Emakumeak Zientzian 2025: small steps, big changes

Thirty-five Basque organizations are joining forces around the Emakumeak Zientzian project, thus declaring their commitment to the aims of the initiative: to make the activity of women in science visible, to break with the typically male roles attributed to scientific and technical activities, and to encourage girls and adolescents to opt for careers in science. With these aims in mind, the organizations are coming together to run a programme of activities to mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated every year on February 11.

Since being sown for the first time in 2017, Emakumeak Zientzian has been a project that has been growing and strengthening year after year, and, in addition to fulfilling the main objectives of the initiative, the Emakumeak Zientzian project has been reflecting deeply on how to drive forward a necessary change of scenario in the scientific and technological panorama. So this year “we want to highlight the concept of “Hazia erein / Siembra la semilla”, by emphasising how every small step can make a difference on the road towards equality in science”, say the Emakumeak Zientzian organizers. “We firmly believe that every talk, workshop or story shared has the power to inspire new generations and to sow change that transcends beyond one week in the year alone,” they added. All of this will be captured in various audiovisual sequences, which seek to bring the public closer to the actual voices of those working for change, by highlighting gender equality and the role of women's role models. “The videos include testimonies of people –researchers, teachers, students, those responsible for equality at research centres and representatives of public bodies– who have experienced first-hand the importance of these small seeds of transformation; they invite us to reflect on the power of everyday actions to build a more equitable future,” said the organizers of Emakumeak Zientzian. 

The Emakumeak Zientzian 2025 programme will be concentrated during the week from 7 to 14 February. An extensive programme of more than 60 activities has been designed to cover the entire the Basque Country and to highlight how small collective steps, which persist over time, can generate a transforming impact. “From the work of a female scientist to the spark of curiosity that ignites in a girl, each contribution is a seed that nurtures real, profound and sustainable change,” added the Emakumeak Zientzian organizers. 

This year Emakumeak Zientzian will once again be kicking off in a festive atmosphere on Thursday, 6 February, in Bilbao, where the main video of the campaign will be presented, more testimonies will be shared and all the volunteers, as well as the representatives of the institutions, will be brought together. This event, led by Maitena Salinas, plus the involvement of the various players, will show how the seed of Emakumeak Zientzian can be made to germinate.

From that date onwards, activities geared towards the general public of all ages will be run. For the general public in Donostia, Bilbao and Gasteiz, the event Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today will bring together leading women scientists working in various fields of research. These professionals will be taking to the stage to share details of their projects and pay tribute to great female figures in the history of science, by recounting their fascinating lives and scientific achievements. In addition to the traditional student visits to research centres and workshops designed for teenagers, this year we will once again be holding the Back to School activity, in which more than 60 female researchers will visit school classrooms to talk about their experiences and encourage a vocation for science vocation among students. In parallel, work will continue with specific groups, such as women over 55, highlighting their role as transmitters of culture. In this context, the Power of Experience activity will allow eight research centres to open their doors to display their work through simple, replicable experiments, thus bringing science closer to families and the environment. Round tables, themed workshops, etc. will also be organized.

The full programme of activities is available from today onwards at www.emakumeakzientzian.eus and registrations for the various activities are already open.

The 35 organizations participating in the 9th edition of Emakumeak Zientzian are a significant representative sample of the Basque Country’s science and technology base: Achúcarro, BCMaterials, the Center for Materials Physics (CFM CSIC-UPV/EHU), CIC biomaGUNE, University of Deusto, UPV/EHU Computing, UPV/EHU Chemistry, Aranzadi Scientific Society, the Basque Artificial Intelligence Center (BAIC), Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), BioBizkaia, Biodonostia, Ceit, CIC energiGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, Cidetec, Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Elhuyar, Kutxa Foundation, Bizkaia Biophysics Foundation (FBB), Ikerlan, Ingeniariak-Professional Association of Industrial Engineers of Gipuzkoa, Mondragon Faculty of Engineering (MEGP), Mubil, Technology Parks of Euskadi-Basque Country, POLYMAT, Tecnalia, Tecnun, UPV/EHU Engineers, Vicomtech, CIC bioGUNE, ESS Bilbao and BBD BioPhenix SL-Biobide.

Emakumeak Zientzian 2025 has the outstanding support of the Charter Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Charter Provincial Council of Alava, Fomento San Sebastian, Bilbao Ekintza, Salto System, the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA) and Ikerbasque, as well as the collaboration of the following organizations and bodies: the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), the State Research Agency through the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centres participating in the initiative, the Basque Film Library and the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Biook, Skills4Science, Laboratorium Bergara, Emakunde, Lemniksata and the UPV/EHU's Directorate for Equality.