For yet another year, Campus Gandia of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is collaborating in the IV edition of the Dones Sàvies (Wise Women) lecture series, organized by the EIC Alfons el Vell and the Gandia Library, with the support of the Department of Equality of the City Council of Gandia and CEFIRE-Gandia, and coordinated and moderated by Rosa Mascarell, artist, cultural events curator and essayist.
Dones Sàvies consists of a lecture series where female academics, scientists and popularizers give visibility to the contribution of eight influential women from the fields of History, Science, Art, Tourism, Literature, Politics or Feminism, among others. The lecture series will start in October 2021 and end in May 2022, with a monthly lecture to be held in the Assembly Hall of the Central Library of Gandia at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free to all and is especially targeted at young audiences. The capacity will be restricted to 56 people and protective health measures will be taken. In addition, all those unable to attend in person will be able to watch the lives stream of the conferences on YouTube, where they will be able to interact with the speakers through enabled
FEMALE PIONEERS IN SCIENCE
Campus Gandia will hold two of the lectures focusing on the work and legacy of two pioneer female scientists in their fields of expertise.
“RITA LEVI MONTALCINI ND THE THE SCIENCTIFIC CHALLENGES OF THE XXI CENTURY”
On November 4th, María Teresa Rubio, Research Scientist at the CSIC and the Nutrient Signaling Unit of the Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV), gave a talk about Rita Levi Montalcini, a neurologist and Italian university professor, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1986. In 1952 she discovered the growth factor, which is the order required by a cell to start reproduction. She is also is in charge of promotion and creation at the European Brain Research Institute, among other institutions.
“JEMIMA MORRELL, PIONEER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM”
For her part, Lola Teruel, an expert in Tourism at Campus Gandia, will give a talk on Jemima Morrell on December 2nd. Lola’s research work focuses on the conservation, enhancement and touristic galvanization of the natural and cultural heritage through the prism of sustainability, with the goal of improving the socio-cultural and economic development of people and tourist destinations.
This interest connects the researcher with the work of Jemima Morrell, a female explorer who made the first organized trip to Switzerland in the 19th century. Her experience touring the Swiss Alps, collected in a travel book, inspired other businessmen at the time, specifically Thomas Cook, the precursor of package tours as they are known today.
“Various documents, writings and film works have been produced surrounding the figure of Jemima Morell, recreating the landscapes, heritage and customs as a tourist attraction, as well as a way to discover, value and respect them,” highlights the Campus researcher.
The aim of this initiative is to highlight the contribution of wise pioneer women, whose struggles have transformed reality, providing female role models for young people to identify with and be inspired by to achieve a more just and equal world. According to Rosa Mascarell, “The gender bias in the vocational school and university curriculum, as well as the subsequent repercussion in terms of salary and presence in decision-making spaces persists today, which is the reason behind these lectures.”
R&D&I Management and Promotion Officer at Campus Gandia