Make science more accessible to women

10 years of UNESCO-L’Oréal International Fellowships

The UNESCO-L’Oréal International Fellowships For Women in Science celebrated the programme’s tenth anniversary on 4th March this year, looking back on a decade of crucial contributions that have encouraged the dedication and vocation of dozens of talented young women scientists around the world.

Each year since 2000, the programme has awarded fellowships to 15 young women researchers in the life sciences at doctoral and post-doctoral level. Those chosen receive a maximum sum of $40,000 over the course of two years to help finance their research at a renowned institution outside their home country.

To mark the occasion, L'Oréal and UNESCO invited ten International Fellowship holders from previous years to a ceremony in Paris. Their outstanding successes are a resounding reflection of the impact the fellowships had early in their career. Key figures include Christine Ouinsavi (2007, Benin), who went on to become Minister of Education then Minister of Commerce, and Rehana Jauhangeer (2004, Mauritius), who won a fellowship for her research into a form of diabetes that affects one quarter of her country’s people. Ms Jauhangeer now works at the clinical immunology department at University College London Hospital and has successfully forged ties between scientific bodies in her home country and eminent specialists abroad.

The 15 researchers receiving the 2009 International Fellowships were given the opportunity to present their work in the presence of their illustrious predecessors. Their research spans a wide range of fields, though many specialise in medical research ranging from the healing properties of plants used in traditional African medicine to medical applications of nanotechnology. Their work reflects an approach to science that is diverse, creative and dynamic yet is also rooted in an unshakeable determination to improve people’s health and well-being.

The International Fellowship community now comprises 135 women, and that is only the beginning... Ten years after the programme was launched, L’Oréal and UNESCO are more determined than ever to help talented young women achieve their research goals and encourage people to see science in a new light: the image of a youthful, open, diverse and enthusiastic discipline that will perhaps provide the spark for future laureates.

For more information, please visit The 2009 Laureates

PHOTO: Dr Christine Ouinsavi (International Fellowship, 2007), Minister of Commerce, Benin.

Crédit photo : ABACAPRESS