By Elitsa Stoeva (YES 2016-2017, BULGARIA, hosted by ASSE in San Antonio, Texas)

YES alumnae Elitsa Stoeva ’17 and Nazmie Mustafa ’16 (hosted by YFU in Twin Lake, MI) hosted a movie night and open discussion on the topic of gender and racial equality on March 22 at the YES Program office in Sofia to celebrate Women’s History Month. They chose to broadcast the ground-breaking movie Hidden Figures, which is based on the true story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.  They documented their event by filming their preparations and collecting interviews from participants who wanted to share on camera what they learned from the event.

Twenty high schoolers attended the three-hour event, which involved watching the movie and talking openly about gender and racial equality and the different experiences women face. Elitsa and Nazmie shared pictures and quotes of inspiring women such as Rosa Parks, Indira Gandhi, Anne Frank, and Kathryn Bigelow to bring awareness to these women’s great actions and contributions to the world and local communities. At the end of the movie event, the YES alumnae prepared a fun, small activity: the participants each wrote on a sticky note a positive and empowering word to describe the most inspiring women in their lives. The notes were taped on a board in the form of a heart. 

The movie night and open discussion brought considerable success as all of the participants enjoyed watching the movie and discussing important topics. The attendees shared that they felt greatly inspired and were surprised to learn that so many women have contributed so significantly to society. The participants also shared that they felt greater appreciation and respect for women of all races who constantly face challenges in today’s world. Considering the meaningful reflection and success that resulted, this event, which was inspired by women and the movie Hidden Figures, may become an annual tradition.