The public company Sodepal, with funding from the Department of Tourism of the Cabildo of La Palma, will be holding the 2nd Meeting of Women in Astronomy next Friday, 8th March, as part of the Scientific Vocations programme.

The CEO of Sodepal, Miriam Cabrera, pointed out that this action not only aims to "show the role of women in the world of Astronomy and Astrotourism", but also seeks to "awaken scientific-technological vocations, giving visibility to people who carry out their professional work in jobs linked to our sky". She also stressed that "it is no coincidence" that this activity coincides "with such a significant date as 8th March", International Women's Day.

This meeting will include a round table for debate and reflection with the participation of four leading figures in scientific and tourist activity linked to astronomy.

Specifically, Cristina Ramos Almeida, PhD in Astrophysics, senior scientist at the IAC and Principal Investigator of the "Nuclear activity in galaxies" group; Patricia Márquez Paniagua, PhD in Physics, engineer and telescope manager of the Large-Sized Telescope (LST-1) prototype; Ana Castañeda Pérez, former manager of the Patronato de Turismo from 1987 to 2009 and coordinator of the tourism product boards, including Astrotourism, until 2021; and Sheila Crosby, former engineer of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Starlight Guide and writer.

The round table will be chaired by Nayra Rodríguez Eugenio, PhD in Astrophysics, coordinator of educational programmes and disseminator of the Communication and Scientific Culture Unit of the IAC, who will talk about the importance of women in Astronomy.

The event, in collaboration with the IAC and the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory - CTAO, will be broadcast live on the IAC's website. Sodepal's social networks