“Leonardo da Vinci” National Museum of Science and Technology

Via San Vittore 21, Milan

 

During the European year of “creativity and innovation”, and along the road heading for the Expo 2015, Milan came to life with the second edition of the international “Women&Technologies^®” conference and Women&Technology Award.

 

People often talk about “new technologies” and never about “old” ones. Yet the distinction has now become obsolete, and the real issue is how we can adopt-absorb-guide technologies instead of being guided by them. As part of this primary necessity, the “Women&Technologies^® 2008-2015” conference (the first in Europe that focuses on the female face of Research, Innovation and Business) wants to confirm – against every stereotype – that technology is also “female”. This vision, however, sees the relationship between women and technologies not as a matter of gender, but rather as an instrument to identify and highlight brilliance in research, technological development and innovation, particularly during this very important period for Europe and the rest of the world.

Gianna Martinengo, founder and Chairperson of the conference, emphasises that: “Women, as bearers of a vision that always perceives the humanistic components of any given problem, can make an original contribution to innovation, where innovation is understood as the ability to consider different points of view in order to ask new questions and find new solutions”.

 

The international “Women&Technologies^®” conference shines the spotlight on talented women and researchers – from Italy and abroad – who occupy different roles, at various levels, in the worlds of Business, Higher Education and Public Administration, and provides a platform for the “techno-visionaries” whose extraordinary intuition has not only contributed to societal development, but also constitutes concrete, working proof of the fact that technology is also female.

Dislodged from any biased position, and solid in its holistic approach in terms of both disciplines (it is necessary to integrate the traditional approach to technology, based on logic and maths, with the contribution of disciplines such as psychology, the social and cognitive sciences, education, anthropology and literature) and people, the conference welcomes speakers – male and female – of particular importance.

 

The conference received the backing of the Italian President of the Republic and was promoted by Didael in partnership with the “Leonardo da Vinci” National Museum of Science and Technology, which hosts the event. It was brought to life with the contributions of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, Lombardy Region and Forum Net Economy, in collaboration with the European Parliament – Milan Office and Donne e Tecnologie [Women and Technologies] Association. Its sponsors included Olivetti (Telecom Italia Group), Intesa Sanpaolo, Wolters Kluwer Italia, Infocamere, Adobe, Futuro@lfemminile, AICA, BCC Sesto San Giovanni and Deutsche Bank. It also received the institutional support of the Equal Opportunities Minister, Work, Health and Social Policy Ministry, External Affairs Ministry, Ministry for Education, Universities and Research, Ministry for Public Administration and Innovation, Province of Milan and Municipality of Milan.

 

The initiative received the medal of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, donated as an acknowledgement on his behalf.

Proceedings began with the greetings of the Managing Director of the “Leonardo da Vinci” National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan, Fiorenzo Galli, and those of Carlo Sangalli, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan. These were followed by an address by Gianna Martinengo – founder and Chairperson of the conference – and finally a speech by Alessandra Servidori, National Equality Councillor, on behalf of the Minister of Work, Health and Social Policy, Maurizio Sacconi.

The afternoon sessions were opened by the MEPs Lara Comi, Vice President of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, and Cristiana Muscardini, Vice President of the International Trade Committee.   

The conference also received greetings from Giorgia Meloni, from the President of Confindustria’s Special Research and Innovation and Expo 2015 Projects, Diana Bracco, and the Councillor for Networks, Public Utility Services and Sustainable Development for the Lombardy Region, Massimo Buscemi.

These were followed by the three round table sessions into which the conference was divided: “2015 Generation” (10.30-13.00),coordinated by Fiorella Operto, President of Genoa’s School of Robotics; “The cross-disciplinary quality of technologies”(14.30-16.00), led by Mariagiovanna Sami, Professor of Digital Processing Systems at the Politecnico of Milan; “Not just technologies but people” (16.30-18.00), coordinated by Gianna Martinengo, President of Didael. The conference was brought to a close with a speech by Maria Grazia Cavenaghi-Smith, Head of the European Parliament Office in Milan. The Gala Soirée, featuring the Women&Technology 2009 Award prize-giving ceremony began at 20.00.

 

The first round table discussion centred on the futures of our young people, the “2015 Generation”. While in Europe boys and girls below 15 show the same technological preferences and techno-scientific skills, their academic and professional careers diverge as they get older: in University, only one out of every 6 students in the technological fields is female. And again: in Europe, girls top boys in terms of numbers and results (across all subjects) in high school. Yet women only make up 20% of the total number of people employed in the R&D sector, earn less than their male colleagues and represent only 30% of European managers (Eurostat 2008 data).

“The cross-disciplinary quality of technologies” round table highlighted how the transversal elements that exist between different disciples – in particular between ICT, medicine and geology – are not only enriching, but open up new horizons and opportunities that are unobtainable unless people step out of their individual “comfort zones”. Drawing an example from the biomedical world, the invention of bio-sensors and lab-on-chip solutions would not have been possible without the joint contributions of biologists, doctors, micro- and nano-technology experts and materials scientists. In the “Not just technologies but people” session, the discussion revolved around a question: do technologies allow people to do the same things with better results, or do they allow people to do more things and thus to solve problems differently? The answer is far from trivial because it could entail a fundamental reorganisation of work and of the relationship between people and technologies. The winning idea is that of co-adaptation: technologies are modified by their practical application, and practical activities are modified by technologies.

 

The Gala Soirée hosted the prize-giving ceremony for the Women&Technology 2009 Award, an acknowledgement designed for women who are able to “invent the future” by creating technologies. This year’s joint winners were Catia Bastioli (CEO of Novamont S.p.A.) and Barbara Poggiali (CEO and Managing Director of DADA, RCS group). A further two special prizes were conferred by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan: one for “Public Administration”, awarded to Maria Virginia Rizzo (Manager of the Ministry of the Interior’s web portal) and one for “Applications of social interest”, awarded to Stefania Bastianello (Teacher – AISLA, Italian Association for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Finally, the special “School” prize of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan was awarded to Linda Giannini, Teacher at Don Milani Comprehensive School, Latina.

 

The interest generated by the second edition of “Women&Technologies^®” is also reflected in the significant number of visits made to its dedicated web portal, www.womentech.info, created by Didael: 992,000 visits and 150,000 visitors from 50 different countries. The portal represents just one node of a true and proper “physical and virtual workshop” dedicated to the themes of research, technological development and innovation. A network of professionals and experts that grows by the day, thanks also the groups existing on the main social networks (6 Women&Technologies^® groups are active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning and YouTube, with a total of around 3,000 members) and the buzz created around the topics discussed within the conference. Women&Technologies^® is also one of the 11 proposals selected by Forum Net Economy for its ability to promote a culture of innovation.

 

The conference registered:

The total number of people who witnessed the day’s proceedings is thus 1.644.

 

The www.womentech.info portal, starting from 9^th November 2009, will be fuelled with multimedia content and constant updates until the next edition of Women&Technologies^® one year from now; this will guarantee ample visibility to all those who sustained the initiative with donations, sponsorship or support.