The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) is an international organisation that provides research training, career development and networking opportunities for women scientists throughout the developing world at different stages in their career. It was founded in 1987 and was officially launched in 1993. The organisation was formerly known as the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS). It is a program unit of UNESCO and based at the offices of The World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy.
The organisation aims to unite eminent scientists from the developing and developed world with an objective of supporting their efforts in the development process. It also aims at promoting the representation of its members in the sphere of scientific and technological leadership. It does so through different programs like memberships, fellowships, and awards.
Objectives
Scientific research and advancement is important to generate knowledge and products aimed at solving problems faced by society. The generation of such knowledge is especially important in the developing countries which face numerable problems like poverty, food scarcity, disease, climate change, and many more. Scientific innovation is not only important to find solutions to these problems but can also contribute to local economies. The inclusion of women in this innovation process provides a unique perspective on the local problems. In many developing countries, women have daily needs and routines oriented to their roles as main care-givers to the elderly and children. Women make up the majority of agricultural workers too, growing and harvesting food for their families, as well as collecting fresh water for drinking. If women are included as both participants in scientific research and as the beneficiaries of scientific research, the impact on children, on the elderly and on local communities will be direct and highly effective.
OWSD aims to pursue the following objectives:
a. Increase the participation of women in developing countries in scientific and technological research, teaching and leadership;
b. Promote the recognition of the scientific and technological achievements of women scientists and technologists in developing countries;
c. Promote collaboration and communication among women scientists and technologists in developing countries and with the international scientific community as a whole;
d. Increase access of women in developing countries to the socio-economic benefits of science and technology;
e. Promote the participation of women scientists and technologists in the sustainable and economic development of their country; and
f. Increase understanding of the role of science and technology in supporting women's development activities.
History
The idea for OWSD was first raised at a conference on The Role of Women in the Development of Science and Technology in the Third World in 1988, organized by the World Academy of Sciences, where more than 200 leading women scientists from 63 developing countries participated. A study group consisting of top women scientists and experts was formed to explore the possibility of creating an organization that would champion the experience, needs and skills of women scientists in the developing world. At a further meeting in Trieste in 1989, the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) was established and a constitution adopted. TWOWS was officially launched four years later in 1993, at the First General Assembly in Cairo, Egypt.
Name change
On 29 June 2010, at the organisation's Fourth General Assembly in Beijing, China members voted to adopt the name Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
Funding
OWSD is funded by external donors.
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has supported OWSD financially since 1998 and provides full funding for the postgraduate fellowship programme.
Since 2010, the Elsevier Foundation has provided funding for the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists, given to five women scientists from the developing world each year.
In 2017, an agreement was signed with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to fully fund a new OWSD fellowship for Early Career Women Scientists.
National chapters
OWSD has national chapters in 30 countries. National chapters organize regional conferences, seminars and workshops, lead national and regional initiatives for women in science, and provide OWSD members with networking opportunities.