=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3321/paper3
|storemode=property
|title=Compilation of Latin American Initiatives and the Regionalization of a University Project to Reduce the Gender Gap in IT
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3321/paper3.pdf
|volume=Vol-3321
|authors=Irene Hernández Ruiz,Carolina Gómez Fernández,Luis Alejandro Fallas Carvajal
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/clei/RuizFC22
}}
==Compilation of Latin American Initiatives and the Regionalization of a University Project to Reduce the Gender Gap in IT ==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3321/paper3.pdf
Compilation of Latin American Initiatives and the
Regionalization of a University Project to Reduce the Gender
Gap in IT
Irene Hernández Ruiz 1, Carolina Gómez Fernández2, Luis Alejandro Fallas Carvajal3
1
Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Informática, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica,
irene.hernandez.ruiz@una.cr
2
Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Informática, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica,
carolina.gomez.fernandez@una.cr
3
Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Informática, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica,
luisalejandrofallascarvajal@gmail.com
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to make a compilation of Latin American initiatives of
both public and private institutions that have developed activities in the last two years in
favor of reducing the gender gap in IT. In addition, a compilation of the efforts carried
out in Costa Rica in this line is made, in which it is expected that this will be a benchmark
of actions that have been carried out at the local level. And finally, the experience of the
regionalization that has been carried out in a university project is presented whose
purpose is to be able to bring the concept of computational thinking to the youngest and
in this way to be able to collaborate with the reduction of the gap in the IT sector and
encourage more interest in this area from an early age. This experience highlights the
activities carried out and the first results obtained.
Keywords
Programming, computational thinking, equity, regionalization
1. Introduction
It is a reality worldwide that there is a difference in gender equity in terms of the labor force, for
example, Ruiz points out that in Costa Rica in 2014, the ICT sector labor force participation by sex
was 35.9% for women and 64.1% for men [1]. On the other hand, Manpower points out in its study
"Costa Rica: 10 most difficult positions for companies to fill", the IT area is ranked number 7 in level
of difficulty [2].
There are different entities in Costa Rica that seek to promote this equity, the Ministry of Science,
Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT) has among its objectives to promote
gender equity in training, employment and enjoyment of the products of science, technology,
telecommunications and innovation As well as it has developed jointly with other instances the I
Action Plan 2018-2023: National Policy for Equity between Men and Women in Training, which
aims to: "To promote equity in the participation of women with respect to men in the attraction,
XIV Congress of Latin American Women in Computing 2022, October 17–21, 2022, Quindío, Colombia
EMAIL: irene.hernandez.ruiz@una.cr (I. Hernández); carolina.gomez.fernandez@una.cr(C. Gómez); luis.fallas.carvajal@est.una.ac.cr (L.
Fallas) ORCID: 0000-0003-4625-9221 (I. Hernández); 0000-0002-1873-8615 (C. Gómez)
©️ 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org)
20
permanence, training, qualification, quality employment and research, in the different fields of
science, technology and innovation, in order to facilitate access to and enjoyment of the scientific-
technological advances” [3].
There is also support from private companies such as National Instruments, SYKES, 3M
Company, Microsoft (which will be explained further on) that support these equity initiatives. This
paper compiles the activities in favor of this issue in Costa Rica, as well as examples of groups,
entities and companies that support activities throughout the Latin America to promote gender equity
in access to technology and opportunities. In addition, the experience of the project "Creating
Programming Skills in Young People in Costa Rica" is presented, as an initiative of the School of
Informatics of the National University, to contribute to generate access options for students in the
field of technology and to bring this knowledge to the regional branches of the National University.
This paper is structured in the following sections: ii. Initiatives in the Latin America in favor of
gender equity in the IT sector, iii. IT activities in favor of gender equity in Costa Rica, iv. Project
Building Programming Capacities, v. Regional Headquarters, vi. Recommendations and Conclusions.
2. Initiatives in the Latin Americas in favor of gender equity in the IT sector
For this section, a bibliographic search of initiatives that have been carried out in all the countries
of the Latin America was conducted to reflect the different movements in the IT area that have been
carried out in favor of gender equity This compilation shows the support that has been given in the
different societies of America between public or private instances.
Table 1 presents, in alphabetical order by country, the initiatives that were found, as well as their
main actors and the description of this initiative.
