US Embassy in Manila. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The United States Embassy in the Philippines and the United Nations Foundation’s “Girl Up” initiated the holding of a camp in the country in a bid to stress the importance of closing the gender gap in the field of science, technology, and mathematics.
The Women in Science (WiSci), Technology, Engineering, Arts & Design, Mathematics (STEAM) Camp was held at American Corners in Bacolod, Batac, and Davao and ended on July 9.
The six-day camp was joined by 70 women from Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia—of whom 30 were Filipino.
The camp activity is composed of STEAM skills training, design thinking, prototyping, robotics, leadership development, and mentorship from U.S.-based scientists, technologists, and tech experts.
“Campers learned from each other across cultures, participated in team building exercises, and presented STEM projects that provide solutions to social issues,” the US Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement.
Girl Up will select among the participants for monetary project awards “to help them bring their STEAM projects to life in their communities.”
“Last year, the United States took historic steps to bridge the gender divide by launching the first National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality,” the U.S. embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said.
“Launching the WiSci STEAM camp with our colleagues from the UN Foundation’s Girl Up campaign is one step toward fulfilling the Gender Strategy and supporting the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goal Five: achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,” she added.
Established in 2015, WiSci STEAM camps trained more than 1,000 women from 35 countries through “private-public partnerships between Girl Up and the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, Intel, Google, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and local partners such as American Corners supported by U.S. embassies.”
“We know the power of female leadership, and the importance of closing the gender gap across STEAM fields. Girl Up is so proud to be part of WiSci Southeast Asia, helping girls build their skills and explore STEAM careers,” Girl Up Executive Director Melissa Kilby said. — Iliana Padigos, INQUIRER.net intern
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