US Embassy and Santander City Council train girls in science and technology

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Igual and Quade after signing the collaboration agreement./ Photo: @gemaigual

The Diplomat. 26/02/2017

US Embassy and Santander City Council have signed an agreement for the implementation of the #GirlsTech program, which aims to train girls between 9 and 14 years in the field of science and technology.

#GirlsTech is a project of the United States Embassy that has been held three times in Madrid and one in Valencia. More than 200 girls have already participated in this program.

In the case of Santander, up to 60 girls can apply for a scholarship to participate, completely free of charge, in this program which aims to attract them to the field of technology and motivate them to study careers in science, mathematics, engineering and design, known In the United States with the acronym STEAM [sic - JB; see].

“The promotion of education and cultural exchanges has been and is a cornerstone of US Public Diplomacy since its inception”, said Embassy Cultural Attaché, Christopher Quade. “The project we are presenting here today, #GirlsTech, is precisely that: to support the girls to learn about these subjects and some of the new technological tools, and to consider in the future the possibility of studying a science degree”.

“The City Council supports this initiative from the conviction that equality often requires a push and help for women to occupy, in the educational field, in the workplace and in society in general, the position that corresponds”, said the mayor of Santander, Gema Igual.

The US embassy will fund several workshops to be held at the Numancia Civic Center of the City of Santander. These sessions will be given by the technological innovation company Takutama and coordinated by Gema Díaz Real. Workshops will begin on Saturday, March 18 and end on May 22.