Table 1
Efforts in Latin America
Country Name of the Public or Private Description of the initiative
initiative
Argentina Latin American CAL Matilda represents a joint effort of three Its objective is to create an academic space for debate, reflection,
Open Lecture founding guiding institutions: the Council collective construction of knowledge, teaching, research and
"Matilda and Federal Association of Engineering Deans of activities that stimulate and promote equal rights, opportunities
Women in Argentina - CONFEDI, the Colombian and spaces for women in the academic and professional
Engineering” (CAL Association of Engineering Schools - ACOFI environment, and for the promotion of engineering vocations in
Matilda) [4] and the Latin American and Caribbean girls and young women in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Consortium of Engineering Institutions -
LACCEI.
Bolivia Club STEAM1 [5] Private Seeks to encourage participants' interest in areas related to
Energea – Tecnonautas Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
Pan American Development Foundation and
Boeing.PADF)
Brazil Encouraging Girls in It is underway at the University of Caxias do The activity consisted of a workshop in which 21 girls between
Science, Sul. the ages of 15 and 17, students from public and private schools in
Engineering and the city, put their hands to work and created a mobile application.
Information
Technology Project” The Digital Girls Program aims to publicize the area of
[6] Computing and its technologies to arouse the interest of high
school students (in its various modalities) and final years of
Meninas Digitais[7] The Digital Girls Program was created in elementary school, so that they know better the area and feel
2011 under the coordination of the Regional motivated to pursue a career in computing. The Program's actions
Secretariat of the Brazilian Computer Society are diversified: offering mini-courses and workshops;
(SBC) in Mato Grosso and, in 2015, it was performance of dynamics; lectures with students and
institutionalized by the SBC, receiving its professionals who already work in the area sharing their
seal, as a program of national interest to the experiences; holding events etc.
Computing community.
1 http://tecnonautasbolivia.com/club-steam/
21
Chile PROVOCA Public Supporting women who decide to follow their scientific vocation
Mentoring Network Associated Universities, Inc (AUI) in and accompanying them until they reach their goal
2
[8] conjunction with the National Radio
Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(NRAO)
LeadWoman
Colombia Latin American CAL Matilda represents a joint effort of three Its objective is to create an academic space for debate, reflection,
Open Lecture founding guiding institutions: the Federal collective construction of knowledge, teaching, research and
"Matilda and Council of Engineering Deans of Argentina - activities that stimulate and promote equal rights, opportunities.
Women in CONFEDI, the Colombian Association of
Engineering” (CAL Engineering Schools - ACOFI and the Latin
Matilda) [9] American and Caribbean Consortium of
Engineering Institutions - LACCEI.
Costa Rica 25 women in Latin Private Seeks to recognize women scientists who are making an impact
American Science Company 3M through their research.
[10]
El Salvador DigiGirlz [11] Private Provide young people with the opportunity to learn and develop
The Microsoft company STEM skills and equip them with the curiosity and skills that will
serve them well in an increasingly digital world.
Ecuador Partnership STEM The Chamber of Small and Medium This initiative not only generates knowledge, but also provides the
Ecuador [12] Enterprises of Pichincha; the Ministry of youngest with skills and abilities so that they can solve problems
Education and the National University of on their own, qualities that contribute to their growth.
Education. (UNAE)
Guatemala DigiGirlz [13] Private Provide young people with the opportunity to learn and develop
The Microsoft company STEM skills and equip them with the curiosity and skills that will
serve them well in an increasingly digital world.
Guyana Guyanese Girls Public The goal of using Scratch and BBC micro: bit to introduce girls
Code’ (GGC) [14] The Ministry of Public Telecommunications in grades 7 to 9 to ICT education.
of Guyana, in collaboration with the National
Center for Educational Resource
Development
Honduras DigiGirlz [15] Private Provide young people with the opportunity to learn and develop
STEM skills and equip them with the curiosity and skills that will
The company Microsoft serve them well in an increasingly digital world.
Jamaica Girls 4 Tech [16] Public and Private The initiative seeks to guarantee women's access to a wide range
of digital technology alternatives that promote their development.
MasterCard Company
Mexico GIRL STEM CAN3 Public/Private Addresses the need to introduce these fields to girls in high school
[17] levels through educational opportunities outside the classroom
and supported by mentors and visual materials.
