SHE IS SCIENCE: awards ceremony, charity auction and backstage secrets

On June 10, a charity evening was held in Kyiv as part of the educational art project SHE IS SCIENCE. The initiative that brought together purposeful schoolgirls and students, businessmen, diplomats, public figures and politicians under the roof of scientific achievements of Ukrainian female scientists, was held offline and online at the same time. The event started with a meeting of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska with girls, who are changing Ukraine. During the fruitful discussion on gender equality, women's rights and inclusive education, young activists and volunteers had the opportunity to exchange views on these issues with the First Lady. Olena Zelenska sincerely supported the girls in their aspirations and told what mechanisms are already being implemented in country to improve the situation with women's rights.

 “We all see and understand gender equality issues. But thinking about how great it would be to live in a world where opportunities are not shared between the two sexes, but belong to all who are able and willing to use them, is not enough. We need to act. We need to cultivate a sense of equality, including gender, in ourselves. In our environment. We are proud that such educational art projects are being implemented in Ukraine, and we are grateful to STEM is FEM for this wonderful project, in which TRUMAN also has an opportunity to be involved, "said Ivan Vaneev, Managing Partner of TRUMAN Agency, the main communication partner of the project SHE IS SCIENCE.

The educational art project SHE IS SCIENCE is implemented by STEM is FEM with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund in Ukraine (UNICEF) and the UN Women in Ukraine. It is a part of the global UN Women campaign "The Generation Equality".

The charity evening was the final stage of the part of the project, where the winners of the essay competition were awarded. Also, the entire collection of portraits created by famous illustrators especially for the project was sold out. Previously, the organizers of the essay contest received more than 550 works from all over Ukraine. The selection of the winners, whose names were announced in May, became a real challenge for the star jury. However, the name of the Grand Prize winner became known only at the award ceremony, it was 22-year-old Anastasia Suvorova. Her essay about famous Ukrainian ornithologist Natalia Atamas entitled "A World without Birds" brought her to victory. 

"The promotion of science is as important as the research itself, because it draws attention to this research: the attention of sponsors and grant organizations, it helps to attract volunteers to this research, and attracts people who do not understand anything in this area, but want to understand” - Anastasia wrote in her essay.

And that`s true as the event brought together many people who work in completely different fields, but have one common goal - a sustainable future with equal rights and access to opportunities. At the charity auction, all lots were immediately sold, including 12 portraits of Ukrainian female scientists, as well as lots from project partners - restaurateurs Olena and Dmytro Borysov, jewelry designer Valeria Guzema, fashion brand Gudu and investment banker Ihor Mazepa.

The organizers managed to raise $ 43,600 that will go to educational grants for the winners. All of them were awarded prizes by famous politicians and diplomats. The First Lady also thanked the finalists, giving some of them unique opportunities in the form of interesting meetings or study grants. She expressed the hope that such initiatives would help girls to choose the future they aspire to.