In June 2018, nearly 100 high school girls from the African continent and the United States traveled to Windhoek, Namibia, for the Women in Science (WiSci) Girls STEAM Camp. Over the course of 13 days, campers explored the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts & design, and mathematics (STEAM), building autonomous robots, accessible apps, discovering the basics of coding, and more.
Implemented by World Learning, WiSci is a private public partnership (PPP) between the U.S. Department of State’s Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships, UN Foundation’s Girl Up initiative, Intel Corporation, and Google. Beyond teaching the girls valuable STEAM skills, the camp builds their cross-cultural understanding, leadership skills, and sense of empowerment. It also provides mentorship opportunities with professionals who can guide girls as they embark on their career paths. The 2018 camp brought together girls from eSwatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, and the U.S. at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).