Nicaragua DigiGirlz [18] Private Provide young people with the opportunity to learn and develop
STEM skills and equip them with the curiosity and skills that will
The company Microsoft serve them well in an increasingly digital world.
Panama 25 women in Latin Private Seeks to recognize women scientists who are making an impact
American Science Company 3M through their research.
[19]
Peru Student role model Public The goal was to create a community of female students who would
program [20] become role models who would share their motivation for STEM
The Professional School of Software with the new students and who would actively participate in the
Engineering of the National University of San recruitment process.
Agustin of Arequipa
Dominican e-Girl Clubs [21] Public The project is aimed at girls and adolescents in the public
Republic It was promoted by the Research Center for education sector in the Dominican Republic as part of the efforts
Women's Action. (CIPAF) to eliminate prejudices and stereotypes that women are not "good"
at mathematics or that they are not suited to "hard" scientific fields
such as physics or computer science.
Uruguay GIRLS IN ICTS This event is a worldwide initiative promoted On the day, 320 girls from 21 high schools were received public
CONFERENCE by and private from Montevideo and the interior of the country, and
[22] the International Telecommunication Union three types of workshops were developed: 1) Butiá robot
(ITU) workshop, 2) Electrifying workshop, 3) Map your world
carried out since 2011, in which the Faculty workshop
of Engineering of the University of the
Reṕublica
2
https://innovacionchilena.cl/tag/red-de-mentoras-provoca/
3
http://ninastem.aprende.sep.gob.mx/en/demo/home_
22
Uruguay has been participating in this event
for several years, opening the doors of the
faculty, and in particular the laboratories of workshops for robotics, circuits and maps making were held for
[23] Girls in the Computing Institute (InCo) and the high school girls as a way to promote ICT careers in Uruguay.
Information and Institute
Communication of Electrical Engineering (IIE).
Technologies (ICT)
day
Facultad de Ingeniería (School of
Engineering) of the Universidad de la
Republica, Uruguay
Source: Own elaboration.
Table 1 shows that efforts do exist in Latin America and that there are efforts from the public and
private sectors.
3. IT activities in favor of gender equity in Costa Rica
In the last five years, a series of activities have been organized by public and private institutions
in Costa Rica, including workshops, hackathons, among others. The activities are aimed at promoting
gender equity, giving an opportunity to disseminate these activities in order to integrate young women
to participate in these events. In this section a compilation of activities is made in order to visualize
all the efforts that have been made in Costa Rica in recent years.
Since 2012, the Sulá Batsú cooperative in conjunction with the Technological Institute of Costa
Rica, from the San Carlos Local Technological Campus, has developed projects that seek to create
employment conditions and work for women in rural areas, among these projects are clubs for girls
and clubs for mothers, where they have developed communication and leadership skills, as well as
technology camps and hackathons, among other activities aimed at women in the San Carlos area.
In addition, the case of National Instruments, which has held since 2014 the annual Girl's Day:
Let's Engineer! activity, an event dedicated to girls from 6 to 12 years old, in which all its employees
-both men and women- conduct workshops focused on science and engineering [24].
Since 2016, SYKES has been organizing the SWIT event, the aim of the activity is to get more
SYKES employees interested in technological areas, this space is dedicated to female employees of
the company [25].
The office of the First Lady of Costa Rica in conjunction with the U.S. government and the
Ministry of Public Education promoted in 2018 the Teach Her initiative which aimed to reduce the
gender gap in education through public-private partnerships, so that women could have access to
scientific, engineering, mathematics and design careers, this project was developed in a pilot plan in
which the following institutions participated: Naranjo Experimental Bilingual High School, San José
de la Montaña High School, Poas High School, Hojancha Professional Technical High School,
Changuena Rural High School, El Roble Environmental High School and Turrialba Experimental
Bilingual High School [26].
For its part, Intel in conjunction with Inspiring Girls in 2018 held the Wikithon, an activity in
which 60 girls learned about the history of outstanding women in STEM areas and uploaded their
profiles to Wikipedia. The activity was aimed at girls from public schools [27].
