STEAM Spark - Think STEAM Careers, Podcast with Dr. Olufade
STEAM Spark: Think STEAM Careers Podcast with Dr. Olufade. Welcome to STEAM Sparks: The Think STEAM Career Podcast, hosted by Dr. Ayo Olufade. Our mission is to raise awareness about the importance of pursuing college and careers in STEAM fields and the positive impact they can have on BIPOC communities.
Dr. Ayo's journey, fueled by his passion for STEAM education, lies at the heart of this podcast. His experiences and meaningful conversations with guests from STEM and STEAM backgrounds inspire us to highlight the significance of STEM education and careers as sources of empowerment. We aim to better position the next generation for success.
By sharing personal stories and experiences, we hope to inspire and encourage our audience to consider STEAM careers. We are committed to promoting diversity and representation of BIPOC communities in the STEM field, breaking stereotypes, and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspective is valued.
Join us as we explore the endless possibilities and opportunities in STEAM fields. With your participation and support, let's work together to shape a brighter future for all.
#ThinkSTEAMCareers #BeInspired #BeAnInspiration
It is time to innovate!
Dr. Ayo Olufade, Host STEAM Sparks: Think STEAM Careers Podcast with Dr. Olufade
STEAM Spark - Think STEAM Careers, Podcast with Dr. Olufade
From Grandparent to Galactic Visionary: Building a Legacy in Space and Education for All
Becoming a grandparent changes everything, or so I thought until I met our latest podcast guest, who took this life milestone to new heights. By channeling their newfound inspiration into the Trio initiative, they're shaping a legacy that promises to leave the Earth and beyond a better place for future generations. Our heartfelt conversation unveils the House of Flying Dragons and the Eden projects, which are set to revolutionize our experience on this planet, in virtual spaces, and potentially on Mars. Get ready to be moved by a story of transformation that links personal growth directly to the advancement of our communities.
Have you ever dreamed of a career among the stars? Our guest certainly has, and they're not alone in their quest to diversify the cosmos. This episode is a gateway to understanding the collaborative efforts necessary to build a space economy rich in opportunity for all. From space stations to lunar colonies, and even the allure of space tourism, we plunge into the advancements propelling us towards the stars. Learn about the vital role that legislation, education, and international partnerships play in creating a space industry where every dreamer has a place, no matter their background.
The journey through our discussion culminates in a powerful examination of education's role in shaping the spacefarers of tomorrow. Our guest shares their unique insights into the transformative potential of inclusive educational programs like the Eden project and how they're designed to unite us in solving global challenges. Discover the importance of nurturing imagination and utilizing alternative educational philosophies to equip the youth, particularly those in the BIPOC community, with the tools for a future without limits. Our exploration into educational approaches promises to enlighten educators and parents alike, highlighting the importance of fostering curiosity and passion in the next generation of innovators.
I think it, based on my conversation with you, you mentioned that Grandkiss must be an inspiration behind the creation and development of Trio, correct? I think you have a back story to that, correct, am I wrong?
Speaker 2:No, you're right. Yes, and as I mentioned, 19 years ago I witnessed the birth of my grandson, and so that was a transformative process and transcended time and space, and that was led and inspired what 10 grandpas do to be, to give back, to be an active participant in my grandchildren's lives. But then the beginning of thought was well, it's not grandchildren, what about all grandkids? And as I travel, I have thousands of grandkids now, grandpas all over the place, from real kids from 6 to 65.
Speaker 2:So they all call me grandpas, but that has kept in the beauty and blessing of this journey to be a service. Right, you serve to be a service, to give back and think about a legacy of what can I leave from our grandchildren. Hopefully I leave a legacy of curiosity, of imagination, of that Follow your dreams and that our dreams can come to reality if we believe them and so believe it in ourselves, and but also realize that we have a responsibility. Yeah, how we develop our gifts and talents and that we can discover the full expression of our abilities by using them to help others. Yeah, that's been, that's me, has been the most amazing thing.
Speaker 2:You can do things and your gifts and you go and look, I'm going to, I'm only going to enrich myself with these things, and then that's what I was initially doing.
Speaker 2:I'm just enjoying all the success, financial independence of a career in the IT field, but I hadn't done anything to give back.
