SI Penang's Girls in STEM" workshop was held on July 31 at a local girls school today. The project focuses on creating awareness in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for the girls. A total of 80 students participated in today's program.

This project has reached more than 360 female students in the 12-14 age group since it first began 3 years ago. The project highlights the need to create employment opportunities in STEM to support the Penang State's future human resource in the technology industry.

They were very honored to have a panel of guest speakers from Micron Memory Group which gave the students a lot of ideas, advice and encouragement. The workshop also included a sharing segment of career pathways by young female engineers and interactive activities with representatives from Women Leadership Network and Employee Resource Group.

SI Penang will continue to develop this project to motivate more underprivileged girls from a young age to plan their career pathways and future

Ann Fang 

SI Penang Member

sipenang@siswp.org

Many months in the making, SI Penang first met in early July 2022 to plan SI Penang’s main fundraiser of the year, the Soroptimist Christmas Fair 2022.

Soroptimists, Girls Guides and Day of the Girl Child actions.В  SI Port PirieВ have been engaging with Girl Guides for some years now as a way of celebrating theВ Day of the Girl Child.В Making kites and flying them is great fun! This was discovered by ten Crystal Brook Girl Guides aged from 6 to 12, their three leaders and four members of Soroptimist International of Port Pirie as they celebrated this special day at the Crystal Brook Guide Hall in October

Prior to the day, the guides decorated their blank kites with messages and pictures, advocating what girls should be able to do. The messages showed deep thought about the topic as well as empathy with their less fortunate peers throughout the world. For example: girls should be able to ”speak up, be loved, read, go to school, get a good education, decline forced marriage, have a flexible job, wear their choice of clothes, play sport, go to friends' houses to play”.

After constructing the kites from the kits with help from leaders and Soroptimists, the girls trooped out onto the nearby oval and launched them successfully. Despite a very threatening sky earlier in the day, the sun and breeze appeared just in time for the exercise.

Soroptimists Jenny Hughes, Heather Hunt and Bev Clarke and “Soroptimister” Rooka Ramsay enjoyed the afternoon as much as the girl guides! Back in the hall they discussed how to display their kites to others in the town, namely a display in a Crystal Brook shop window and at the local Primary School assembly. Group Leader Lorraine Saunders commented that “the whole exercise was very worthwhile” and “it was a great event”,  sentiments shared by the Soroptimists, who hope to carry out other activities with the Girl Guides. Both groups follow the UN 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development.