The STEAM Workshops for Young Women project, promoted by the Embassy of the United
States of America in 2019, carries out a series of workshops in which a constructionist methodology
is applied, which allows participants to learn by doing in a fun, creative and collaborative way. The
23
project is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) and the Omar Dengo
Foundation (FOD) and is aimed at women between the ages of 9 and 20 [28].
The Virtual Innovation, Science and Technology Meeting for women in the Northern Zone was
held in 2019, this event aimed to promote the development of activities that would inspire men and
women to study technological careers, create their own ventures and use technology as a strategic
tool for their businesses, and thus contribute to the development of a more equitable region with
greater opportunities. This initiative was made possible thanks to the National Learning Institute
(INA), the Agro-industrial Technical School (ETAI), INAMU, the Technological Institute of Costa
Rica (TEC), the National Technical University (UTN), the Ministry of Economy, Industry and
Commerce (MEIC), the Ministry of Planning (Mideplan) and the Sulá Batsú Cooperative [29].
On October 22, 2020, the Gender Parity Commission of the Federated College of Engineers and
Architects held the First Meeting of Women in Science and Technology, an activity in which they
held talks on gender gaps, vocational development, and the participants also enjoyed virtual games.
This initiative was aimed at students from technical and academic high schools in 9th, 10th and 11th
grade from all over the country. The activity was supported by MICITT, MEP, INA, ICE, TEC, UCR,
INAMU and the Organization of Iberoamerican [30].
The MenTe in Action (Women in Science and Technology) program in 2020 carried out its 12th
Edition, the objective of this project was to promote the development of young women in the area of
Science and Technology, so that there are more and more women involved in STEAM areas in the
country. The event was aimed at young women between the ages of 15 and 19. This activity was
carried out in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, and the companies Accenture and
P&G [31].
CINDE developed in 2020 the Women Engineering Projects in Community Service initiative
which promotes the teaching of STEAM areas to women from schools outside the Greater
Metropolitan Area, the project is supported by Arizona State University, the Ministry of Public
Education and the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica [32].
The MICITT in celebration of the International Day of Women and girls in science in the year
2022 held participatory talks allowing an approach that would motivate girls and young women to
study science and technology-oriented careers [33]. One week was dedicated to the development of
lectures and initiatives.
On the other hand, Microsoft and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications
(MICITT) carried out the sixth edition of the DigiGirlz program in 2022, which seeks to break
stereotypes and empower girls and women who want to dedicate their lives to creating technological
solutions. The activity also sought to develop skills in the areas of science, technology and
mathematics to combat the gender gap that exists in the area and was aimed at Costa Rican women
and girls [34].
4. Building Programming Capabilities Project
4.1 Project description
The project "Building Programming Skills in Youth and Teachers in both Secondary and Higher
Education" was formulated in 2019 and started in 2020, it is an extension project of the School of
Informatics of the National University. It aims to build programming skills in young people and
teachers, both high school and higher education. The participants are from the Greater Metropolitan
Area and the regional branches of the National University [35]. In the project, workshops are given
using visual programming with the following tools: Scratch, Scratch Jr., Arduino, micro: bit and
Tinkercard. The tools are selected because they allow visual programming, Rodriguez defines this
concept as: "The use of visual expressions (such as graphics, animations or icons) in the programming
24
process. It is often used to form new programming languages that lead to new paradigms, such as
programming by demonstration. Visual programming can also be used in graphical presentations of
the behavior or structure of a program. The goal of visual programming is to improve the
understanding of programs and to simplify the programming itself." [36][37].
The workshops incorporate the application of computational thinking, which was coined by Wing
he "involves problem solving, system design and understanding of human behavior using
fundamental computer science concepts" [38]. To implement its resolution, computer science resorts
to the area of programming, which is the set of necessary instructions given to a machine in order to
perform a specific task.
4.2 Description of the workshops
The workshops are conducted synchronously using the Zoom videoconferencing tool and are held
in a maximum time of two hours where participants are explained about the tool to be used (Scratch,
Scratch Jr, Arduino or micro: bit in Tinkercad) and work with them in the development of the
construction of a problem. This selection of a problem allows the student to have a greater
participation in the development of these problems.
Below is an image of the construction of a project in micro: bit where we worked with the
Tinkercad tool.
