Camden students join Facebook’s ‘Girls Rising’ project
Young women from across four Camden schools are taking part in ‘Girls Rising’ with Women@ Facebook London, a project connecting them to mentors and providing the skills training needed to access local and well-paid employment.
Run by Facebook organisation Women@ Facebook London and Camden’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) programme, ‘Girls Rising’ aims to help young girls gain an understanding of career planning, build confidence around public speaking and find out more about the different career paths available at tech organisations.
Camden Council’s STEAM team worked alongside Women@ Facebook London to find suitable schools and pupils who would benefit most from the programme which takes place over four sessions and started at the beginning of the year.
Twenty Year 12 students from Hampstead School, Camden School for Girls, UCL Academy and Acland Burghley School were selected for the project, which includes confidence skills building, personal and future professional development and connecting them to experienced Facebook mentors. The programme will also give the students the opportunity to meet and build a network of other aspirational young women in Camden.
A lot of great advice was given which made me feel inspired to get career like the careers at Facebook, I really loved this experience and cannot wait to attend the next session.
I believe STEAM programmes are very important for young people as they open people’s views to different types of careers in a range of industries that you might not have ever imagined. These types of programmes are very helpful as they give young people life advice as well as career advice and show them the world of work.
This is a fantastic programme that will give young women in the borough the opportunity to learn more about the tech world whilst developing the skills needed to build a career after finishing education. In Camden, we believe every young woman, regardless of background, should have the chance to access work in our growing science, tech, digital and creative sector. By linking businesses strongly with schools and colleges we can help deliver the 21st century talent they need and, in doing so, ensure the best opportunities and futures for young people in Camden.
The programme’s main objective is to support young girls selected to participate in their development, professional clarity and overall confidence. We aim to connect them to FB mentors, offer them opportunities for empowerment and growth and break down the barriers between us working in the borough and schools in the neighbouring area. It has already been so inspiring to watch the young women flourish over the course of the programme and we are looking forward to watching them grow throughout the Girls Rising programme and beyond!
STEAM is a borough-wide initiative which aims to ensure young people in Camden are equipped with the best skills and have access to opportunities in order to play a full part in the borough’s thriving creative, digital and scientific economy. The council-led Camden STEAM Commission – which included a representative from Facebook – produced a report, ‘Creating Camden’s 21st Century Talent’, setting out plans for how our young people can better benefit from the global organisations working in Camden.
This includes several projects, including a STEAM Hub with Camden Learning and our schools, the 21st Century Talent Pledge, STEAM Ambassador programme, and Camden Challenges, run with Camden Summer University during the summer holidays.
For more information on Camden STEAM head to https://www.camden.gov.uk/camden-steam.
Women@Facebook London is run by volunteer Facebook employees globally and aims to empower women at Facebook and in the world.