IV Fórum
IV International Forum on Woman & Society 2009
Organised in conjunction with the Charitable Foundation Rafael Bernabeu and Instituto Bernabeu, and sponsored by Alicante Town Council and the CAM savings bank, the Forum brought specialists and experts together in Alicante to discuss the issues of women in the world and in her personal and social surroundings.
On 13 and 14 of March, the Lecture Rooms of the CAM were once again the meeting place for our faithful participants and experts who through their knowledge and experience, questions and contributions actively participate to give this Forum meaning and relevance. Through open discussion of distinct opinions and views, the Forum allows for new understanding in the issues facing women in the world today.
This new edition concentrated on three topics. On Friday 13, Woman & Fertility, in the afternoon Woman, Culture and Development and on Saturday 14 in the morningWoman & Social Conflicts.
The official inauguration took place on Friday 13 at 09:30 under Mr José Joaquín Ripoll, President of the Town Council, Alicante. Mr Vicente Sala, President Caja Mediterráneo, and Dr Rafael Bernabeu, president of IV Forum Woman & Society.
The first Tepic to be analysed was Woman and Fertility, Friday morning, coordinated by Dr Joaquín Yacer, Medical Director, Instituto Bernabeu Elche.
At 10:00 Fertility and Underdeveloped Societies was presented, with Dr Willem Ombelet from the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ziekenhuis Oost Limburg in Belgium. He outlined the importance of education in order to affront “problems” such as infertility in underdeveloped countries, adding that “research is required and that it must be done more economically and with greater access”.
At 10:30, Ms Nicole Stigemar, Marketing and Commercial Development Director at IFA, International Fertility Associates AG, discussed the topic Reproductive Emigration.
Next Dr Chantal Simonis, Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at Wessex Fertility in the UK presented Reproduction in Single Women and Lesbians, and stated that “lesbians had traditionally been discriminated against but that legal considerations had changed considerably”. In her opinion, “Belgium, Luxemburg and Spain had been the most open countries”.
To end the first session, Rafael Bernabeu, Medical director of Instituto Bernabeu, spoke on Reproductive Medicine and Society in the XXI Century. He highlighted the most important social change which has occurred in the XXI century and how the preservation of fertility plays a vital role in these new models.
The second session of the Forum: Woman, Culture and Development, chaired by Dr Rafael Bernabeu started at 16:30 with the topic Culture & Women. Ms María Domíngues Castellano (UMH), Research Professor at the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) spoke regarding the position of the female scientist in Spain.
Later there was a Q&A session and at 18:00 Ms Ana Botella spoke about Politics & Women, highlighting that “women have been society’s great ignored” and that women sadly have two jobs: a professional and family one.
The close of the session on Friday chaired by Ms Mª Teresa Ruiz Cantero, Director of the Research Group on Public Health at Alicante University, spoke on Gender bias in Medicine.
Under the title Women and social conflict, in the morning of Saturday 14, the third session took place, coordinated by Dr Lydia Luque, gynaecologist at Instituto Bernabeu.
The session opened with a discussion on Prostitution with the participation of Ms Asunción López Zaplana, town councillor on Social Action at Alicante Council along with Ms Teresa López Sirgado, social worker and president of the association “Women of the Night Searching for the Day (Amunod) who spoke on the Pros and Cons of legislation on prostitution..
The following seminar: Social Conflicts of Women, was presented by Ms Gloria Marcos, coordinator of the political party, Esquerra Unida del País Valencià. At midday Ms Isabel Fernández, specialist in International Cooperation & Relations, talked about The Role of Women in the Third World. Afterwards there was a question and answer session and the official closing ceremony.