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Eight Indigenous girls from Canada’s Northwest Territories built robots, created electrical circuits, and learned about the stars, the mathematics of origami and gemstones during a four-day STEM camp hosted by De Beers Group and the University of Calgary during the week of July 24-28th.
The camp was the fourth one held by De Beers in Canada since 2018 and the first in partnership with UCalgary. De Beers paid all costs to attend the camp, including transportation with support from Summit Air, accommodation, and meals. Participants were from Deline, Behchoko, Yellowknife, and Hay River.
Pamela Ellemers, Principal Mineral Resource Manager for De Beers Canada who led the employee group that organized the camp: “De Beers’ goal is to expose 10,000 girls and women to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) by 2030 and this is just one of the ways we are working to achieve that goal. It was truly inspiring to see each of the girls light up as they took part in the various workshops.”
The intent of the camp was to allow participants to experience various aspects of STEM fields, an area traditionally dominated by men.
"The world needs science skills to tackle the biggest challenges of our time. That means we need to make high-quality science education accessible to everyone," said Kristin Baetz, Dean of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Science. "What’s great about this camp and partnership is that we’re creating more pathways for girls and Indigenous groups into science fields. From outer space to robotics, they got a glimpse of the many options open to them.
The event included a Robot PowWow led by IndigeSTEAM, built electrical circuits and soldered wires, enjoyed an evening at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, spent time learning cryptography and the mathematics or origami and learned about gemstones. They also had an opportunity to enjoy some of the university’s recreational facilities and attended a movie while in Calgary.
Participant Payton Larocque-Lafferty, 13, said, "Attending the STEM camp has been so much fun. I learned lots about robotics, and getting to build a robot was a highlight. Plus, the visit to the observatory was really cool - I got to learn about space. Both the robotics class and the observatory were my favorite parts."
"It has been truly exciting to watch my daughter Payton engage at the STEM Summer Camp. I have loved seeing her learn, explore, and uncover new possibilities. Our visit to the observatory was a special highlight, fostering a newfound appreciation for the stars. It has been a fun, eye-opening experience for both of us," said Patricia Lafferty.
This program is part of De Beers’ Building Forever initiative, which includes 12 ambitious goals to achieve by 2030 in four key pillar areas where we believe we can make a meaningful impact – leading ethical practices, partnering for thriving communities, protecting the natural world and accelerating equal opportunity. These are vitally important not only to our business, but also to our employees, partners, and communities across all facets of our operations.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Building Forever.
De Beers employs more than 600 people in Canada. It is the operator of the joint venture Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories (NWT), is actively closing Snap Lake mine in the NWT and Victor mine in Ontario, has an active exploration team searching for new diamond deposits in Canada, and is advancing the Chidliak Project to establish a technologically advanced diamond mine on Baffin Island using FutureSmart Mining™ principles.