovation and development is one of the objectives of the Gender Summit and the most efficient way to create the knowledge needed to build smart and fair innovation ecosystems in Africa, and for Africa,” she said.
“The 18th Gender Summit will demonstrate the importance of advancing gender knowledge into agricultural research and farming practices in Africa, as the best way to achieve food and nutrition security for all. The diverse collection of GS18 speakers: scientists, gender scholars and development specialists, from across Africa and beyond, will pave the way for effective science-society-stakeholder collaborations to ensure that the “zero hunger” mission of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 will “not leave women behind,” said Elizabeth Pollitzer, Director of Portia Ltd and Founder of the Gender Summit.
Since 2011, the Gender Summit has provided a forum for linking critical players such as scientists, gender scholars, policymakers, research institutes, funding organizations and civil society, to engage in joint transformative actions to advance understanding of gender issues towards sustainable and effective research and innovation. The Gender Summit Africa platforms present and discuss research from a gender perspective towards a scientific understanding of issues that are important to Africa, to ensure that research outcomes and applications benefit women and men equally, and chart pathways for improvements. Watch the GS18 teaser. Register.
About AIMS
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a pan-African network of centres of excellence for post-graduate training in mathematical sciences, research and public engagement in STEM. With centres in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda, AIMS is leading Africa’s socio-economic transformation through innovative scientific training, cutting-edge research, and public engagement. For more information, visit www.nexteinstein.org.
About Portia
Portia is a not-for-profit organization founded in London and established in 2001 by a group of women scientists at Imperial College London to advance understanding of gender issues in science, participation, organizational practices, and science knowledge. In 2018, Portia established an independent subsidiary in Germany, Portia gGmbH, which is also a not-for-profit. For more information, visit www.portiaweb.org.uk.
Media Contact
Dr Layih Butake, Senior Outreach Manager & Acting Director of Communications, AIMS
Lbutake@nexteinstein.org, (+221) 773235609