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The “Inspira STEAM” project in which ZIV participates has received an award by the Telefónica Foundation for its contribution to education.
Thanks to it, we have decided to name one of the rooms after “Ada Lovelace”. Why? Here is the small story of how two engineers spread their enthusiasm to an entire organization.
This year, two ZIV female professionals have participated as volunteer mentors in a program promoted by the University of Deusto to foster STEAM vocations among girls aged 10 to 14 years. As a result of that experience, last Tuesday, they suggested “to name a meeting room Ada Lovelace to honor the first programmer in history”.
We thought it was more than appropriate and prepared the nameplate. The next day we thought, since there is a nameplate, we can take a picture, and communicate it internally. In order not to write something very extensive, we thought about making a brief presentation to explain who Ada was. And in the process of preparing it we fell in love with the project, the initiative “inspira STEAM”, the impact on its participants and something striking and very relevant: despite passing in front of them every day, we had never realized that we had chosen men to name all the meeting rooms. As a company, we have the perception of being equal and offering the same opportunities to professionals no matter the gender. The CEO, the CFO, and many relevant managers are woman. Probably in a higher percentage than in other companies. But, although, this issue with the rooms is just a detail, it has showed us that there are many small nuances that also matter, and we must be vigilant. Today we have taken a small step. We thank Laura and Sonia for their contribution. Because referents matter, allow yourself to dedicate 3 minutes to learn about the Inspira Steam project & Ada Lovelace´s achievements.
The project “Inspira Steam”
The project INSPIRA “Inspire young girls in Science and Technology” aims to raise awareness of young people, boys and girls, about the reality of women in the scientific-technological field, especially support girls who have an interest or concern about these areas, and thereby increase the scientific and technological vocations among young people between 10 and 14 years. For the development of INSPIRA, the University of Deusto, INNOBASQUE and Elhuyar Fundazioa have formed a strong multidisciplinary team of professionals to integrate expertise and resources, and create a network of stakeholders involved in promoting female professionals in STEM areas.
The methodological and innovative strategy proposed by the project is to organize awareness sessions around “Gender, Science and Technology” for groups of boys and girls in primary and secondary education. On the other hand, a group of female professionals will carry out mentoring dynamics with small groups of girls with interest in Research, Science and Technology.
More than 200 girls from 11 schools in the Basque Country will participate in 7 working sessions where they will address topics such as gender bias or the history of women technologist. These meetings between students and mentors INSPIRA aims at removing doubts and objections about technological careers and at helping girls to clarify their vocations and reinforcing their self-esteem to start a STEAM career if they want.
Fundación Telefónica Awards
In its 20th anniversary, Fundación Telefónica has decided to acknowledge and appreciate the value that volunteers bring to society through the Fundación Telefónica Volunteering Awards. The aim is to sensitise and promote voluntary action, as well as to serve as a catalyst for volunteering initiatives in Spain.
