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BIH exhibition visits Paris and Brussels
In cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Maison Heinrich Heine (MHH) and with the support of the German embassies, the exhibition ‘Berlin - Capital of Women Scientists’ travelled to Paris and Brussels.
‘Science is still perceived as predominantly male. And it is precisely here, regarding the visibility of women in science, that we are starting with the project ‘Berlin - Capital of Women Scientists’. In addition to breaking down structural barriers and providing individual support for female scientists, it is very important to us as a scientific research institute to help make female scientists and their research more visible. Women scientists who are visible can change perceptions and act as role models,’ says Karin Höhne, Head of Equal Opportunities and Diversity at BIH.
The traveling exhibition is a continuation of the project ‘Berlin - Capital of Women Scientists’, which was launched under the auspices of Science Year 2021 as a cooperation between the Berlin Senate Chancellery and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH). It all began with several edit-a-thons and writing workshops in which interested citizens, from pupils to pensioners, composed new Wikipedia entries and edited existing articles. Based on these new and improved biographies – more than 50 in all – a traveling exhibition was created that succinctly portrays the lives and careers of 22 women scientists and scholars from different eras and disciplines who were or are based in Berlin. The exhibition has already been shown at various locations in Berlin, such as at universities, libraries and town halls, and is also available online. In 2024, the exhibition was already shown internationally in Prague, Tokyo and Budapest and has now travelled on to the partner cities Paris and Brussels.
Vernissage at the Maison Heinrich Heine in Paris
To mark the official opening of ‘Berlin – Capitale des femmes scientifiques’ in Paris on April 8, 2025 the Maison Heinrich Heine organised a panel discussion with Juliane Siegeris, a specialist in business informatics, and Theda Borde, a professor of social medicine, who are both portrayed in the exhibition.
Moderated by Sarah Mantah, NGO administrator of Project Soar, they discussed the still low representation of women in science and its causes together with the large audience exchanging views on opportunities for more equal opportunities. Stefanie Stegemann, Head of the Science Department at the German Embassy in Paris, gave a welcome address. Emmanuelle Charpentier, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and one of the faces of the exhibition, was engaged in dialogue with interested participants until late evening. The exhibition was shown in French and German in the foyer of the MHH until May 4, 2025.
‘Women and Diversity in Science’ at the Press Club Brussels
Under the theme ‘Celebrating Women and Diversity in Science’, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the embassy of the federal republic of Germany in the Kingdom of Belgium hosted a vernissage at the Press Club Brussels on May 12, 2025. Women have made incredible contributions to science, yet they remain largely invisible and significantly underrepresented. In the EU, women represent only one third of the total number of researchers in Europe. After greetings from Martin Kotthaus, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of Belgium, and Dr Jenny Morín Nenoff, Senior Desk Officer Diversity & Equal Opportunities at the DAAD, Prof Dr Theda Borde, Project lead “Empowerment for Diversity” at Charité –Universitätsmedizin Berlin, gave a keynote speech on the topic ‘From Invisible to Indispensable – Science needs diversity’. She then discussed ‘Empowering women in science’ together with Prof Dr Sarah-Maria Fendt, Professor Faculty of Medicine KULeuven, and Adrien Braem, Senior Policy Officer, Science Europe. The lively panel discussion was followed by many questions and contributions from the audience, which Michael Hörig, Director of the DAAD Brussels, was happy to take on as moderator of the event. The exhibition is on display in French, Dutch, English and German at the Press Club Brussels until June 2, 2025.
Further stops, including in Lyon, are in preparation.