Final Report Women&Technologies 2009

FINAL REPORT

International Conference
Women&Technologies® 2009: creativity and innovation

Monday, November 9, 2009
National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci"
Via San Vittore 21, Milan

In the European Year dedicated to "creativity and innovation" and on the road to Expo 2015, Milan came alive with the second edition of the international conference "Women&Technologies®" and the award "Le Tecnovisionarie®".

Often we talk about "new technologies" and never about "old" ones. But today all technologies are such and, therefore, the question becomes: how to adopt-absorb-lead technologies instead of being led by them? Within this primary need, the conference "Women&Technologies® 2008-2015" (the first in Europe focused on Research, Innovation and Business themes in a feminine perspective) wants to assert - against all common beliefs - that technology is also "female". A vision of the relationship between women and technology, however, not as a gender issue but as a tool to identify and enhance talent in research, technological development and innovation, in a period so important for Europe and beyond.
Emphasizes Gianna Martinengo , creator and Chairperson of the conference: " Women, bearers of a vision always attentive to the individual and humanistic components of every problem, can provide an original contribution to innovation. Innovation that should be understood as the ability to include different points of view to bring out new questions and new solutions."

The international conference "Women&Technologies®" is aimed at and gives voice to talented women and researchers - Italian and of any other nationality - engaged at various levels and with different roles in the worlds of Business , University , and Public Administration, and to those "technovisionaries" who with their extraordinary insights contribute to the growth of society and are a concrete and operational testimony to the fact that technology is also female .
Far from any partial and convinced view of a holistic approach both in terms of disciplines (it is necessary to integrate the traditional logic and mathematics-based approach to technology with the contribution of disciplines such as psychology, social sciences, cognitive sciences, pedagogy, anthropology, literature) and in terms of individuals, the conference hosts speakers - women and men - of particular importance.

The conference has the participation of the President of the Republic and is promoted by Didael in partnership with the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci" which hosts the event. It is carried out with the contribution of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Lombardy Region and Forum Net Economy, with the collaboration of the European Parliament - Milan Office and the Women and Technologies Association. Sponsors are Olivetti (Telecom Italia Group), Intesa Sanpaolo, Wolters Kluwer Italia, Infocamere, Adobe, Futuro@lfemminile, AICA, BCC Sesto San Giovanni and Deutsche Bank. It has received institutional endorsements from the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Policies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, University and Research, Ministry for Public Administration and Innovation, Province of Milan and City of Milan.

The initiative received the medal that the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano wanted to dedicate as his official award.

The day started with greetings from the Director General of the National Museum of Science and Technology Fiorenzo Galli and the President of the Chamber of Commerce Carlo Sangalli. After the opening speech by Gianna Martinengo - creator and Chairperson of the conference - a presentation was given by Alessandra Servidori, National Equality Councillor, on behalf of the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Policies, Maurizio Sacconi.

During the afternoon sessions, European Parliamentarians Lara Comi, Vice President of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, and Cristiana Muscardini, Vice President of the Committee on International Trade, also spoke.

Greetings have also been received from the Minister of Youth Giorgia Meloni, the President of the Special Project Research and Innovation and Expo 2015 Confindustria Diana Bracco, and the Councillor for Networks and Public Utility Services and Sustainable Development of the Lombardy Region Massimo Buscemi.

The conference was divided into three sessions: "Generation 2015" (10:30-13:00) coordinated by Fiorella Operto, President of the Robotics School of Genoa; "Transversality of technologies" (14:30-16:00) conducted by Mariagiovanna Sami, Professor of Digital Processing Systems, Polytechnic of Milan; "Not only technologies but people" (16:30-18:00) coordinated by Gianna Martinengo, President of Didael.

The closing of the event was carried out by Maria Grazia Cavenaghi-Smith , Director of the European Parliament Office in Milan. At 8:00 PM, the Gala Evening opened with the awarding of the "The Technovisionaries®" 2009 prize.

The conference The discussion around the first round table focused on the future of young people, the " Generation 2015". If today in Europe up to 15 years old boys and girls show the same technological preferences and techno-scientific skills, after 15 years of age studies and careers diverge: at University in technological subjects there is 1 girl for every 6 boys. Furthermore: in Europe girls outnumber boys in number and results (in all subjects) at high schools. Yet, women employed in the R&D sector make up only 20% of total employees, their salaries are lower than those of male colleagues and only 30% of European managers are women (Eurostat data 2008). With the theme of " Transversality of technologies", it was highlighted how transversality between disciplines - and in particular between the ICT world and other disciplines from medicine to geology - is not only a great wealth, but actually opens up horizons and opportunities that are unthinkable if everyone remains in their own "backyard". Referring for example to the biomedical world, the creation of biosensors, the development of "lab-on-chip" solutions, would not have been possible without the close interaction between biologists, doctors, experts in micro and nano-technologies, experts in materials science. In " Not just technologies but people", the key reflection revolved around the question: do technologies allow us to do the same things with better results or do they allow us to do something else, solve problems differently? The answer is not trivial, because it involves rethinking the organization of work and the relationship between technologies and people at their core. The winning idea is that of co-adaptation: technologies are modified by their application, and activities are modified by technologies.

Awards
On the sidelines of the conference, the "Technovisionaries®" Award 2009 was presented, an award dedicated to women capable of "inventing the future" by creating technologies. The joint winners were Catia Bastioli (CEO of Novamont S.p.A.) and Barbara Poggiali (CEO and General Manager of DADA, RCS group). Alongside the winners, two special awards from the Milan Chamber of Commerce were also presented: one for "Public Administration", awarded to Maria Virginia Rizzo (Head of the Ministry of the Interior's website), and one for "Applications of social interest", awarded to Stefania Bastianello (Trainer - AISLA, Italian association for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Finally, the special "School" award from the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan was awarded to Linda Giannini, a Teacher at the Don Milani Comprehensive Institute in Latina.

Some numbers
The interest generated by "Women&Technologies®", in its second edition this year, is also reflected in the significant number of visits to the dedicated portal www.womentech.info , created by Didael: 992,000 visits and 150,000 visitors from 50 Nations. The portal represents one of the nodes of a true "physical and virtual laboratory" on the themes of research, technological development, and innovation. A network of professionals and experts that grows day by day thanks to dedicated groups on major social networks (with 6 active discussion groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning, YouTube with 3,000 subscribers) and the buzz (word of mouth, discussion) on the topics discussed. "Women&Technologies®" 2009 is also one of the 11 proposals selected by Forum Net Economy for their ability to promote a culture of innovation. The total number of people who followed the conference proceedings on November 9th was 1,644 people (1,170 of whom watched the live webcast).

Towards the 2010 edition
The portal www.womentech.info will be updated with multimedia content from the November 9, 2009 conference, and with constant updates on the main themes that emerged, for a year , until the date of the next edition of Women&Technologies®; in this way, broad visibility will be guaranteed to all those who have supported the initiative with contributions, sponsorships, or endorsements.