2021. Feb. 11(Thu)- 14(Sun)【Bring Science Closer to Our Lives Pirika】(Online Event)

Hello! How have you all been?
I am Shiori, a mamber of team Pirika🌈
In most parts of Japan, it's been getting warmer in February.
But I know some areas have so much snow and still very cold..!
Just take care, everyone!
Did you know that Pirika holds online events monthly on the Pirika app?!
Well, it is natural that you did not. Since we have not written about the events in English but only in Japanese in this blog.
We are sorry about that, but this time we hope more users will participate in our events and enjoy them with other users worldwide!
 
Today, we share the theme of the online event this month and how to join it!
 
Index
 

A theme of our online event in February

A theme of our online event this month is...
"Bring Science Closer to Our Lives!"🧪
 

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

February 11th is International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
We set the theme "Bring Science Closer to Our Lives Pirika" to coincide with this international day.
Since Pirika has been tackling environmental issues with the power of science and technology, "science" is our keyword!✨ We believe we can solve environmental issues caused by humans with the power of science and technology.
For example, the Pirika app is developed by applying the science of information.
Other than the app, we are also providing services such as "Takanome," which investigates littering problems, and "Albatros," which samples microplastics (<5mm) to research effective methods to tackle riverine and marine pollution. The science of information and deep learning, and geoengineering, and chemistry are applied for them, respectively.
Thus, we hope more and more people will believe in science's power, and we can have more diverse teammates to work on the environmental issues with us.
 Latest brain science and genetic engineering researches have not proven the relation between biological sex difference and aptitude in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. According to UIS, however, the portion of women who work in science is less than 30%. Moreover, only about 30% of women chose to gain degrees in a science field. Especially few female students are in ICT, natural science, mathematics, and statistics. *1
 For the ground of this is the widespread stereotype that boys are better than girls in math and science and the career in science or engineering is men's fields. This stereotype adversely affects girl's achievements and career orientation in STEM.*2
Furthermore, it is explained that there are many social barriers for women researchers worldwide, such as difficulty obtaining funding and lack of environment to find a job in this field. That is why many of them give up on further education and careers in science. *3
 Now gender gap in every field ought to be close to achieve a sustainable environment and society. To comprehensively accomplish seventeen Sustainable Development Goals that the UN published, it is crucial to encourage women's advancement in science.
 

How can we encourage women and girls in science?

Now, what can we do to close the gender gap in science?
We expect that exposure to a variety of sciences from a young age and more role models who embody the idea that gender has nothing to do with success in science could profoundly affect women and girls' career decisions!
So, during the event, we would like you to share
  • Your memories related to science (e.g., visit to a museum, research project in summer vacation, impressive experiment)
  • Female scientists or researchers you look up to
  • Science or technology you are currently interested in
  • Science found close to our lives
with us in your posts on Pirika!🔬✨
 
By the way, my memory regarding science is that I grew larvae of sea urchins in a thermostatic device, and teachers praised my sketch drawing of plankton when I was in high school!

Best/ Special Prize🎁

We prepare two prizes for every event. Shipping is only available within Japan, but if you are in Japan and pick up litter there, you may receive one of these!
Our team member will choose two users who share awe-inspiring posts!

Best Prize

☆ethique Shampoo bar (you can choose your favorite scent)
"ethique" is an environment-friendly brand that Brianne, current CEO, launched in 2012. She hated the massive use of plastic packaging in the cosmetic industry and eventually formulated this solid shampoo.
You can see lots of consideration for the environment from every corner of the product✨
🌱You can select your favorite one from below
-Pinkariscious (TM)
-Mintasy
-Heali Kiwi
-Flitz Wrangler
-St Clements
-Sweet&Spicy

Special Prize

☆Kodomo no Kagaku (Science of Kids) (Special volume in which Pirika was featured)
www.amazon.co.jpThis is a magazine for kids. In the volume published in December 2018, Pirika was introduced. So we send this to you!
Since lots of topics about science are explained plainly, both kids and adults can enjoy it!
Actually, it is a series of environmental books that first motivated our CEO Kojima to solve environmental issues.♪
 

How to join the event

Please fulfill these requirements below!
  1. Tap "Bring Science Closer to Our Lives Pirika (BSCOLP)" and then tap "Join."
  2. Post between Feb. 11 (Thu) 0:00 and 14 (Sun)23:59 JST
  3. When posting, share your work with either of the followings;
    Your memories related to science (e.g., visit to a museum, research project in summer vacation, impressive experiment)
    Female scientists or researchers you look up to
    Science or technology you are currently interested in
    Science found close to our lives
    You can express them above with pics or text.
  4. Put #BSCOLP in your post
We are looking forward to your participation and many interesting posts!😆
 
☆Download Pirika from here☆(available in EN, JP, and CN)
 
 
UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science
*2:Bian. L, Leslie. S. J & Cimpian. A. (2017).
*3:Yamaguchi, Y. (2019).