The documentary exhibition “UAIC – A Place for Women in Science” has been organized by the UAIC-STAGES project and the UAIC Centre for Gender Equality in Science in the central building of the UAIC (University Palace), in the famous space named “the Hall of Echoing Footsteps” (Sala Pasilor Pierduti).

The exhibition was conceived as a relevant and unitary communication action about the active presence of the UAIC’s women scientists and their important contribution in education and research. At the same time, being organized within the framework of the STAGES project, the exhibition aims to show the main objectives included in the UAIC-STAGES action plan, namely to increase the public visibility and acknowledgement of the women’s scientific achievements, to promote their inspiring role model for young researchers, to strengthen the organizational awareness by building up on gender equity culture and its benefits for scientific performance as well as to present the implementation of the programmes devoted to achieve gender equality in science at the UAIC.

Therefore exhibition reflects, like a public mirror, the activities and events held at the UAIC on the last 30 months period under the aegis of the European Project STAGES in order to promote gender equality in science. The themes of the 24 panels that gather more than 250 documents and photos are correlated with the main directions of the Action Plan and illustrate the setting up of new institutional structures and practices, the organizing of public events and scientific workshops, training sessions and many other activities aiming to make more visible the scientific contribution and social responsibilities of women academics and researchers from the UAIC.

In the opening discourses, Prof. Dr, Vasile Isan, the Rector of the University, and Prof. Dr. Doina Balahur the coordinator of the UAIC-STAGES project, have highlighted the significance of this documentary exhibition that shows the European development of our academic community in accordance with EC gender equality policy and the University strategic programmes.

The varnishing event, held on June 23th 2014, has been attended by more than 50 professors and researchers, managers and administrative staff, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. The exhibition will be open in the interval 23 June-11 July 2014.

The exhibition has been organized at the UAIC in the Building A, named University Palace, a prestigious historical edifice, built in the late 19 century (1888-1897).

At the main entrance of this building there is a large open space named “The Hall of the Echoing Footsteps” (Sala Pasilor pierduti), which is one of the most faimous part of the University Palace. From about 5 decades, this space has become an impressive art gallery since an original series of works of art have been painted here by Sabin Bălaşa, one of the most well-known Romanian contemporary painters. His artistic compositions, including 19 murals which reflect “the Romanian spirit, youth, history and poetry”, cover approximately 300 m² and have been created between the late 60s and early80s. (more details here).

Nowadays this monumental space is currently hosting the most important academic and scientific events as well as presentations of innovative technologies and selective art exhibitions.

In order to realize the documentary exhibition as a communication action a number of relevant means have been considered as being appropriate for the display: photos-documents, films, posters, events advertisements, website information and images, and other audio-video materials. The visual documents have been integrated in 24 compositional posters, each one having a thematic identity that was indicated by its specific title, its content and its imagistic components. At the same time the presentation of the audio-video materials - as films, interviews, TV reports on the public events – had as a technical support a special installation based on electronic devices (that is, a monitor with a large screen connected at a computer on which the video registrations have been uploaded). By using the same electronic devices the visitors could also access the website www.stages.csmcd.ro, that presents the activities and events realized within the STAGES project at the UAIC on the period 2012-2014.

To advertise the exhibition event two special posters have been designed, printed and multiplied in 40 copies that were displayed in different billposters, notice boards and other places for poster advertising of the UAIC. A special banner has also been conceived to be posted on the front of the central building for the whole duration of the exhibition. The event has also been presented on the UAIC website and the announcement could be read in all this period. The advertising posters and the banner displayed on the front of the building are presented below.

The specific identity of each one of 24 panels is given by its theme, so as one can see by following their succession:

As a synoptic introduction, the opening poster presents 12 photos with UAIC feminine personalities who are representative for the exhibition theme and other 6 selected images of the exhibition to be visited.

Presents:

• information about the STAGES project and its main objectives;
• information on the real changes in organizational structures and practices already introduced by the STAGES at the UAIC;
• the front page of the website special built to reflect the activities of the UAIC-STAGES team

Presents:

• Information about this organizational structure and its main objectives included in the Action Plan;
• 20 photos with the members of the UAIC Network at the different actions and events organized by the UAIC-STAGES project

Presents:

• Information about the open source database set up on the website, with its two sections, one for senior women researchers and the other one for young female researchers on the road of career development;
• Some illustrative images concerning the content of the database (i.e. information oferred according to the template of the profiles presentation)

Presents:

• Information about the tradition of women mentoring at the UAIC;
• 20 photos and accompanying texts illustrating two good examples of succesful women mentoring: the research group led by professor Liliana Mitoseriu and a story with prestigious women scientists from 3 different generations - Prof. Dr. Magda Petrovanu, Prof. Dr. Elena Bicu and Dr. Alina Ghinet.

Presents:

• Information about this public event organised for the first time in a University from Romania;
• The event poster and 17 photos illustrating the event

Presents:

• 14 photos illustrating the Awards Ceremony held at the UAIC, with the personalities who have received the distinctions and the participants at the event;
• 10 images from the first documentary film within the series entitled “UAIC Profiles of Women in Science” dedicated to the career of inspiring women researchers

Presents:

• Information and photos about the setting up of the Centre, its goal and objectives, and its institutional statute;
• The event poster and 13 photos illustrating the event of the Centre’s official inauguration on October 23th -24th 2013

Presents:

• Information about the training programmes initiated by the STAGES project at the UAIC in order to increase gender awareness and cultivate a proactice understanding on gender equality in science;
• 19 photos illustrating different training activities held at the UAIC

Presents:

• Information about the International Colloquium that took place under this title at the UAIC on the 15th May 2013;
• The poster event and 11 photos illustrating the event

Presents:

• Information about the second edition of this annual public event held at the UAIC and its European extension as EUROPEAN WOMEN RESEARCHERS DAY since 2014;
• The event poster and 14 photos illustrating the event.

