Today, May 8, 2024, the innovative European project, GirlsGoGreen, funded by the Erasmus+ program, Project 2023-2BG01-KA210-SCH-000185374, has been launched. "ALDA Association" is the main partner and coordinator of the project. Partners in the project are the elite schools from Greece and Turkey - Platon School and Istanbul Ataturk Fen Lises. On the Bulgarian side private school "Abraham Lincoln" is an associated partner. The innovative STEM-integrated 125^th  school also participates in the project.

The project aims at building green skills for green professions among secondary school girls. GirlsGoGreen (GGG) focuses on empowering secondary school girls to acquire green skills through an innovative challenge-based pedagogical approach and engaging them in sustainability practices. The project promotes an integrated approach - science, technology, engineering and mathematics (I-STEM) among STEM teachers as an interdisciplinary method of teaching and preparing lessons in the context of the environment and the circular economy (CE), focusing especially on increasing girls' interest in STEM and green education. The project introduces the benefits of the Co-Creation Challenge Based Learning (CCC_BL) approach of STEM and green skills among the participating organizations and their teachers and mentors. CCC_BL is a pedagogical approach that combines elements of co-creation, challenge based learning and problem solving based learning. It is used in a variety of educational settings to prepare students for STEM careers, including those in green industries and is used to prepare students for green jobs.

It is estimated that the circular economy will create 700,000 new jobs in the EU by 2030 (Cambridge Econometrics, Trinomics and ICF 2018). Engineers and STEM professionals are at the forefront of new technological developments and innovation, and the transition to the circular economy is therefore predicted to increase the demand for new skills in engineering and the general STEM sector, where women are underrepresented.

The specific objectives of the project are as follows:

1. Research and sharing of the best European teaching practices for engaging secondary school girls in STEM education with an emphasis on green skills;

2. Supporting secondary STEM teachers with new knowledge and skills in I-STEM teaching within the environmental and CE context;

3. Increasing interest in and awareness of STEM education for green skills among EU secondary school girls and one non-formal group through a new tool to be piloted under GGG project;

4. Providing valuable feedback on career guidance in the EU to 60 girls from secondary schools in the EU;

5. Creating a European network of GGG ambassadors among secondary schools, local communities and businesses by organizing 3 GirlsGoGreen multiplier events in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey and a European hackathon in the field of green skills and knowledge.

The project will prepare girls for professions such as:

a. Material passport manufacturer

b. Green mobility assistant

c. Environmental data analyst/Sustainable development manager

d. Urban micro farmer/Expert in sustainable agriculture and food systems

The project is financed under the "Erasmus +" program

This publication has been created by "Alda Association" and its content is entirely the responsibility of the CONTRACTOR and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Erasmus + program and the EC.

The ILO (International Labor Organization) defines green jobs as “the transformation of economies, businesses, jobs and labor markets into a sustainable, low-carbon economy providing decent work” (ILO, 2012). According to the European Directorate-General for Climate Action (2023), the EU goal of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and our ultimate goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 will require profound changes in our economy and energy systems. From designing electric cars to operating massive solar farms that generate renewable electricity, new jobs and new skills will be needed to build this greener economy. Starting in childhood, girls and boys socialize differently, which deters girls from pursuing “difficult” subjects in science and mathematics (UNICEF 2020). Other factors may also be educational inequality, outdated teaching methods and curricula, and the lack of STEM programs for women at school (EQUALS Global Partnership, ITU and UN Women 202, UNICEF 2021).

Girls are just as likely to work in science as boys, but they represent only one in three STEM graduates (European Commission 2022a). In line with Article 13 (Promoting Women's Participation in STEM) of the European Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan, GGG aims to address the gender gap in STEM and ICT and enable at least 60 teenage girls to get involved back into STEM and CE training and increase their employability. The Eurostat report "Women in Science and Technology" (2022) indicates that on average Bulgaria has 58% and Greece 53% of women employed in such professions, but mainly in services. Although women make up the majority of people employed in science and technology, they have been underrepresented as scientists and engineers, representing only 41% of the total number of scientists and engineers in Europe in 2022 (Eurostat). In engineering jobs (physics and engineering technicians, engineering professionals), which are among the most common green occupations, women represent less than 1 in 4 workers (OECD, 2023). For example, the share of women in green jobs in Greece is 32% according to this article. Bulgaria has about 38%, while Turkey has less than 20% women in green jobs according to the preliminary project survey.