Ella Marina Konan is a STEM consultant in the MCC compact program. She also works in the MCA on the implementation of gender policy in the Ministry of National Education and on literacy in the regions of Gbêkê and San Pedro. Since 2016, she has been a STEM center coach at the U.S. Embassy in Côte d'Ivoire and a member of the Board of Directors of the Réseau Ivoirien for the Promotion of Education for All RIP-EPT She is President and Founder of KS AFRICA, an NGO dedicated to STEM education for African girls and women. Ella holds a master's degree in mathematics, specialized in computer science related to database administration and software engineering.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Young Voices Matter: THE DECLIC: Boost Next Generation Women in STEM

The project encourages young girls in lower and upper secondary education to take up STEM-oriented subjects and pursue careers in STEM through scientific immersion.

The project will raise awareness among girls about overcoming social prejudice, psychological barriers, and discriminatory practices that prevent women from accessing STEM education. It will also create a framework for exchanges and sharing of experiences between female success models (mentors) in STEM and young girls (mentee) and training of young girls in practical STEM activities.

In September, Ella Marina hosted an awareness campaign for 300 middle and high school girls about STEM career opportunities, featuring messages and presentations from her Hidden No More IVLP cohort. The next phase of the project will include twice-weekly STEM sessions with 30 girls for 2 months. Ella Marina will also host a round-table event for the 30 girls where they can learn from women scientists about their career paths and the unique challenges faced by women in scientific fields. After the awareness campaign event, Ella Marina reported that, “Many of the young girls said they would go on to become scientists like the female role models they met during the activity.”

“[I will encourage] a new generation of African girls who excel and stay in STEM.” - Ella Marina Konan

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Ella Marina participated in the IVLP Project Hidden No More: Empowering Women Leaders in STEM, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education, in partnership with Global Ties Alabama, Gulf Coast Diplomacy, International Citizen Diplomacy of Los Angeles, International Focus, Inc., NC Global Leadership, WorldBoston, WorldChicago, WorldOrlando, and World Partnerships Inc.

Ella Marina's exchange experience led to the development of her project: “During my time at IVLP, I was impressed by the learning environment, pedagogy and accessibility to STEM materials at West Florida High School of Advanced Technology, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and the Pensacola Mess Hall Museum in Pensacola, Florida, which promotes more immersive and interactive STEM learning to demystify science through practice. I intend to carry out the project using this educational approach by allowing young girls in my community to have the opportunity to learn science by practicing it from the first academic cycle, to enable them to express their full scientific potential and propel their orientation in STEM.”

“During my IVLP experience, I learned through our visits to STEM centers in Pensacola that teaching children about science, technology, engineering and math through hands-on experience propels their creativity and sense of innovation, and helps break the myth of science, especially for girls.” - Ella Marina Konan

U.S. Communities Visited

Huntsville, AL; Los Angeles, CA; Washington, DC; Orlando, FL; Pensacola, FL, St. Petersburg, FL; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Greensboro, NC; Raleigh, NC

Country: Côte d’Ivoire

Click here to go back to the IVLP Impact Awards Main page