Project description:

Ukrainian cities and towns have been severely affected by the conflict, requiring new approaches to reconstruction. The war has disrupted many girls’ education and opportunities to contribute to rebuilding the country. Some have relocated abroad, making it harder to return as they adapt to new environments. While many want to help, factors like age, location, and limited resources pose challenges. Additionally, there’s a significant lack of female representation in the reconstruction efforts. 

The educational course “Urbanism” provides Ukrainian girls with knowledge in city planning and development, emphasizing respect for history, sustainability, environmental considerations, and safety. Fifty girls, whether still in Ukraine or having moved abroad, were taught by leading Ukrainian and international experts. During the course, they developed their own projects for the reconstruction of war-damaged public spaces in de-occupied towns of Ukraine.

The course equipped girls with skills for reconstruction and support from successful women in urbanism. Participants presented their projects to communities and received feedback. The best projects were passed to communities for potential implementation. Winners had the chance to continue their studies in a summer urbanism school in Germany. Some participants shifted from journalism to architecture, aligning with STEM is FEM’s goal of reducing gender imbalance.

Partners:

USAID; IREX in partnership with Building Ukraine Together (BUR); the Center for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Ukraine); Making Cents International (MCI); the International Republican Institute (IRI); Zinc Network.

Category: People

Company: STEM IS FEM NGO

About the company: 

STEM is FEM is an educational initiative, aimed at popularizing STEM jobs (those related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) among schoolgirls aged 12-17 and young women under 22, regardless of status or residency. The project targets female underrepresentation in STEM-fields of Ukraine by holding educational modules on a specific subject, thereby introducing it to the participants and encouraging them to choose it for their future education and career.