Page 17 - BHP | BHP Foundation Booklet 2019

Improving Indigenous

STEM outcomes

With only 10 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students in Australia progressing to university,
the BHP Foundation partnered with CSIRO on an innovative
pilot Indigenous STEM Education project to increase interest
and academic achievement in STEM subjects and related
professions. Since commencing in 2014, the project has
engaged over 17,898 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students and 1,755 teachers from 166 schools across
Australia. The impact of the project is significant with
81 per cent of students who attended the Aboriginal
Summer School for Excellence in Technology and
Science intending to have a STEM career.

Enhancing access to education
for women in Mexico

Across the world, 495 million women are illiterate and
tens of millions of girls are unable to access education.
UN Women are working to break down the barriers to
enable participation in education through their Second
Chance Education and Vocational Learning Program.
UN Women Mexico is currently starting the implementation
phase of this program in Indigenous communities in the
State of Puebla and in marginalized areas surrounding
Mexico City and the city of Guadalajara. The goal of the
project is to reach 5,000 women in two years through the
establishment of learning centers in these areas. Currently,
four learning centers have been opened and women are
starting courses on entrepreneurship, life planning and
The Resilient Reefs initiative is a bold computing skills. A wide spectrum of partnerships has been
new approach, bringing together accomplished in order to ensure that women overcome the
local communities, reef managers main barriers they face for accessing education and labour
and resilience experts to develop market opportunities. Some of these include partnerships
new solutions for combatting with the private sector to ensure learning pathways are in
the effects of climate change. line with labour market needs or with local governments to
ensure women have access to health and care installations
16 that allow them to focus on their learning. 17