[Equal] WG: conference - Science Policies Meet Reality

[Sonderegger Christa]

Liebe Equals

Gerne leite ich Ihnen diesen Call for paper weiter.

Herzlich Christa Sonderegger

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Laura Henderson [mailto:laura at zenyaveda.cz] 
Gesendet: Dienstag, 16. Mai 2006 15:12
An: undisclosed-recipients
Betreff: conference - Science Policies Meet Reality

Dear Helsinki Group members,

We would like to notify you of the conference "Science Policies Meet
Reality: Gender, Women, Youth and Science in Central and Eastern Europe"
to be held in Prague, 1-2 December 2006.

Call for papers

Science policies meet reality:
gender, women and youth in science in Central and Eastern Europe

Deadline: 16 July 2006

Conference: 1-2 December 2006
Venue: Masarykova kolej, Thákurova 1, Prague 6, Czech Republic

As the Central European Centre for Women and Youth in Science, the first
regional support project for women and youth in science funded by the
EC, is drawing to its close, this conference will provide an opportunity
to assess the impact of the project and present findings and results.
This will be done against the backdrop of recognising the growing
significance of the gap between the goals of science policies and
programmes and their actual implementation.
This conference will discuss for the first time in East-Central Europe
current obstacles to successful science policy implementation and
discrepancies between the status quo and stated goals concerning gender
equality and the position of early stage researchers. This will be done
through discussing/disseminating existing research and policy
implementation practices.
The conference will bring together researchers, activists and
policymakers. We are specifically interested in relevant research and
policy implementation, experience of scientists and policymakers across
Europe who may aid policy formulation and implementation and recognition
of scientific excellence. Papers and posters are invited for the
following sessions:

session I
Mobility: perils and possibilities

Without fellowships early stage researchers today cannot dream of
launching their scientific career, especially in the hard sciences;
evidently, those who do not get guidance and information about mobility
opportunities are at severe disadvantage. Moreover, mobility schemes
often implicitly imply emotional and geographical flexibility. The
actual uptake of mobility programmes can therefore mirror various types
of conditions, stereotypes and biases based on gender, geo-political
location or age. Once out, it may also become difficult to return.
This session will explore the impact of gender, location and age on the
ability to be mobile and the reflection of these factors in mobility
policy. It will also look into how the demands on mobility get
translated into scientific excellence criteria and who loses out.

session II
Is science inspirational? Is life inspirational?!? Opportunities for
work-life balance

Policies which allow women and men to balance their personal and
professional lives in the sciences are rarely provided and if so, they
remain on paper. The question is whether it is really possible to take
up work-life balance policies without damaging the career in the eyes of
those who measure excellence in terms of continuous, uninterrupted
scientific output and visible presence at workplace.
This session will examine the types of work-life balance support in
research and development, the background assumptions in which work-life
balance issues are framed and what is necessary to make work-life
balance programmes a success.

session III
Making decisions and decision making: dealing with sticky floors and
glass ceilings

Women are present in decision-making positions and advisory boards in
very low numbers. Reasons often cited include, on the one hand, the
exclusion of women from the "old boys' club", lack of time to network
and make informal contacts and less presence among the top echelons from
where scientists are invited. On the other hand, it is claimed that
women are not interested in leadership positions, lack the
self-confidence, that they are not as ambitious and concentrate more on
concrete work.
This session will address the impact of policy recommendations to
increase the number of women in decision-making in science and of actual
measures taken while exploring the obstacles to actually achieving the
goals set and resistance to such measures.

session IV
Dumb or deaf? The missing voices and missing issues in science communication

There is great emphasis from the European Commission to communicate
science to the public through the media. This need is framed in terms of
democratisation of science and increasing the accountability of research
and researchers to society. What are the limits of the
"democratisation"? Who is conceived a legitimate communicator and who is
meant to form an audience? Which scientists and what issues are
considered interesting for the general public? Is the gender dimension
taken into account, with women having been traditionally excluded from
"expertise" which is often called upon by politicians and media to
support arguments and interests?
This session will take a look at political agendas in communicating
science to society, including the aim to attract young people to the
sciences, and the exclusions of voices and issues from the media channels.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Please send a 500-word proposal for poster or presentation, indicating
which one, and a brief curriculum vitae by 16 July 2006 via e-mail to
Laura Henderson at laura at zenyaveda.cz as an attachment (PDF, Word, rtf).
Please address your proposals to the relevant session. Applicants will
be sent a notification of acceptance by 31 August 2006.
Speakers will be obliged to supply a full-length version of their paper
or PowerPoint presentation by 31 December 2006.
Details about format requirements will be sent to speakers separately.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
To register for the conference online, visit
http://www.cec-wys.org/html/index.php?s1=1&s2=15&s3=3&lng=13

CONFERENCE INFORMATION
The conference website at
http://www.cec-wys.org/html/index.php?s1=1&s2=15&s3=1&lng=13
will provide all relevant information about the venue, accommodation,
programme, speakers etc.

We hope to see you in Prague.

With warm regards,

Laura Henderson
Marcela Linkova

National Contact Centre - Women and Science
Institute of Sociology
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic