Making HER Future!

Team members: Maryam Zarei (SFU), Naghmi Shireen (SFU), Niloofar Kazemi (SFU), Ahmed Abu Zuraiq (SFU), Talia Ahmad (UBC)

“Making HER Future!” is a project to support young girls (middle school-aged) in tech. The idea is to conduct a series of interactive workshops where teenage girls are invited to participate with their mothers (since a good way to empower girls is to empower their mothers) in order to:

1. listen to the success stories of several women in tech to gain knowledge, motivation, and inspiration, and ask questions;
2. do creative mini-projects designed to involve them with STEM-related activities in groups; and finally 
3. develop a time capsule envisioning the role of women in tech in 2050. 

The goal of this project is to create a safe space for a new generation to uncover their strengths and interests. It also helps to reduce the confidence gap when it comes to technology-related subjects such as robotics and programming. Universities, as accessible and trusted spaces in the community, have a unique opportunity to expand the reach of science, technology, engineering, and math, and they help to increase access for community members who are underserved and underrepresented in STEM. This project strengthens the mother-daughter bond by giving moms aspirations to what their daughters have in mind towards their future (how they imagine the future).

2019-20 Surrey City Centre Grand Award & Burnaby Festival of Learning Community Engagement Award winner