On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its foundation – which took place on 18 November 1923 – the National Research Council (CNR) is organizing a series of events built around ten main themes: cultural heritage, life science, green transition, clean energy, sustainability, biodiversity, circular economy, digital transition, peace and science diplomacy, one health.

Within this programme, on 29 May 2023, the Aula convegni of CNR in Rome will host the awarding ceremony of the “Donne e Ricerca in Fisica: tra stereotipi di genere e professioni del futuro” competition: an initiative addressed to secondary schools published by the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) in collaboration with the CNR’s Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies (IRPPS).

The competition, now in its third year, is supported by two European projects: GENERA – Gender Equality Network in the European Research Area and MindtheGEPs. Students, individually or in teams, coordinated by a teacher, were asked to submit a video of max. 3 or 5 minutes, depending on the format chosen, on one of the following topics:

• Exploring and imagining the multiple uses of physics, including applied physics, in the field of research and, more generally, in the society of the future;
• Identifying the stereotypes and prejudices, still rooted in the socio-cultural context, which burden the role and image of women in investigation and research in physics as well as in all STEM subjects;
• Proposing initiatives that could encourage girls to enroll in university courses in scientific disciplines.

Further information is available on the website of the competition.