Figure 1: Game made with micro: bit
The image shows the game: rock, paper, scissors where the workshop participants can program
using the blocks both the board where they will select the figure (rock, paper or scissors), as well as
the board that will be controlled by the computer (where the figures appear randomly) and the board
that will be controlled by the computer (where the figures appear randomly.)
In order to support students who, wish to learn more about other resources that are already
available, access to the virtual classroom created with materials on the above-mentioned programs is
provided. In this way, students can asynchronously watch the videos developed, download manuals,
posters and infographics on these topics. Figure 2 below shows the sections according to each of the
tools used in the project. This way of having in one place a resource in which students can be
supported and even review the material to later create innovative projects in science fairs.
Each of the sections includes video tutorials, manuals, posters explaining the tool and projects in
which students can solve problems using computational thinking.
25
Figure 2: Project Virtual Classroom.
4.3 Methodology
Vargas and Jiménez indicate that constructivism "leads to conceive and develop the teaching and
learning processes from the individual's previous knowledge, life experiences and the possible
applicability of the contents learned in the real context of the people” [39]. Cambridge Assessment
International Education indicates that "Active Learning is based on a theory of learning called
Constructivism, which emphasizes the fact that learners construct their own knowledge [40], For this
reason, tools such as Tinkercad, micro: bit, Scratch and Scratch Jr. are very useful, because they allow
workshop participants to build knowledge that allows them not only to learn the tool for block
programming but also to solve problems that may arise in their daily lives.
4.4 Results obtained
Below is a table with the data obtained in the workshops held during the years 2020 and 2021.
Table 2
Data obtained in the workshops
Date Workshop Population Men Women
October 5, 2020 Programming with blocks Location Interuniversitaria 11 4
October 7, 2020 Programming with blocks Location Sarapiquí 16 2
October 28, 2021 Programming with blocks General public 12 17
October 30, 2020 Programming with blocks High School Humanístico de Heredia 14 14
October 21, 2020 Programming with blocks High School Humanístico Nicoya 12 19
December 4, 2020 Programming with blocks General public 1 4
December 2, 2020 Programming with blocks General public 5 12
October 29, 2020 Programming with circuits High School Humanístico Nicoya 7 17
December 4, 2020 Programming with circuits General public 2 4
December 2, 2020 Programming with circuits High School Humanístico Coto 4 11
October 7, 2020 Programming with circuits General public 6 6
September 30, 2020 Programming with blocks High School Científico Pérez Zeledón 16 15
September 24, 2020 Programming with circuits General public 3 0
October 15, 2020 Programming with circuits High School Humanístico Nicoya 7 11
March 23, 2021 Programming with circuits Location University 9 9
April 14, 2021 Programming with circuits Location Liberia 23 3
January 25, 2021 Programming with blocks Location Liberia 1 1
26
March 2, 2021 Programming with circuits School of Economics, Universidad Nacional 0 3
March 1, 2021 Programming with blocks School of Economics, Universidad Nacional 4 2
July 6, 2021 Programming with blocks MEP Educators 0 7
April 12, 2021 Programming with blocks Instituto de Estudios de la Mujer, Universidad Nacional 0 3
March 23, 2021 Programming with blocks Location Nicoya 12 19
February 8, 15 and 22, 2021 Programming with blocks Costa Rica learn with the public U, General public 7 8
March 3, 2021 Programming with blocks First entry induction, School of Informatics, 30 6
Universidad Nacional
March 3, 2021 Programming with circuits First entry induction, School of Informatics Universidad 17 2
Nacional
March 5, 2021 Programming with circuits First entry induction School of Informatics, Universidad 13 2
Nacional
May 21, 2021 Programming with blocks Scratch Day (Morning) General public 15 25
May 21, 2021 Programming with blocks Scratch Day (Afternoon), General public 2 12
August 17, 2021 Programming with blocks Congress Concities 3 5
October 4, 2021 Programming with blocks General public 0 4
October 5, 2021 Programming with circuits Location Chorotega Universidad Nacional 9 2
August 19, 2021 Programming with circuits General public 14 4
July 28, 2021 Programming with circuits Congress Compdes4 9 5
July 13, 2021 Programming with circuits General public 2 3
January 26, 2021 Programming with circuits Location Liberia 3 1
Total 289 262
As can be seen in Table 2, there is an almost equal number of 289 male students versus 262
female students for the years 2020 and 2021, for which it is expected to have a higher participation
of students in several regions.
