Family-Friendly Conferences
A Project in the Geosciences

Family-Friendly Conferences in the Geosciences

This project started in April 2023 and was initiated at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Bonn. With a duration of one and a half years the project is funded by the Gleichstellungsbüro (Office for Equal Opportunities) of the University. The project is led by Leonie Esters, Lisa Schielicke and Elena Päffgen.

What is our goal?

The goal of this project is to determine how we can make conference participation easier for parents and families.To achieve this, the needs and desires of scientists, especially parents, are collected through surveys and discussions, and interviews are conducted with conference organizers. The results are subsequently documented in a scientific publication. This publication is intended to serve as a guide for conference organizers, bringing attention to the challenges and desires of parents. The project promotes exchange between conference organizers and parents, as well as among parents in the field of science.

Why?

Participation in (inter)national conferences, seminars, and workshops is important for professional exchange and personal networking, especially for young scientists. The project aims to contribute to a better balance between family life and scientific work. Since caregiving responsibilities in families are still predominantly carried by women, this project also seeks to promote gender equality in the field of geosciences.

For more detailed information about this project, you can refer to the project proposal (unfortunately only in german), which you can download below. If you have any questions, ideas, or requests of any kind, feel free to send us an email! Our contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© Foto von Van Tay auf Unsplash

1. Which Offers are Needed?

Here you can find the scientific results of the conducted surveys, interviews and research.                

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© Volker Lannert / Universität Bonn

2. Which Conferences are Family-Friendly?

Here, you will find information about the family-friendly amenities at upcoming geoscience conferences and guidance on how to get in touch with conference organizers.

Eine Wissenschaftlerin und ein Wissenschaftler arbeiten hinter einer Glasfassade und mischen Chemikalien mit Großgeräten.
© Foto von Sincerely Media auf Unsplash

3. What can Organisers of Conferences do?

Are you organizing a conference yourself? Here is a guide for helpful measures to support families at your event.


Other Initiatives

For questions regarding support for families at the University of Bonn, you can contact the Family Office or the Equality Office of the university. Here, you will find changing-table facilities and the locations of parent-child rooms in Bonn. Additionally, for female scientists at the University of Bonn, there is the WHATSUB network for mutual exchange.

Survey

We have designed a survey to find out which measures make conferences and workshops more family-friendly.  At the same time it is our priority to ensure that our plans do not negatively affect the experience of participants without children. Any person working in the sciences is invited to take part in our survey!

The survey is available in both English and German. You can participate in the survey by using the buttons below.

Survey_Post.png
© Elena Päffgen


How can I stay informed?

All current information about the progress of the project can be found on this website and will be distributed through the newsletter list.

Contact

For questions or ideas concerning the project you can send an email to ffc2023@uni-bonn.de oder reach us via the contact info below.

Avatar Schielicke

Lisa Schielicke

Chair holder by proxy

1.003

Auf dem Hügel 20

Avatar Esters

Leonie Esters

Junior professorship

1.010

Auf dem Hügel 20

Avatar Päffgen

Elena Päffgen

Research assistant

U1.001

Auf dem Hügel 20

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