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November • 2021 The power of positive, solution-based journalism.
Inspiring tomorrow’s innovators starts with STEM education today
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Career Awareness Initiatives Proven to Expand Youth Choice Studies show that even with technological advancements and a rapid change in the global economy, little has changed in the public perception of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions, or in the career aspirations of youth in Canada. A recent report published by Let’s Talk Science, “Impact of Youth Career Awareness Programming,” summarizes the impact of various career awareness initiatives on youth outlooks on STEM careers and their preparedness for the future. The results indicate that better awareness of diverse career options, exposure to role models, and greater understanding of the value of interdisciplinary skills increases youths’ desire to take optional STEM courses in high school and pursue careers in these fields once they graduate. STEM skills are beneficial for most modern career paths: from digital literacy needed to work efficiently in the online world, to advanced problem-solving skills that enable us to think critically,
analyze risks, and create solutions for sustainable development. In its purest form, STEM skills provide youth with the tools they need to grow into active global citizens prepared to tackle the most pressing issues facing our communities. One of Let’s Talk Science’s top initiatives in raising career awareness among youth is the Let’s Talk Careers Competitions, run in partnership with ChatterHigh and Skills/Compétences Canada. These competitions engage students in career discovery through a fun and interactive online platform where they learn about career and post-secondary options by researching and answering questions about careers, course selection, and the labour market to earn points for themselves and their schools. Last year the competition engaged over 6,000 students at 245 schools across the country. There were over 485,133 career profiles explored in the course of the competition periods, many of which were STEM and skilled trade related.
The Let’s Talk Careers Competition is a great way to get youth in Canada exploring existing and emergent careers. Learn more about the competition running from October 25 to December 3, it’s free and easy to get involved. resources.chatterhigh.com/letstalk-careers
© PEXELS/ALENA DARMEL
Hedvig Lindahl Hopes to Save Lives in Afghan Charity Drive Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl is hoping to do more than save shots with her new charity drive—the 38-year-old hopes that prize draws featuring her kit and personal video messages can help save lives in Afghanistan. The shot-stopper, who plays her club football for Atletico Madrid in Spain, decided to launch the campaign following the recent Taliban takeover and the subsequent strife that has made life difficult for many Afghans. “We can’t look away from what is happening now that all the foreigners have left Afghanistan. It’s very much an ongoing situation and it’s important not to forget the people there. These are questions of life and death,” Lindahl told Reuters in a telephone interview. “I follow a lot of journalists, primarily on Twitter, and I am touched by the stories—I can put myself in the position of being a family with small children and how it might be not to be able to feed your kids.” The outspoken Swede, who has two children together with her wife Sabine, sees it as an obliga-
tion to use her public profile to make a difference, although she might face criticism. “Those of us with privilege need to use their platform—I could just as easily be talking about Yemen or Syria or anything else, but right now I chose Afghanistan because it’s so recent, and the Taliban takeover has changed life for so many, especially girls,” the former Chelsea player explained. “Maybe I’m not building up my brand in the right way, but at some point you have to be a human being and react to things, so I do it. I’m just me, the same person that grew up in a small town in Sweden and that just happens to play football.” During the month of October, donations of 500 Swedish crowns ($57.27) or more on Lindahl’s website were rewarded with a personal video message from the 178-cap keeper and two-time Olympic silver medallist. There were also gloves and signed Sweden and Atletico Madrid shirts up for grabs in prize draws that costed 1000 Swedish crowns and upwards to enter. The money raised by Lindahl
HEDVIG LINDAHL © REUTERS/STEPHANE MAHE
will go to Afghan Aid, a UKbased non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance to those affected by the conflict in Afghanistan. “It’s a little drop in the ocean, really, that I maybe can help with, so that we don’t turn our eyes away from what is happening,” she said.
country in fear after the Taliban hardline Islamist movement seized power in August. “I’m free,” says 15-year-old soccer player Sarah, smiling from ear-to-ear as she visited Lisbon’s landmark Belem Tower on the River Tagus with her mother and teammates. Now safely in Portugal, she hopes to pursue her dream AFGHAN GIRLS’ SOCCER of playing soccer professionally— SQUAD FIND NEW HOME and perhaps meeting her idol, star IN PORTUGAL striker Cristiano Ronaldo. “My dream is to be a good Portugal has granted asylum to several young footballers from player like Ronaldo—and I want Afghanistan’s national female to be a big business woman here youth soccer squad who fled their in Portugal,” she said.
Opportunity International Canada
© REUTERS/RODRIGO ANTUNES
She hopes to go back home one day but only if she can live freely. “The reason we took on this mission (to evacuate the team) was to ensure they can play the sport they love,” said Farkhunda Muhtaj, captain of the Afghanistan women’s senior national team. One relative, 25-year-old Zaki Rasa, said he is now delighted to be in Portugal and wants to continue his studies. “There is some uncertainty about the future,” he said. “The important thing is that we are safe.” —Reuters ADVERTORIAL
Empowering families to leave poverty behind for good Opportunity International Canada is a not-for-profit organization that empowers families on their journey out of extreme poverty to new lives filled with strength, hope, resilience, and the power to achieve their dreams. They offer a business solution to families living in poverty by providing holistic microfinance services, including lending, savings, insurance, and transformational training.
They serve people living in poverty who lack economic choices, experience low and irregular incomes, face unequal access to assets, and have little opportunity to earn a decent living. With a particular focus on women, they also serve children and young people, since ensuring that everyone can achieve a sustainable livelihood starts at a young age. Early pioneers in
Opportunity International Canada is a global leader in microfinance WE ARE PART OF THE OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL GROUP 30 COUNTRIES • 17M CLIENTS • 50 YEARS EXPERIENCE WHERE WE ARE LOCATED WHERE WE WORK
a movement that now provides access to finance to over 200 million people globally, they are turning their attention, ingenuity, and creativity to focus on the marginalized, hardest-to-reach ANJALI. © COURTESY OF OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL groups. Their goal is to tackle poverty and exclusion across the • Increased resilience to crises, ulations, areas, or sectors where generations by helping families disasters, conflicts, and climate more is needed to unlock talent build sustainable and resilient change through the ability and fulfil potential. Their Signalivelihoods that can withstand to insure themselves against ture Programs, AgFinance, Edushocks and adapt to change. shocks and accumulate savings, Finance, Health and Microenterallowing them to invest in prise, unify their global resources To achieve these desired impacts, productive uses, provide for around relevant themes and make they focus on a number of specific unexpected expenses, and their combined contribution sigoutcomes for these families: reduce their risk exposure nificantly more impactful. • The acquisition of knowledge, • An increased sense of agency capacities, and skills to leverresulting from having a greater A LIFE IMPACTED: age economic opportunities, number of reliable choices Over the years, Anjali has reincluding access to quality with which to navigate their ceived six loans from Opporeducation and the financial financial lives, as well as the tunity International and now capability to build adaptable power and confidence to make owns her own small shop and economic activities and pay the most out of the resources plot of land. She is passionate for essential life cycle needs they have available to them about female empowerment • The means to earn an income and making a difference in her and to make investments in exOpportunity International community, often volunteeristing or new business ventures, builds on the inherent resilience ing and making small personal sustainably growing job-creating of the clients, whose setbacks and loans to her neighbours. Anjali enterprises that have positive rip- adversities have forced them to be is a role model, reminding us ple effects within their commu- practical and innovative. They con- that women entrepreneurs are nities and local economies centrate their creativity on pop- truly agents of change.
