Yang Yang, a Spring Bud girl from Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in Chongqing, took her first flight to Shenzhen for a sci-tech literacy camp. This camp, part of the Sci-tech Literacy for Girls program launched by the China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) in 2021, aims to help girls embrace and utilize technologies amidst the rise of the Internet, AI, big data, and IoT.
The program has organized sci-tech literacy camps in cities like Beijing and Shenzhen, offering training on creative technologies to nearly 10,000 girls from nine provincial regions. The Shenzhen camp included courses on product planning, interactive design, 3D modeling, and creative sales. Many girls, including Yang, experienced using software tools and programming knowledge for the first time.
Yang completed an app design in just a few days and aspires to work in a tech company. Another student, Wang Aikang from Gangou Middle School, learned computer graphics concepts, enhancing her digital skills. The camp encouraged girls to think about solving daily life problems using Internet technology, with some designing an app to promote agricultural products from their hometowns.
The experience opened new doors for the girls, deepening their understanding of modern technologies and inspiring career aspirations. Deng Zhimin, a student from Youyang No.1 Middle School, now dreams of contributing to the country’s sci-tech and medical fields as a doctor. Xi Jianhua, vice-principal of Gangou Middle School, hopes the camp will expand the girls’ horizons and imagination for their future academic and career choices.
The camp also included creative education workshops, discussions on enhancing sci-tech literacy in rural schools, and promoting project-based learning. This year, the CCTF launched a new phase of the program, emphasizing science and digital education, advanced technological experiences, and sci-tech exhibitions. The goal is to continuously enhance the girls’ tech skills and lead them towards long-term development in science and technology.