Presents:

• Information on the second edition of this annual public event and about the laureates of this edition;
• 18 photos illustrating the event

Presents:

• 12 photos with the laureates of the Awards Ceremony second edition;
• Information and 16 images from the second documentary film entitled “UAIC Profiles of Women in Science” devoted to the “Life and Earth Sciences”

Presents:

• 13 photos with the laureates of the Awards Ceremony second edition;
• 6 images from the TV report covering the public event, as an “Illustrated chronicle of the event”

Presents:

• 15 photos emphasing the general message of this documentary exhibition, namely that UAIC IS “a Place for Women in Science”;
• An old photo which is a true historical document, presenting a UAIC group of students in Biology from the beginning of the 20 century (1906), half of them being young women;
• Other photos present the recent activities related to the impact of the EU policy on gender equality in science, the STAGES project at the UAIC inclusively, so that this panel aims to suggest a continuity in the identity of our University as “A Place for Women in Science”

Presents:

• Some of the most suggestive images collected during the preparation of this exhibition, considering their remarkable communicative and esthetic effects;
• This way the art of communication is presented as a privilegiated approach in order to make sensitive the links between women and science.

The following 8 posters are visual compositions that underline the general message of the exhibition: “UAIC (is) – A Place for Women in Science”. This time, the intentional focus is mainly on the artistic valences of the documentary images as well as on the the persuasive effects of both conceptual and esthetic communication. We conceived these posters as possible reminders for the information offered in the present exhibition and at the same time as virtual starting points for a PR campaign aiming to attract young people to choose scientific and technological professions (in similarity with examples like the EC’s campaign “Science is a girl thing”).

Besides the posters already presented, within the exposition space a large monitor was placed so that the visitors could watch the audio-video materials produced by the UAIC-STAGES team, in collaboration with prestigious media partners. Among these, the two documentary films in the series entitled “UAIC Profiles of Women in Science”, produced in 2013 and 2014 respectively, that could also be seen on the website and on the You tube, as well as several TV reports on the public events organised by UAIC-STAGES team, several TV interviews and TV talk-shows realized by TVR IASI and UAIC-STAGES project.

By using the same electronic devices the visitors can also access the website www.stages.csmcd.ro, that presents the activities and events realized within the STAGES project at the UAIC in 2012-2014.

The panels have been arranged on the both sides of the large exhibition hall in the following way: on the right side a continuous series of 16 posters (120X 105 cm) presenting the main themes and the chronology of the activities and events, and on the other side a series of 8 smaller posters (70X100 cm), selected by their more evident esthetic appearance, which keep the resonance of the same title, as the refrain in a song.

The stands arrangement in the exposition space is illustrated in the images below:

The exhibition varnishing event has been held on June 23th 2014, 13:00-14:30.

The event was introduced by Professor Doina Balahur, the UAIC-STAGES coordinator, who expressed the organizers’objectives and the message intented by this expositional action, namely that “the women in science are at home in UAIC”.

As invited speaker, Professor Vasile Isan, the UAIC Rector, has highlighted the importance and the relevance of the STAGES project for the UAIC and warmly appreciated the passion and efforts needed for organizing this ambitious and succesfull exhibition. Finally, the Rector has congratulated all the participant women for their contribution at the increasing of the scientific and academic reputation of the UAIC.

At the event there were also present Professor Dumitru Luca, Vice-rector of the UAIC, resposible with the research programmes, professors members of the UAIC Senate, managers and staff from the Human Resources Department and Research Projects Management Department, more than 50 academics and researchers, post-docs and PhD candidates, most of them finding themselves present also in the more than 250 images that compose the exhibition posters. See below the images from the event.

The documentary exhibition is open on the period 23 June -11 July 2014, each day between 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM. The acces is free.

As regards the press mentions, the exhibition has been already presented in a TV report produced by TVR/ the Romanian National Broadcasting Company – Branch Iasi, in several printed and on-line newspapers from Iasi and also in social media. The TV report (broadcasted on 25 June 2014) included the event presentation and 3 interviews given by Professor Dr. Vasile Isan, the UAIC Rector, Professor Dr. Dumitru Luca, Vice-rector responsible with the UAIC Research Programmes, and Professor Dr. Doina Balahur, STAGES project coordinator at the UAIC.

Given that the exhibition is open almost 3 weeks (between 23 June - 11 July 2014), it could be estimated an overall number of about 2000-2500 visitors, taking into consideration that, besides the people who especially intent to visit the exhibition, there will be also many other ocassional but welcomed visitors: indeed it is noteworthy that on this period the new promotions of students who graduate organise ceremonies in the rooms situated near the exhibition space and also new promotions of future students sustaining their admission will have their first visit of the University, beginning, of course, with the faimous “Hall of Echoing Footsteps”, where they will meet our documentary exhibition.

So, the number of real visitors could indeed be impressive, so as the sequences like the following ones let us to consider (see bellow). Finally, it is not unrealistic to say that such an event could be an real opportunity for almost all the members of our academic community and many other visitors of the UAIC to learn about our activities and programmes on gender equality in science at the UAIC.

So as it is foreseen in the UAIC Action Plan, the illustrative materials on the documentary exhibition “UAIC – A Place for Women in Science” have been prepared for being edited and then published by uploading them on the UAIC-STAGES website.

When the current exhibition will be closed (on July 11th 2014), all the materials will be donated at the University’s Museum, to be used for periodical or permanent exhibitions and kept in appropriate conditions as relevant documents about the academic and scientific history of the UAIC.

The copies of the posters will be also used in different presentations at the workshops, conferences and training sessions as well as for the book which will be prepared to be published next year.