Participants Emphasize the Role of Women in Space and Future Sciences and their Sustainability in the Forum “Effects of Future Sciences on Women’s Participation”

Participants in the Forum on “Effects of Future Sciences on Women’s Participation in Sustainable Development” emphasized the active role of women in space sciences and future sciences, and presented a set of achievements made by women in the fields of space and future sciences and the importance of their sustainability.

Participants at the forum, organized by UOB, in cooperation with the National Space Science Agency (NSSA), and under the patronage of the Minister of Communications, Engineer Kamal bin Mohammed, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Space Science Agency (NSSA) on Wednesday December 4, 2019 at the university’s headquarters, discussed the most important capabilities and components that contribute to supporting women in various future fields.

The forum hosted Shaikha Al Maskari from UAE Space Agency, to talk about “A space of Sustainability”. She reviewed the role of Emirati women in space projects, referring to the active role of women in the stages of work to achieve the future vision of the UAE in getting to the planet Mars. She further talked about the progress made by the United Arab Emirates in the field of space science, stressing that the “Hope Orbiter” was made with Emirati expertise and women had played a role in this great achievement and added that “It is expected that it will be launched after eight months from an island in Japan.”

The Head of the Computer Engineering Department at the College of Information Technology at UOB, Dr. Aisha Bushager, discussed “The ability of Bahraini women to keep pace with the modern sciences,” citing a number of the achievements of female students in the scientific field at the global and regional levels, and the achievements of academic, researcher and administrative women at UOB.

The forum also hosted Hayam Al-Balushi from the Emirates Space Agency, who spoke about “The role of women in getting to Mars” explaining the space programme and the goals that the Emirates Space Agency seeks to achieve, and the most important innovations resulting from space inventions. She also talked about the percentage of women ministers in the government of UAE, confirming that there are nine ministerial portfolios assumed by women from a total of 31 ministries, and that women make up 50% of the Federal National Council, 66% of workers in the public sector are women, 30% of leadership roles, 32% of the space

sector employees in the UAE are women. She also highlighted the role of women in the Hope Orbiter project, stressing that women constitute 30% of the work team.

Dr. Amani Al-Hajri from the Ministry of Health highlighted “The active role of women in the national genome project to achieve sustainable development goals in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” She stated that the percentage of women working in the Department of Genetic Diseases at the National Genome Center reaches 100%, and that the percentage of women working in the Department of Genomic Laboratories constitute 60% of the total number of workers.

Amal Al-Binali from the National Space Science Agency in the Kingdom of Bahrain explained the role of the agency, its objectives, tasks, and the impact of the Agency on the environment and health through conducting studies and research.

Noora Al Balushi from Bahrain Polytechnic College spoke about data science, reviewing her personal experience in the field of study.

The forum on “Effects of Future Science on the Participation of Women in Sustainable Development” included two dialogue sessions.

The first session on “Bahraini Women and Future Sciences” was moderated by the Head of the Physics Department at the College of Science at UOB, Assistant Professor at Department of Physics at the College of Science at UOB, Dr. Hanan Mubarak Al-Bouflasa. The second session on “Women’s role in Space Sciences” was moderated by the academic at Department of Social Sciences and History at the College of Arts at UOB, Buthaina Khalifa Qassim.