Speaker 2:It was when the impulse to be of service and to give back that I really started tapping to what my, what my talents really were, what I really could do in this field, that I wasn't just limited to just selling software applications and making big money, but that I could be a developer, an innovator, and then I could help other ones as well, and so that was. That was massive. And so how do we help others to discover that that kind of mindset shift can help promote massive growth, exponential growth in on development, personally and professionally, using our gifts and abilities to give back to, and because it's a cycle that, as we're giving and helping others, we're learning and we're enriching ourselves and developing as we're helping other issues. It's a perpetual engine and if we have used it correctly, it could be one of economic growth as well, and so that's also part of the rules of education's vision is how do we help play communities in the economic developments and area of revitalization?
Speaker 2:So, one of one of one of the one of the projects in the House of Flying Dragons. Dragons is the Rose Cedar Project, community Economic Development Area Revitalization and the House of Flying Dragon being a physical hub of a center of innovation and lab but also one is not just something that people come to, but how does it spread out into the community? Yeah, I bench, because I've been trees where they have these beautiful centers where people come in and all this money and stuff and youth are surrounding, all manicured but just outside the gates.
Speaker 2:You got garbage and stuff and people. Just it's like outside the Taj Mahal, right outside the Mahal, you have the street vendors, the beggars, you have all this stuff, but inside we want the Rose Cedar, the Rose of Education and the House of Flying Dragons being actually like garden, but that one that is spreads and one that helps to enrich the environment and the lives of people around. And so, yeah, the idea that, and so really I call the vision for 50 years for the Eden 3 Mars project. But then there's also the Eden 1 and Eden 2. So basically, three things.
Speaker 2:So Eden 1 is here on Terrafer, so terrestrial Eden 1 is the terrestrial expression of the Rose of Education and what we've been doing in building this international platform and has been growing as an organization. Eden 2 will be virtual that will be, our virtual presence and online, and because what we envision is that not only will all these countries and visited in these organizations that we partnered with, they'll be part of our online ecosystem. They'll all be playing the same game, the languages, all these feeding into the development of these games, so they become stakeholder, they become part of our proud developments initiative that we're not looking just to be some of the folks, that these individuals in these organizations will become stakeholders and part owners of what we develop together in their countries, and they become distributors and co-developers, and but then we'll all share a similar ecosystem, all tied together through these games, and these games then become a funnel for the research we'll be doing, for the academic large language model and for the research for the type of games that we'll be using to play in space, and then also for the creation of the 3 Mars Colony, which is the phase 3, and so that's the kind of large the phase that we're working through and kind of finally, you're starting to come together. It's taken me 13 years to wrap my head around this vision and because imagine, initially in 2010, this whole thing, keep his vision fully formed. Wow, it was our dream for me, the 3 Mars Colony, okay, the date, and I'm like, okay, what am I supposed to do with this? How am I supposed to?
Speaker 1:get there from here.
Speaker 2:What am I going to do about space tourism? What am I going to do about education and games and all this stuff? But one of the things I believe in is that I believe that I can learn. It's okay, all right, I live like me. I had 50 years, so I okay. I give myself some time to learn. I give myself a lot of time to learn and to travel, and so that's what I've been doing. Excellent, there's a traveling person.
Speaker 1:Excellent. I just want to wish you a congratulation for your grandchildren, or grandson, who has been part of this great product, part of the inspiration creating something so phenomenal. What about you? About the eating too? How will it look like, especially with your collaboration with other countries?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's what. So what we're envisioning, then, is the first step is is developing the network, and we have been connecting them in a meaningful way online by having it online. So, actually, the first step was and we've already started and because the Roosevelt nation was born online, okay, as a LinkedIn, in September of 2010. Okay, we were incorporated. Trey was incorporated in November of 2010.
Speaker 1:So it was already born online and it was still on my presence that I figured out where I was when I was going to Tanzania, who I want to see or where I go?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what organizations I was going to meet up with and so I used in that group. Then it's an open group. You guys can check it out online. So I think I have a link and I provided you with a link to all my social media links. But so those of us who are online again as a group, and that really is where it all began, and so we're brought from there to the website through communities with the slack, what's happening. But ultimately, yeah, a virtual reality present when presses, but so through the games, because the games will be online, there'll be the videos for the dragon flying games and for the fitness games and for virtual reality games. So we envision a whole ecosystem. So it'll be physical, virtual and extraterrestrial.
Speaker 1:Excellent. I want to connect this to space industry and future production. You have a really grand plan of grand vision and I think that it comes. Interestingly is it's probably going to coincide with the effort that NASA is making to put boots on more than possibly mass. Elon Musk is doing the same and if that's the case, the people are going to be leaving on more. People are going to be leaving on mass, and definitely they will have children, and those children needs to be educated and all those good stuff. But can you share your thoughts about the space industry and its potential, why this industry is crucial for for the future and why it is vital for our community to also be part of this innovation?
