The International Day of Women and Girls in Science will be held on 11 February. The United Nations General Assembly chose that day in 2016 to achieve full and equitable access to and participation in science for women and girls and to foster scientific vocations among them. To celebrate this day, Elhuyar launched the “Escaparates 11 February” initiative, which will involve 218 shops in Bilbao, Abanto-Zierbena, Barakaldo, Mungia, Elgoibar, Deba, Beasain and Donostia. Most will do so from 3 to 13 February, but there are also other dates: Must, from 10 to 20 February, Donostia, from 10 to 17, and Elgoibar, from 1 to 19 March.

Each establishment (list of participants) will dedicate its showcase to a woman in the field of science. They will put in the store illustrations and posters with information related to their work and decorate the shop window with reasons inspired by their research. Thus, businesses will become disseminators of the life and work of these scientists and thus contribute to make visible the contribution women make to science. This year you will also be able to participate in a YINCANA (in the localities with more than 12 establishments). By downloading the Actionbound app, you will have to go from store to store looking for the posters of the 12 women and, scanning the QRs, you will have to answer the questions about them.

In addition, there will be two exhibitions based on the images to be presented in the “Showcase 11 February” project. One in Eureka! Zientzia Museoa, from tomorrow to 17 February, as a tribute to the 12 women in the field of science and technology. Parallel to the exhibition, the Emakumeak Zientzian initiative will organise experiments to be carried out by the family on 11 and 12 February at the museum itself. The other exhibition will take place at the Clara Campoamor Civic Center in Barakaldo from 11 to 24 February.

Elhuyar created this initiative three years ago, within Bizilabe, the offer of leisure activities for scientific and technological activities aimed at young people, and this year more towns have joined the initiative. The 218 shops belong to a total of eight municipalities in the Basque Country.

Through STEAM education, Elhuyar fosters throughout the year the participation of girls in scientific and technological issues, valuing and making visible through different projects the work of the scientists, in order to create references and bring their research to boys and girls. Thus, they are offered the opportunity to know the life, trajectory and model of these women, in order to overcome false ideas and stereotypes.

As part of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Elhuyar has also organized other activities. Teknopolis will offer a special programme at ETB1 and ETB2 on the weekend of 11 February, which will discuss, among other topics, the gender bias of artificial intelligence with Elena Lazkano Ortega and Olatz Arbelaitz Gallego, UPV/EHU computer researchers. For its part, the radio programme Norteko Ferrokarrilla of the Basque Country Irratia will also dedicate its space of 10 February to this topic. In a round table, Kristina Zuza and Nadia Conlledo will look at STEAM education from a gender perspective.

On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Elhuyar joins the 7th edition of Emakumeak zientzian, collaborating with 23 other important representative entities of the science and technology network: Centre for Materials Physics (CFM CSIC EHU), Achúcarro, CIC biomaGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, University of Deusto, POLYMAT, Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), Ostieubl Zientzia Museoa, Fundación Biopísica Bizkaia (FBB), Ikerlan, Ingenieros - Official College of Industrial Engineers of Gipuzkoa, Parque Tecnológico de Euskadi, Tecnalia, Tecnun-School of Engineering, Faculty of Informatics of UPV/EHU, Escuela de Ingeniería de Gikoa. The programme of activities organized by all of them is available at: www.emakumeakzientzian.eus