Their comic called “We Women!!” caught the eye of the jury of the national Science factor competition. Loane Cavalier, Zoé Riffaudeau, Zoé Lagueyrie and Lilie Marion, their team leader, won the Science Factor competition, in the “Equality between girls and boys” category. It was before the summer and the teenagers, today students in second in Banville, were then in 3rd in Charles-Péguy.
This competition, organized by the company Global Contact with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and the Ministry of National Education, aims to stimulate the interest of young people, and more particularly girls, for scientific and techniques. To bring out ideas and citizen innovation projects.
Projects for the planet, gender equality: in Moulins (Allier), middle school students in the final of the Science Factor competition
Stereotypes: gendered sports and professions, street harassment…
The teenagers, who had called themselves the Lolizo, had defended their comic book project before a jury of professionals and personalities. They created a comic strip around the different girl-boy stereotypes: gendered sports and professions, street harassment, or even wage inequality…
The boards were made using a digital application with predefined drawings. They took care of the messages they wanted to convey, the texts and the cutting. Countering the stereotypes they had too often heard: “You won’t make it…” “We don’t play football with girls…” As part of the Junior association created in Charles-Péguy, a second team competed, on a clothing overconsumption project.
The four teenagers from Banville high school are preparing a booklet for professionals. Photo Corentin Garault
Two days in Paris and ongoing support
This victory is only the beginning of the adventure: they were invited to go to Paris with all the winners of the competition for the 2022 session to organize the post-competition, that is to say the finalization of the project.
On October 5 and 6, they were able to talk with middle and high school students who won the competition, but also with partners. Their privileged correspondent is Maéva Olivier, in charge of gender equality studies and the fight against LGBT + phobias within the Ministry of National Education. The day ended with a speech by the competition’s sponsor: producer Alexia Laroche-Joubert.
The next day, the girls went to the Accor Hotel Aréna to participate in the BIG event, a large European gathering on innovation, organized by BPI France (Banque Publique d’Investissement).
The researcher Maha Issaoui, godmother of the junior association Share your science in Moulins
A booklet for professionals
Their teacher, Laila Margoum, now stationed in Vichy, continues to work with the team. They are also supported by the Science factor team to pursue their project.
“We have regular videoconferences with Maéva and Claudine Schmuck, the president of Science factor, to take stock of our work. We are writing an accompanying booklet for professionals in support of comics in digital format”.
Loane, Zoé, Lilie and Zoé want to raise awareness among the youngest: schoolchildren and 6th and 5th graders. Because they are convinced:
“After the 5th, it’s already too late. We realized this when talking with our 3rd year classmates, who already have preconceived ideas about many subjects and many jobs, supposedly reserved for boys! In our high school, we also realize that many girls still don’t dare to go to the science sections. They are still in the majority in the literary and human sciences sections. »
They want to intervene in at least one school by the end of the school year. “We already have schools in mind, those in which we ourselves studied”. This experience, all four of them say, was a lot of work “we put a lot of ourselves into it”. It allowed them to gain confidence: especially in oral expression, including asserting themselves in family gatherings. Laila Margoum salutes:
“This experience, and the success of this oral, showed them that you have to fight in life, work, believe in what you are doing. And show motivation”
A fighting spirit that paid off.
Ariane Bouhours
ariane.bouhours@centrefrance.com
