WiSci (Women in Science) is an intensive summer STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Art and Design, Mathematics) camp that exposes teenage girls to the STEAM disciplines and career possibilities, builds leadership capabilities, and enhances cross-cultural awareness for high school girls from regions around the world. The goal of WiSci is to address the gender gap in education, particularly in STEAM disciplines, and to empower young women globally. The partnership works to achieve this by creating and delivering partner-led curriculum in STEAM, leadership, and empowerment to inspire and support young women interested in higher education and careers in the STEAM fields.
Objectives
WiSci achieves the following objectives:
- Reduces the gender gap in education in regions where the USG and private sector have strategic interest;
- Effectively leverages funds, with USG funding accounting for less than 1/2 of the total camp costs;
- Showcases the power of public-private partnerships with more than 30 committed partners.
Camps
WiSci Virtual Camps (Morocco, Central America, Southeast Asia): After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic paused the ability to convene in person, The Office of Global Partnerships and WiSci partners Girl Up, Intel, and the Caterpillar foundation developed a virtual camp model. The first virtual WiSci experience was hosted in 2021 in collaboration with the Millennium Challenge Corporation for girls in Morocco, Coite d’Ivoire, and the United States. In January of 2022, partners worked with the U.S. Embassies in Panama and Costa Rica to host the fully virtual WiSci Central America. July of 2022 saw WiSci Southeast Asia, the first ever “hybrid” camp, which brought girls together in local cohorts at American Spaces and Corners across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia to engage with curriculum and fellow campers online. WiSci is planning for a return to fully in-person camps in 2023.
History
Founded in 2015, WiSci is an annual approximately two-week long camp that brings together girls from around the world for an intensive program funded by private sector partners and the USG. Building on the success and interest in WiSci, GP is scaling the partnership to encompass more regions and camps per year, and is building the foundation for the partnership’s sustainability by establishing a secretariat.
WiSci 2015 (Rwanda): In 2015, the first WiSci Girls STEAM Camp brought together 130 girls from nine African countries and the United States for an opportunity to explore STEAM fields through a hands-on curriculum taught by real-world practitioners in Rwanda. Supporting partners included Intel, AOL Foundation, Microsoft, UN Foundation’s Girl Up, American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and others.
WiSci 2016 (Peru): Building on the success of WiSci 2015, a second camp brought together 115 girls from Peru, Chile, Mexico, and the United States. Partners such as Intel, Google, EMD Serono, Girl Up, ASM, and others conducted a curriculum that taught girls skills in coding, app development, robotics, and engineering.
WiSci 2017 (Malawi): In the summer of 2017, WiSci brought 100 girls from five African countries and the United States to Malawi, where participants learned how technology can be used to make a safer, more secure world, particularly in combatting gender-based violence. Partners included Intel, Google, EMD Serono, Girl Up, ASM, NASA, and others.
WiSci 2018 (Namibia & Georgia): WiSci 2018 saw the first summer of multiple WiSci camps with the first held in Windhoek, Namibia. WiSci Namibia brought together 100 African and included partners such as Intel, Google, Girl Up, NASA, and others. In August, 100 girls from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the United States convened in Tbilisi, Georgia. WiSci Georgia was made possible by partners Intel, Google, Girl Up, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
WiSci 2019 (Namibia, Estonia, Kosovo): For the first time in its history, WiSci partners hosted two full-scale camps in 2019, as well as one locally-driven WiSci camp in Namibia. The first full-scale camp was held in Tallinn, Estonia with participants from Estonia, Georgia, Poland, Latvia, and the U.S.. Partners included Girl Up, Intel, Google, NASA, ASM and others. The second was hosted in Pristina, Kosovo with girls from Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania and the U.S.. Partners included Girl Up, MCC, Intel, NASA, the Millennium Foundation Kosovo and others.
Questions
For more information, please visit https://girlup.org/wisci/ or email wisci@girlup.org.
For general inquiries about GP, email Partnerships@State.gov