We just came back from an exciting trip to the United Nations! Wow. Wow. Wow.
Greg and Kamea, because of STEAMTeam 5, were invited to the United Nations by the executive director, HRH Science Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite of RASIT.org, to speak about the “how and why” our book, STEAMTeam 5: The Beginning, came to be.
While there, we celebrated the third annual International Day for Women and Girls in Science! ❤️🙌🏼
Here is the video featuring Greg on the United Nations website. (Click link and it will start where Greg speaks at 1:50:30.)
It was perhaps one of the most amazing things we’ve done.
We went there not really knowing what to expect, other than the awesomeness of actually speaking at the UN in New York. What we experienced went far beyond. It was a trip that my family will remember forever.
Kamea with Science Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite (left) and Alessandra (astrophysicist) from Brazil.
Kamea, at 7 years old, went around meeting various women scientists from all over the world, including Syrian refugee women engineers, plus multiple Ambassadors, sharing her excitement for equality of women in science. She went up to people, introducing herself, giving away STEAMTeam 5: The Beginning books, STEAMTeam 5 friendship bracelets, and her business cards.
Yes, she has business cards with her email address on them and the title Science Princess. Networking begins now.
We were blown away at the energy and inspiration flowing through the whole thing. It moved my soul as I took it all in.
This year marked a historical event.
2018 was the first year they had a panel featuring girls and led by girls to discuss recommendations for how the various ambassadors and excellencies could support women and girls in science. The girls collaborated on creating an amazing list of recommendations, which were presented to HRH Science Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite.
Girl led panel:
Kamea taking notes during the girls’ panel:
One of the questions asked for the panel was:
Kamea rose her hand, turned on her mic and answered that women and girls can use YouTube to spread the word. I have it on video but this is an image of the video.
Another one of my favorite moments was at the end of the inspiring speech given by the Minister of Science and Technology of Ethiopia. Kamea happened to be sitting right next to him(!!!), which meant that while he was speaking, the camera was also on her, featured on the big screen. He finished speaking, people were clapping, and Kamea leans over to him, pats him on the shoulder and says, “Good job.”
I’ll never forget that precious moment.
When I think of the whole event I have three words that keep coming back to me.
- Awe
- Gratitude
- Connection
I was in awe of the group of people and meeting all of the women – still flying high from the event over a week later.
All of those women coming together was powerful. The energy, the feeling of hope and inspiration permeated the air. Seeing the support come in from all over the world! 🗺 I felt like everyone was feeling and experiencing gratitude on a level of intensity which lifted everyone up. That connection – common dreams and love and support – will fuel our passion that started STEAMTeam 5.
We made new friends that will last a lifetime (above you see: Talya from Turkey, Kamea from AZ, Rebeca from NY, and Helen from Canada with Her Excellency Dr. Helena Dalli, the Minister of European Affairs and Equality, the Republic of Malta).
As a mother, I was beyond full of joy for Kamea. She met other young girls who she will look up to for years to come. She was courageous and speaking her heart out whenever given the chance. She buzzed with energy and didn’t want to leave.
We look forward to returning next year and Kamea hopes to take on an even bigger role.
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