These students were asked to respond to a questionnaire about the reasons why they consider
this type of workshop to be important:
Table 3
Reasons why you are motivated by these workshops
Reasons why these workshops motivate you
They motivate me to keep learning and reach my goal.
To learn more and improve programming logic
To learn more about the subject
To be able to improve
To get engaged in the subject
To find interest in the career
To reinforce knowledge
To give us an approach to what we are going to receive in the course and career.
They help to guide us
To properly use the programs.
They make the time spent at the National University an interactive environment.
For the variety of knowledge learned
These types of activities help to learn about the various areas in computer science and help to plan in the future in which area to
specialize.
In them you can learn about and review interesting topics
4
http://www.compdes.org/
27
They are a good introduction for us freshmen to know what we will find in the career.
They help to understand and visualize some subjects and topics of the career to be studied, in addition to reinforcing the student.
To learn new things
It helps us to get a better extra base, to put it in other words.
Because they give us the initiative to experiment with this kind of programs that teach us
Because they use the elemental, which is the creativity and make us get out of our comfort zone.
Because it is easier to learn by doing than by just listening to someone else explain
Acquire new knowledge
To awaken the interest of students in this type of subjects
They teach in a more dynamic way
To increase our knowledge
Because it motivates us to keep learning and for the enjoyment it gives us.
Help to develop knowledge of topics that are not frequently seen
Because this type of knowledge is important for everyday life, especially now that we live in such a technological time.
To receive a base of short topics that we will be exploring in the future.
Because they help us a lot in learning
Development of new knowledge that can be applied to personal projects
Because it is always useful to learn a little bit of everything, you never know when it might be necessary.
To make students feel more comfortable and prepared for the beginning of classes.
To facilitate the development of programming skills and to generate more interest.
The practices
Because they provide an introduction and create an interest in the subjects being taught.
The National University has 8 university campuses. The regional campuses in which work has
been done are: Omar Dengo Campus, Benjamín Núñez Campus, Interuniversitaria Campus, Sarapiquí
Campus, Liberia Campus and Nicoya Campus.
Workshops have been held for high school students in the following schools: High School
Humanístico de Heredia, High School Humanístico Nicoya, High School Humanístico Coto, High
School Científico Pérez Zeledón, and High School Científico Pérez Zeledón.
In the image 1 these zones are displayed:
Figure 2: Areas of Costa Rica where workshops have taken place.
A workshop was held for teachers of the Ministry of Public Education and others for the general
public, and the company participated in national and international congresses.
There was a positive impact on the methodology that was planned (before COVID-19), since it
was thought to be face-to-face. Therefore, it was necessary to carry out online activities. This affected
28
participation in a positive way because there was support from the teachers of the institutions to
participate.
The specific advertising to attract more girls was to make teachers more aware of the importance
of promoting gender equity.
6. Recommendations and Conclusions
Table 1 shows that in Costa Rica, the same as in other countries in the Latin American, there
are several initiatives in favor of gender equity in the area of technology, which have helped to
motivate more young people to study IT.
Since 2020, the project "Creating Programming Skills in Young People and Teachers in
Secondary and Higher Education" has overseen conducting various workshops for participants to
acquire knowledge in the area of block and circuit programming, in which it has been concerned
not only to have this knowledge in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), but also in the different
regions of Costa Rica.
The workshops have been carried out using the active learning methodology in different
regions of Costa Rica where a wide variety of people have attended, from high school teachers,
high school and university students and the general public, both Costa Ricans and foreigners.
Having the possibility of having workshops via different video conferencing tools allows us to
bring this knowledge to many people in different parts of the country.
Having a framework of other project initiatives at the international level allows us to learn
from successful initiatives and cases in other countries and to apply them locally. In Costa Rica,
there has been great support from the business sector to encourage activities in the area of gender,
which allows us to support Costa Rican youth.
Finally, this project is expected to be able to continue holding workshops in the area of
programming by blocks during the year 2022 and to be able to hold a much larger event due to the
opening after COVID-19 according to the country's regulations.
7. Bibliography
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(LC/TS.2020/80), 2020, Santiago, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,
(CEPAL)
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29
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