The project FALCONESS - Female Academic Leadership Network for Conscious Engineering and Science towards Sustainable Urbanisation connects young female scientists from different disciplines for more sustainable construction in Africa. The project is coordinated by the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and the University of Lagos in Nigeria.
13 of the 20 most populous cities will be located on the African continent in the future. In order to meet the social, economic and ecological challenges associated with urbanisation, new perspectives and more diversity are needed in the mostly male-dominated African construction industry.
The project brings together female scientists from civil engineering, natural sciences, architecture, economics, social sciences and communications to jointly research sustainable solutions for urban construction. FALCONESS aims to ensure that urban planning is viewed from the falcon's perspective - holistically and with a broad perspective but with a sharp eye on the details. This requires new approaches and better African and international networking of female scientists.
The first kick-off meeting of the network is planned for early September in Dar es Salaam.
BAM has already been active in various research projects and initiatives with African partner institutions for 12 years. The joint exchange enables an interdisciplinary and broad transfer of technology and knowledge on sustainable construction worldwide.
More information on the project here: www.falconess.org
This article was first published on June 18 by BAM.