Turning dresses into capes is the #ItWasNeverADress campaign’s speciality. And now they are looking to spread the message to youth girls.
The campaign is hosting an inaugural event that will give young girls the opportunity to build confidence, learn to code, and explore STEAM professions.
The STEAM conference taking place July 18-19, invited 50 girls ages 12 to 17 from local schools to learn more about the STEAM fields — science, tech, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton will give the opening remarks at the conference.
“It’s one thing to put out a campaign that aims to empower women, but it’s another to follow up by creating a conference for 12 to 17 year old girls to provide them with the tools, ideas, and support to bring STEAM into their schools,” Axosoft’s Curator of Code Tania Katan said.
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The two day conference will be held at Axosoft in Scottsdale and feature interactive workshops and renowned speakers that cover topics like programming, anti-bullying, and socially conscious marketing.
Confirmed speakers include CodaKid founder David Dodge, author Tania Katan, entrepreneur Evan Clark, ASU professor Hilary Harp, and Axosoft CEO Lawdan Shojaee.
“The #ItWasNeverADress STEAM conference is a bold attempt at changing the way our kids learn and get interested in STEAM fields,” Lawdan Shojaee said. “This campaign has been such an amazing force that we decided to turn it into a conference for young girls to shift the perceptions of girls from a younger age.”
By the end of the conference, each girl will have a business plan to bring back to their school with the goal to to either start a STEAM club/organization, or help infuse STEAM into the learning curriculum.
For more information on the conference, visit the website here.
For more tech events, click here. To learn more about the #ItWasNeverADress campaign, click here.
