160 Female Mentors Complete their Work in the Mentoring Program of the Second Phase of the Girls in Science Project

On April 23, 2022, an event will be held at the Supara Ethnic Complex to mark the end of the second phase of the UNICEF project, "Girls in Science" mentoring program.

Ex-President of the Kyrgyz Republic and founder of the "Roza Otunbaeva Initiative" Foundation, Ms. Roza Otunbayeva; Minister of Education and Science, Mr. Almazbek Beishenaliev; Head of UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan, Ms. Christine Jaulmes; partners; project experts, and invited guests, are expected to attend the final meeting with mentors.

During the event the results of the second phase of the "Girls in Science" mentoring program, will be summarized.

The “Girls in Science” mentoring program selected 160 women with successful and professional experience in Kyrgyzstan, particularly in the fields of technology, science, and creative industries. Each mentor was assigned a group of girls in grades 7-10 from schools in Bishkek city; Osh and Chui regions. Over the course of 5 months, 160 mentors worked with 1326 mentees.

Mentors spent five months with mentees conducting career guidance work, explaining the importance of STEM professions in the future. The mentors also tried to develop leadership qualities in the mentees and shared their own experiences. Much attention was paid to personal development of girls. Mentors and mentees visited museums, exhibitions, and went on vocational excursions to manufacturing companies in order to improve general cultural development. Sixty motivational excursions were organized. Mentors were able to inspire and help their mentees develop in their personal lives. In addition, the project participants understood the importance of STEM professions.

The first phase of the mentor program (February-June 2021) was attended by 816 girls, and the second phase (November-March-April 2022) was attended by 1,326 girls. During the total implementation period of the project, 193 professional women became mentors for  2.142 mentees. The project is implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science.

By the end of 2022, 2.600 high school girls, from the pilot schools, are expected to participate in the mentoring program of the “Girls in Science” project. The main goal of the mentoring program is to create an environment for the girls that will help them realize the benefits, importance, relevance, and future prospects of STEM education.

For reference:

UNICEF “Girls in Science” project has been implemented by the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative International Public Foundation, the Center for Child Protection and AUCA Innovation College since 2020.

The goal of the project is to increase opportunities for school girls to make informed career choices in information and communication technologies, exact sciences, engineering and mathematics.

The project included an analysis of education policy, state and subject standards, STEM component curricula, as well as labor market analysis, market demand, business environment for STEM professions, and preparation for the National Testing courses for 400 project participants.