Credit: Amazon
On Friday 13 December 2019, Amazon and the Brussels-headquartered NGO “greenlight for girls” (g4g) held a joint STEM-themed “g4g Day” at the former’s offices in Luxembourg.
More than 50 girls from several schools in Luxembourg joined this free, interactive and learning event. These girls, aged 11-15, had the chance to attend four workshops related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.
After customizing their lab coats, the girls split into smaller groups to explore these four hands-on workshops. Activities included coding while programming DeepRacer cars to drive around a physical car track, creating their own mobile application with AppLab, discovering the role played by sustainability in Amazon services and exploring chemistry and molecular cooking while making “polymer worms”. Throughout the day, the girls also benefitted from mentoring sessions, interacting with the fifteen volunteers and STEM role-models present on the day.
The guest speakers at this event were Maria Ciolpan, Head of International Campaigns at Amazon Web Services, and Helder Velho, Director of Amazon Transportation Services EU Linehaul at Amazon.
Whilst Amazon and g4g had already collaborated in Barcelona and Madrid in 2018, this was their first joint event organised in Luxembourg.
Melissa Rancourt, a US national who founded g4g and is the Board President, explained: “Through our work world-wide, we find that these hands-on learning events and the introduction to role models, are the key elements to changing these girls' perceptions of STEM. […] With these events and the needed support from our partners, we truly believe that 'Anything is Possible' to change the landscape of women in STEM”.
Herminie de Beauregard, Amazon In the Community Lead in Luxembourg, added: “Introducing STEM fields to young girls empowers them to pursue careers in historically male-dominated fields. At Amazon, we value diversity and we aim at bringing STEM into the life of these girls”.
