Emakumeak Zientzian kicks off!

The event Scientists of Yesterday and Today kicks off a week with more than 70 activities throughout the Basque Country to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Emakumeak Zientzian kicks off its tenth edition with the event Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today, which will be held simultaneously in Donostia, Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz, marking the start of a week of activities to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is celebrated every 11th February.

Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today is one of the most special activities in the Emakumeak Zientzian programme, a meeting that connects the past and the present to raise the profile of women in science. Five female scientists currently working in research centres in Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava will take to the stage to share their professional experience and explain, in a friendly and accessible way, what they are researching today and what their day-to-day life as scientists is like. Each of them will also pay tribute to a female scientist or technologist from the past, reviving key figures whose contributions were fundamental but who remained invisible for a long time. Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today is, in short, a tribute to the women who paved the way and an open window to highlight those who continue to build knowledge today.

Ten years after its inception, Emakumeak Zientzian celebrates this special edition with a view that does not just look back on the past, but also looks to the future. The project reaffirms a clear conviction: although progress has been made, inequalities in science persist. They persist in how knowledge is constructed, in who has a voice, in who leads and in who continues to be marginalised. Getting to this point has also meant stopping to reflect on why it is necessary to continue.

Under the slogan ‘Marea bizia gara’ / ‘We are a living tide’, thirty-four Basque organisations are emphasising the strength of the collective in organising an extensive programme of activities that calls for a more open, fair and socially connected science. The Emakumeak Zientzian 2026 programme will be concentrated in the week from 3 to 11 February. An extensive programme of more than 70 activities has been designed, covering the entire Basque Country to highlight how small actions, when combined, can generate a large movement.

The activities of this tenth edition will culminate on 11 February, coinciding with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, with a festive event at the San Sebastián Aquarium. This final meeting will serve to share the results of a process of reflection that has given rise to a manifesto or action plan that will mark the future direction of Emakumeak Zientzian and will become the central focus of the celebration.

The full programme of activities is available on the website www.emakumeakzientzian.eus and registration for the various activities is now open.

The 34 organisations participating in the 10th edition of Emakumeak Zientzian are a representative sample of the science and technology fabric in the Basque Country: Euskadiko Parke Teknologikoa, Basque Centre for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), BCMaterials, Biogipuzkoa, CIC bioGUNE, Donostia International Physics Centre (DIPC), Elhuyar, EHU Informatika, EHU Kimika, Achucarro, Aranzadi, AZTI, Basque Artificial Intelligence Centre (BAIC), Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Biofisika Institutua, CEIT, the Centre for Materials Physics (CFM CSIC-EHU), CIC biomaGUNE, CIC energiGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, Cidetec, EHU Farmazia Fakultatea, EHU Ingeniaritza Eskola Gipuzkoa, EESS Bilbao, Ikerlan, Ingeniariak, Kutxa Fundazioa, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, POLYMAT, Tecnun – University of Navarra, Tecnalia, University of Deusto and Vicomtech.

Emakumeak Zientzian 2026 has the outstanding support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Provincial Council of Álava, Fomento San Sebastián, Bilbao Ekintza, the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), Ikerbasque, , MUBIL and Salto System, as well as the collaboration of the following entities and organisations: 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 affiliated with the initiative, the Basque Film Library and the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Biook, Skills4Science, Laboratorium Bergara, Emakunde, Lemniksata, the Equality Directorate of the UPV/EHU, the San Sebastián Aquarium, San Sebastián Convention Bureau and the Equality Service of the Eibar City Council.