GIRLS FLY PROGRAM AFRICA FOUNDATION

AVIATION AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR SOUTH AFRICAN GIRLS – UNLEASHING THEIR POTENTIAL

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In SA, despite the gains girls have made in access and efficiency markers of education, they still lag boys in quality of performance in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Even though, more girls than boys sat the Grade 12 examination in math and physical science, boys outperformed girls in both subjects1 , reinforcing a long-term education trend. This gender gap in STEAM widens in post school education and training, with less than one third (28.5%) of females graduating in STEAM-related careers2.

The knock-on effect is that female participation in the labour market in these fields trails that of men. Closing the gender gap in employment is critical to addressing the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. In fact, reducing the gender gap in income and employment by a mere 10% could yield an additional economic growth of 3.2%; drop unemployment by 6.5%; and reduce poverty in low-income households by an estimated 2.9%3

GFPA Foundation
These are the challenges that Girls fly programme Africa (GFPA) foundation seeks to address. We have created innovative programmes that are aimed at unlocking the opportunities that the STEAM with a focus on aviation and space industry offers for young, rural, township and generally disadvantaged girls in South Africa. The programme includes the use of design thinking, technology, and innovation to shape, empower, enable and support the next generation of makers and problem solvers in the aviation and space industry in Africa while entrenching the spirit of Ubuntu.

OUR VISION , MISSION AND GOALS

OUR VISION

To create an Africa where every girl is educated, included, and empowered.

OUR MISSION

  • We transform individuals and communities through the shaping of mindset.
  • We create an inclusive environment where girls are empowered, enabled and supported to take up careers and innovate in the STEAM field with a focus on aviation and space.
  • We inspire individuals and organisation to take action to act and transform communities in the spirit of ubuntu

OUR GOALS

Our annual programmes are varied, exciting, stimulating, engaging, and challenging educational initiatives. Our goals are to :-

  • Develop and support programmes that encourage innovation and shaping of mindsets.
  • Make STEAM with a focus on aviation and space a viable career choice for girls.
  • Cultivate a culture of community building through volunteerism.
  • Create equal opportunity through skills development and scholarships in the aviation and space industry or any other STEAM related career.

Design principle and programmes
With our phased design approach, we ensure that no girl is left behind by creating a pipeline sySTEAM through focused programmes that grow in intensity and become tailored to our developing learner aspirations in the STEAM field.

PHASE 1: SHAPING MIND-SETS

We shape mindset through our general outreach programmes, fly for STEAM Africa campaign, makerspaces, and girls tinker spaces. Through our girl’s tinker spaces learners gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover all sort of things using different materials. We are creating an environment where they can learn how to think as the first step to innovating solutions for their own communities and continue to use the spaces for more explorations as they go through our phase approach.

PHASE 2: EMPOWER, ENABLE AND SUPPORT

EMPOWERING the next generation has been a key component of GFPA’s mission. We create awareness about the STEAM industry with a focus on aviation and space.Through our STEAM workshops, aviation & Space camp, and emerging technology such as Drones Programmes we help tomorrow’s leaders meet new challenges.

We ENABLE the next generation by offering scholarships and other skills development programmes. GFPA’s scholarships directly support the professional development of women who intend to follow a career in the STEAM field with a focus on aviation and space. We partner with local universities and aviation organisation to provide excellent candidates who have a passion for the industry, with scholarships and leadership opportunities.

We SUPPORT the next generation through our mentorship and Job shadowing programme. Our mentorship matches up the student with mentors in the STEAM or any other aviation and space industry to advise and assist in career development. Our job shadowing and internship matches applicants with member companies to provide excellent opportunities for professional growth and practical experience.

PHASE 3: – UBUNTU

We inspire individuals and organisations to take actions to transform communities and change the world. We encourage our alumni to volunteer for our programmes or any other community-based initiatives.

1 Department of Basic Education. 2019. National Senior Certificate 2018 Examination Report. Pretoria: DBE
2 UNESCO Institute for Statistics: 2015. http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/za
3 Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC). 2018. Girls in Tech. Johannesburg: PWC

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