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• Fostering curiosity about technology and providing tools in the area of information technology, was the purpose of these activities, held on Thursday, November 9, in Santiago and Quinta Normal schools, within the framework of the Gender Summit 12 organized by CONICYT.

– What do you think that only 4% of women work in science and technology companies? – asks the teacher to students of the school of girls Insigne Gabriela of Quinta Normal.

-It is wrong, because they exclude women from doing what we like, and that is sexism”- Paulina Mayorga responds immediately, a sixth-grade student at the school.

Along with Paulina, 20 girls from this institution participated in an HTML language workshop to program web pages, taught by Innovacien and the Ingeniosas program. The activity, organized by CONICYT in the framework of the Gender Summit 12, also counted with the collaboration of the Red Enlaces of the Ministry of Education and the Department of Computer Science of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM) of the Universidad de Chile.

“We want this workshop to serve so that nobody tells them they cannot do it because it is only for men. Many women like technology and this can be a very good tool for their future”, explained David Leal, CEO of Innovacien.

In parallel, at the Santiago Apóstol Special School for deaf children, located in the district of Santiago, the Scratch workshop was held, a tool also developed to learn how to program. Nancy Hitschfeld, an academic from the Department of Computer Science of the FCFM, led this activity, aimed at 14 students.

“I am convinced that learning to program is to stop being illiterate in digital issues, and deaf children can serve as a tool for life. There is no limitation for them to learn and with this first experience, they can continue practicing alone, “said Nancy Hitschfeld.

From the Santiago Apóstol School, they thanked the opportunity, which will allow these students to have a base in computer science. “We are happy because it has been a very nice day. The good thing about technology is that being visual is more accessible, especially for our students”, Nury Álvarez said, the teacher in charge of Links at the Santiago Apóstol School.

Both workshops were in the framework of the Gender Summit 12, an international event in science and technology, which is coming to Latin America and the Caribbean for the first time on December 6th and 7th.