On December 19, 2023, the onboarding meeting of mentors and mentees of the “STEM4ALL x Mentoring Her” program took place at the Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I.Razzakov. There were girls joining online from other regions as well. The “STEM4ALL x Mentoring Her” is initiated by the United Nations Development Programme in Kyrgyzstan within the Digital x program funded by the Government of Japan and implemented by the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative Foundation (Press Release about the project launch).

The purpose of the meeting was to establish a meaningful connection between mentors and mentees registered in the program and to provide detailed information about the opportunities of STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) offered in the future workforce, as well as the STEM4ALL x Mentoring Her mentoring program. 

At the meeting, the moderator of the event, gender expert Nora Suyunalieva, gave a presentation on why STEM is important for future careers and the need to attract girls to the fields of technology, science, and innovation.

Jenny Jenish kyzy (Ensi Tszie), the Head of Experimentation at the UNDP Accelerator Laboratory, noted that STEM offer opportunities for future professions in digital and green transformation. Based on the recent UNDP report on “STEM needs assessment of women in Kyrgyzstan” (2023), there is a high demand for women to have mentorship support in their learning and career paths. This mentorship program is initiated based on the needs of women.

Roza Kayikova, Executive Director of the Roza Otunbayeva Initiative Foundation, wished the project participants success and made full use of the opportunities provided by the program.

And the expert of the project Asel Djakypbekova presented a program of lectures on development of soft skills for mentees with the roadmap of development for each mentee participating in the program. 

This was only the first group of mentorship meeting. As of today, there have been 191 mentors and 160 mentees registered in this program. The registration is still ongoing for more women and girls to join. 

REGISTRATION LINKS:

For Mentors: https://forms.gle/CnffLkd31izuXhRm6 

For Mentees: https://forms.gle/ph26wZ1ckrCRjvan8

• Any questions related to the STEM4ALL mentorship program, please reach out the project coordinator, stem4all@roza.kg.

• Contact for media, Ainagul Abdrakhmanova, Communication Officer of UNDP, ainagul.abdrakhmanova@undp.org