• What’s STEM+ club, where is it and who’s it for? e-CAMP MENTORing STEM+ Club evolved as an initiative to address the persistent underrepresentation of Black/African-Canadians in the STEM fields, currently located in Oshawa, Ontario. The long term goal is to provide global access to STEM+ education through blended online learning. Even though skills have become the global currency of the 21st century, current research evidence would suggest that traditional education systems (that are only slowly changing for over a century) are not adequately providing the necessary and appropriate skills countries need to compete and survive economically in the 21st Century and beyond. In Canada, this is especially true for marginalized groups such as Black and Indigenous Canadians whose unemployment rate is estimated at twice that of the national youth level of above 25% at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Canada is home to a large, growing and diverse tech workforce, Black and Indigenous Canadians are experiencing significant setbacks in both salaries and participation. Research has shown that despite being interested in and highly valuing science, Black students tend to express limited aspirations to careers in science and remain underrepresented in university science courses and careers. This suggest an urgent need to address the STEM career pipeline among Black and Indigenous Canadians.

In light of the sociohistorical exclusion of minority ethnic groups from scientific knowledge in Western societies which is quite evident in our schools, it seems plausible that Community-based STEM+ Clubs would be an excellent solution to the STEM skills pipeline problem within the Black and Indigenous communities. Armed with an equipment grant from the Government of Canada for Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative (SBCCI), we were able to acquire the necessary devices which include computers, 3-D printers, robotic sets and various accessories to launch our first successful 6-week STEM+ Club, October 20th to November 24th, 2022. This program was based on an intergenerational learning model, where individuals 10 years and older were invited to participate for two hours on Thursdays, 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Parents and grandparents were strongly encouraged to learn alongside their children. An average of 30 participants attended each week. This is how one grandmother described her experience while learning alongside her grandson. They were doing this for the very first time and never missed an evening:



• “I am so very excited to be involved in this project. I have been thinking about building something with Adam (not his real name) for such a long time but never had the opportunity. This is so awesome, all these pieces, I don’t know if I can learn them all but I just watch him and try to learn. I have never seen anything like this before.”

• What happens when someone registers (what do they get, or what are they signing up for)? We are always looking for relatable and empathetic mentors, trainers and coaches to support our mentees who are generally age 15 to early 20s. Some mentees may be older learners experiencing job losses and looking for a career change or development. There are intake forms on our website ( https://www.ecamp.online/registration/ )  depending on the category volunteers are applying for, mentor, mentee, trainer/coach. In addition to the online form mentioned above, the intake process includes an online interview and an application for a vulnerable sector or police record check (VSC) from the volunteer’s residential police service. The cost of the VSC will be covered by e-CAMP MENTORing. Individuals are encouraged to volunteer for at least 3 months but are welcome to serve for shorter or longer periods. 

• What does intergenerational learning mean and why is it important? Intergenerational and intercultural learning focus on leveraging the knowledge, lived experience, cultural knowledge and wisdom of older or seasoned adults to enrich the learning of children and youth in formal and informal settings. These ways of knowing cultivate safe and courageous spaces where topics such as Anti-Black racism can be addressed and explored. This is particularly relevant in school systems throughout Canada where Black and indigenous teachers and administrators are grossly underrepresented and even non-existent in many jurisdictions. In these settings, older adults are able to offer advice, lived experience and wisdom in a variety of areas ranging from career path to how to respond when they are experiencing racism.

Here are some responses that classes of Grades 9 and 12 students shared after participating in one of our intergenerational programs with a school board in Ontario:

• “As a Black person, this program help me to feel a sense of comfort because a lot of things said relates to me and my life. Like how I am a Canadian citizen not by birth but by choice and how it feels to live far from family and feel isolated.”

• “It was beneficial getting to know more about my peers. I think these sessions created a community within the classroom.”

• “[I learn] Life lessons from the speakers [older adults].”

• “I felt that I learned to be proud of yourself more and always to be the best version of yourself …”

• “I learned the experiences from people older than me.”

• “I enjoyed meeting the adults and learning from them. They are quite intelligent and have taught us some valuable lessons.”

• “Sometimes we young people can think that old people are boring and we don’t want to spend time with them. Its completely wrong and they are fun to spend time with and I enjoyed it a lot.”

• “I see them as my Grandma and Grandpa because I miss both my Grandma and Grandpa that are living in the Philippines. They care and teach me lessons in life too like the seasoned adults I meet here.”

• My favourite part is when we played the drums. I learned techniques and patterns. We don’t have these kinds of instruments in my Country so it was a great new experience. I hope we will do it again.”

• “My favourite part was when they were talking about their life and experiences such as how they overcame their problems and how did they strive to have a good life.”