To encourage young women and girls to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has launched a campaign called “Choose STEM Future”. The campaign presents role models of successful women in STEM professions from the Western Balkans and was created as part of the regional Women in STEM Network, a joint initiative of the RCC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“65% of today’s children will one day work in a job that does yet not exist. By 2030, between 40 and 160 million women will need to have transitioned into roles requiring more complex digital, social, and emotional skills. Globally, in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals is a woman. Growing and adapting our own skills and being up to date with new technologies is incredibly important for youngsters – women in particular – and so is staying creative and open-minded, as their future job might not exist just yet. So, if you want to have better job choices, to earn more and live better, like Anica, Anila, Jana, Jasminka, Valentina, and Zana, whom you’ll meet in the stories we’ll share with you in the coming days, Choose STEM Future. That is the best advice I can give you,” said RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu announcing the start of the “Choose STEM future” campaign.