"Last year, I saw the innovative development of the country's aerospace industry when I attended a summer camp under the Spring Bud Project in Beijing. Today, women scientists of aerospace industry again sit down with us and talk about their inspirational stories. I am fully inspired and I will study hard, take them as an example and strive to be an aerospace scientist," said a student from the No. 6 Middle School of Fuyuan County, Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The girl made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the "Aerospace and Dream-Building" Spring Bud Project, which was recently held by the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) in Fuyuan.

The ceremony was attended by local Spring Bud girls, their teachers and parents. It aimed to further implement the spirit of the 13th National Women's Congress and the address made by Professor Peng Liyuan, a UNESCO special envoy for the advancement of girls' and women's education, at the awards ceremony of the 2023 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education in Beijing in September 2023, and help the Spring Bud girls improve their sci-tech literacy.

Women scientists from the Second Academy of the CASIC spoke with students from the No. 6, No.8 and No. 9 middle schools of Fuyuan about the fast development and glorious achievements of China's aerospace technology and the commitments made by relevant workers to the cause, hoping the girls to carry forward the spirit of space exploration and ignite their dream toward science and technology.

Meanwhile, women scientists shared their personal experience and answered questions from the students, engaged in talks with them and their parents over study methods, the selection of academic disciplines, mental health, interpersonal communication and emotional management, and sent special gifts to those children upon the arrival of the new semester.

The girls said that the face-to-face interactions with women aerospace scientists have further increased their knowledge, expanded personal horizon, and bolstered their confidence as well as determination to pursue dream.

A woman scientist from the Second Academy of the CASIC said that she was deeply impressed by the optimism and sincerity of the Spring Bud girls and that she has gained a new sense of fulfillment and satisfaction during the event.

Noting that it is the first time for her to visit a "growth space station" for girls at the school, a parent said that the special facility has helped children learn additional scientific knowledge. She hoped that all students will follow the example of women aerospace scientists, study hard and realize personal values.

The "Aerospace and Dream-Building" Spring Bud Project was jointly launched by the CCTF and the CASIC in 2022. It is designed to be implemented in Dongchuan District of Kunming and Fuyuan County of Qujing in Yunnan from 2023 to 2025 with the anticipated participation of about 150,000 girls and their families, provide disadvantaged girls with financial assistance in the completion of their academic studies, build the "growth space station" facilities, organize girl students to visit aerospace institutions, and invite women scientists to offer the girls professional guidance in their growth.

So far, the project has built 20 growth space stations in Dongchuan and Fuyuan, and convened over 200 caring activities in terms of sci-tech competence, adolescent health and education, and mental health, which benefit about 68,000 girls and their families.

(Source: CCTF/Women of China)