BLF Rwanda to host event on empowering girls in mathematics
05 May 2021
We are delighted to announce a new event from our Building Learning Foundations team in Rwanda – Empower Girls in Mathematics: Start Early – to mark the International Day for Women in Mathematics on 12th May.
The day is celebrated annually around the world and seeks to inspire women to celebrate their achievements in mathematics and to encourage an open, welcoming and inclusive work environment in mathematics-related fields. In Rwanda, despite gender parity at primary level, girls are consistently underrepresented in STEM subjects at upper secondary and tertiary levels. The Building Learning Foundations (BLF) team seeks to support girls to perform better in these subjects and is keen to encourage other stakeholders working in the education sector to support more girls and women to take on STEM subjects as they make decisions on their future careers.
To this end, the BLF team will be hosting a virtual event, Empower Girls in Mathematics: Start Early, featuring a live panel discussion on how best to help more girls and young women into these pathways. The event, which will take place at 10am Central Africa Time (GMT+2), will feature a panel discussion on the barriers preventing girls from studying and excelling in mathematics, as well as what can be done to encourage more girls to develop interest in mathematics beginning from the critical primary years. Panelists will include representatives from BLF, the Ministry of Education, the Rwanda Basic Education Board, and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences as well as testimonies of teachers and Sector Learning Facilitators who have excelled in mathematics themselves.
Alongside the virtual event, BLF will also be organizing a school-level Girls Mathematics Challenge for Primary 1 to Primary 3 students in the Gasabo, Burera and Ruhango districts, featuring a mental maths competition, puzzles, and a quiz bee – also on 12th May – as well as radio and television interviews with women who have excelled in the subject in the week ahead.
This presents a great opportunity for the schools, teachers, senior education officials and the larger community in Rwanda to celebrate women in mathematics and make their achievements more visible, thereby encouraging more girls to develop an interest in mathematics early in their education and to continue through to higher learning and tertiary levels.
The Building Learning Foundations Programme believes that girls should be supported and encouraged to participate in mathematics without any fear. Any type of underrepresentation inevitably leads to missed opportunities and the loss of mathematical talent – at both an individual and national level. BLF therefore hopes to see stakeholders across the education sector to join us in celebrating and recognising those who have excelled in this field and motivating young people to study mathematics – regardless of their gender.
To register to join the live discussion, please click here, or to find out more about the Building Learning Foundations Programme, please click here.