Summary Activity Report* Follow-up after the Mexico meeting, Feb. 2011 Lilliam Alvarez Díaz

1. ACADEMIA DE CIENCIAS DE CUBA Summary Activity Report* Follow-up after the Mexico meeting, Feb. 2011 Lilliam Alvarez Díaz WfS-WG Focal Point: Cuba Other - representing: President of the Academy Commission for Women in Sciences and Cuban OWSD National Chapter Member of WfS-WG Committee(s): IANAS WfS-WG Biography Committee, co-coordinator with Patricio Felmer, from Chile WfS-WG liaison to IANAS Programmes: Science Education- Dr. Oscar Alvarez, Astronomer, working in my same Group of Promotion of Science LilliamAlvarez Díaz MeritMember of the Cuban Academy of Sciences lilliam@ceniai.inf.cu

2. ACADEMIA DE CIENCIAS DE CUBA Interacting with the Cuban Academy: Topics of interactions: Promotion of Science all over the country, having especial attention to the formation of the new generations of Cuban scientists and ensuring the participation and opportunities for all the students in schools and universities of the provinces and not only Havana. In fact, I am the head of the Group of Promotion of Sciences of the Cuban Academy. We have developed and strengthened the links with Cuban Education Minister to improve in the topic of capacity building with focus in the teachers. In 2011 we organized two Festivals for interactive S&T in open parks and in June one week Camp for talent students 15-18 years old with the participations of more than 15 Scientific Societies. In September was held de the Journey of Scientific Culture, supported by UNESCO, with the objectives to promote the debate Sciences vsSeudo-Sciences, exchanging experiences in appropriation of Sciences results, and the presence of S&T in the media.

3. ACADEMIA DE CIENCIAS DE CUBA Interacting with the Cuban Academy: Establishing/strengthening a WfS committee at the Cuban academy : Since 1999, after Budapest UNESCO World Conference, the Cuban Academy founded the Women in Sciences Commission and the OWSD (TWOWS) National Chapter. Precisely for that reason my Academy nominated me for the IANAS WfS-WG. The results are focused in an Annual Prize for women being leaders and first authors of the National Awards of the Academy and every two years promoting and awarding with the Sofia Kovalievskaia Prize three, mainly young, women in science working in Basic Sciences: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. All these years we have been promoting more participation of women in the Academy in Gender Conferences, learning and gaining culture and conscience in there themes. Alerting my academy to opportunities for nominations: Precisely this year, 2011, the Cuban Academy is developing the national nominations for elections for the new period 2012-2017, and we have done many concrete actions and alerts in the five Scientific Sections of the Academy to nominate women. Nowadays we are 28 % of the membership and we hope to increase the figure in the vote process in February, 2012.As a TWAS Fellow of 2008, I promoted the nomination and helped to be elected to NeelaBradie, from Trinidad and Tobago, as new TWAS Fellow of 2011.

4. The Cuban Academy and its Commission of Women in Sciences Awards the best women in Basic Sciences (Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry) "Sofia Kovalievskaia Prize" The winners in 2009

5. La Sociedad de Físca- filial de la CUJAE en el Festival

6. UN CAPÍTULO SOBRE CUBA EN ELINFORME MUNDIAL DE LA CIENCIA DE LA UNESCO

7. FESTIVAL DE COHETES ACC-BTJ

8. Other contributions after the Mexico meeting: • I did some comments and promotion of our Biography project during the IANAS Meeting in May 2011 in Havana, • Promoting gender issues in the International Workshop on the Role of Academies in regional scientific cooperation: Latin America and the Caribbean, also in Havana, • In the TWAS-OWSD Advisor Panel in Trieste, November, 2011, I proposed also to join efforts and actions of IANAS with ICSU and UNESCO Regional Office for S&T for Gender Issues, • Participation in the UNESCO Panel “Major dialogue Groups”- Women in Sciences in the Meeting for preparation and recommendations for Rio+20 Summit, held in the Mexican Academy of Sciences in August, 2011.

9. Mathematicians in Scholar Math Education Searching for the impact in our educational reality Santiago de Chile, January, 2012 Multiplying, integrating and building commitment: How to improve Mathematics Education in Latin America? Lilliam Alvarez Díaz Merit Member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences lilliam@ceniai.inf.cu

10. GENDER BIAS IN MATHEMATICS: Workshop on Numerical Mathematics, Germany, 2001 Lilliam Only 5 Women!!

11. Work planned by your committee for 2012: • To continue working together, side by side, in the implementation in Cuba, and from the Academy, of the Strategy and Action Plan of the IANAS Science Education Program, this is crucial – girls are our future. • To reproduce at national level the Biography Project

12. Comments, suggestions, information: • I hope to see in Panamá the results of our Liaisons in other IANAS Programs, as Energy and Water Programs. • We are needing a Virtual Discussion Forum in our Web page. • Some of us, belonging to countries with more scarcity of economical resources, are needing for some elemental infrastructure and equipment, sometimes even a lap-top or a connection for chatting are not available. Even office materials, as paper or toners for printing are not available for our promotion activities, so it would be an idea to think the support of the WfS-WG focal points of some lagging countries, for a minimal infrastructure, having into account the heterogeneity of the Region and the big Gaps among the countries. My involvement in 2012: I will be available, with a pleasure and strong commitment, in all the activities of our WfS-WG and WfS-WG liaison to Science Education IANAS Program. I would like to continue involved in the Biography project and other actions that we define.