Secretary-General of Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science Dr Hamda Hassan Al Sulaiti praised the great interest the State of Qatar gives to women and girls, which enabled them to highlight their potential in all fields including sciences and research. On the sidelines of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science in Qatar, Al Sulaiti said the state's interest in Qatari women is clearly reflected in the country's permanent constitution, which calls for gender equality without discriminating in rights and duties.

In addition to the national and sectoral strategies related to education and training including the strategies of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar University (QU) and Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF). In similar context, Al Sulaiti referred to Al Bairaq project of QF, as an educational program that embraces young Qatari talent in the field of scientific research and science. It also aims to support Qatar's commitment to a knowledge-based economy, enrich human capital, and improve competitiveness through innovation, entrepreneurship and applied research, indicating that the program selects, trains and guides students to become researchers.

This is in addition to the robotics programs that Qatar takes part in international competitions of and the latest win was a bronze medal in South Africa. Al Sulaiti highlighted that the Excellence award of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has allocated one of its categories for outstanding scientific research for high school students, which was recently won by a girl, which is an indication of Qatar's interest in scientific research, as well as other programs of scientific research for both genders including the program "health and scientists" for girls and boys, as well as the opening of technical schools, to become important tributaries for the development of Qatari scientists and researchers. In her statement, Al Sulaiti reaffirmed the continuous communication between Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science and the regional office of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Qatar, where every event held by the commission is translated and transferred to the UNESCO to be used on a global platform. Al Sulaiti stressed the importance of the role played by Qatari women in building society.

The adoption by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science was an attempt by the international community to achieve women's equal participation in science, to advance gender equality, stressing that science and gender equality are vital to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan. The State of Qatar gives great importance to strengthening the status of Qatari women in the field of science and scientific research and establishing the foundations of constructive scientific thinking by providing many specialized programs and grants to study the latest technological developments and to identify the best scientific developments. It also organizes and hosts several world-leading conferences and initiatives to spread scientific culture among girls, Al Sulaiti added. For her part QU Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Mariam Al Ali Al Maadeed said celebrating this day at the global level is an occasion to honor women regardless of race, color, doctrine and belonging, and to review women's social, economic and other achievements and enable them to achieve more. She added that Qatari women's reality is an example of the progress they have achieved on the path of fairness and support at every level.

This is reflected in Qatar National Vision 2030, which has made women equal partners in facing the various challenges of progress and prosperity. She said that the latest statistics of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Qatar University showed that women constitute 76 percent of the students of the program. They also constitute 64 percent of the university's science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Director of UNESCO Regional Office in Doha Anna Paolini highlighted the importance of the role of women and the extent of their investment in science, the importance of science and gender equality in achieving the global goals of sustainable development by 2030 She said that currently, women account for less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide and according to UNESCO data (2014-2016), 30 percent of all female students choose fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education, while at the global level, the enrollment rate of female students is low in the areas of information and communications technology.

The ceremony included a presentation for the work of students in QU, as well as a discussion panel on the efforts, scientific projects and various initiatives. the world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on the 11th of February every year, stressing the role of women and their contribution in various fields of science and the importance of this participation in the development of different scientific fields. This day was adopted on December 15, 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly as part of its seventieth session. The theme of this year's celebration focuses on equality in science. (QNA)

Source: QNA, Cover image credit: QNA

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Binu Cherian

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