Speaker 1:Because obviously, yeah obviously you're going to have a remarkable job. We can't fight me so much.
Speaker 2:Please, but that's a perfect way question, and so I don't think it's so much about as it's a space industry, more as a space economy. It's the space economy, okay, and so it's projected to be a board to four to a $10 trillion industry in the 20 40s. What so can you say that again About about $10 trillion in the 20 40s, see the four trillion to $10 trillion by the 2040s?
Speaker 1:So that's not too far, that's an industry and a weakness.
Speaker 2:So if our communities want to be part of it, we have to start now. Yeah, and the way I look at it is especially as it was really strategic in the way I wanted to approach it. I wanted to approach it from the fact that I'm not trying to build me, that we want to be the payload. We want to be so whether they're living or working. So they'll be different.
Speaker 2:Space stations will certainly have workers and colonists on the moon before Mars, and as far as how many columns were on Mars, it's not projected. We'll have more than 50 colonists on Mars anytime before the next turn of the century, because I would spend an instant is it is, but the moon certainly, and space hotels and space to that's just ripe and that will just continue to grow and then. So we see that as an opportunity then to be that you can be involved in that industry and from the space tourism standpoint, that as as actually as games, as payloads, as part of the education system, but how we, as part of the deliverables. Ultimately, we want to the dragon's fly, fire, flying game, but it's part of our vision for a exotic, custom concept flight vehicle. So, yeah, it's basically, I want to build a flying surfboard, to fly on the moon or fly, or, or to fly past the international space station or moon. Elon Musk on the space dragon.
Speaker 1:So, that.
Speaker 2:But we imagine that. What kind of recreation. What can we harness the kinetic energy of a human body in motion to power? Creative kinetic energy propulsion system, power turbines, that or that we could use in low war, zero gravity, to move from place to place, or even on and as a conveyance, as we're discovering, you know, discovering new worlds, bashing, being on Mars and being on your own kind of hoverboard and powered by old movements. And you're not, we're not leaving a footprint that way to take samples, and so that's how we're viewing that, as the games will be researched for developing that type of technology and the fields wide open that the base, the frontier is open for business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so I think our communities and part of what a gap looks like, and we try to have internet, even with a record with all the different, and this really focuses on how we empower communities and individuals, but also communities, to also become stakeholders and through these organizations that we're connected with around the world that they can become these innovation hubs and labs and places where we continue to this garden, to continue to grow and spring until it reaches the moon or Mars.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for that. I want to still stay on space industry and future projections. I know NASA because I have interviewed one of the associate directors from NASA a while ago. Nasa is really making a lot of effort to try to include a diverse population in its workforce and I'm encouraged by that and I think NASA is a trendsetter as it pertains to trying to, in my view, involve more diverse population within its workforce, literally. So my question to you is, as it pertains to other stakeholders in this space Elon Musk is a giant in this space. Bezo is also a giant in this space. Asa Richardson is a giant in this space. So how can these companies that are really great stakeholders in space industry, how can they encourage more diversity in the space industry, make it more accessible to underrepresented community? Any thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the main takeaway from that is understanding who's writing the checks. Because Elon Musk and Bezo are a giant. So who's cutting the checks, uncle Sam? Because the reality is that if you want to be a space power or be a superpower, you have to be a space power. And so, with countries like China, india, now Japan, they've launched their jacksets, and you have countries in Africa, they're all stepping up and so that will, I think is a great opportunity for education, for bringing more diversity, because these countries, as they see about launching their space ambitions, realizing also that if they want to be part of a space economy and they're a real superpower, that space is a part of their development and education, digital transformation the AU has a big AUC, has a big interest in that, though they still don't have as many countries that have adopted it.
Speaker 2:But still the opportunity for education and the US we all have to. If we look at that as an opportunity and understanding that for space entrepreneurs and ones looking to get into business, aligning that with Uncle Sam, what their initiatives are, and that realizing that's where the money, they're the ones cutting the checks, that's where the money is coming from. We can align ourselves to make sure we can be a part of that, and any effort that helps align the communities brings in diverse stakeholders. So that's how also the roles of the education is positioned in itself, so that we can partner with organizations like yours, like ASTEM, like organizations in India or in Africa. In Kenya, there's a space academy in the Kibera slums, the largest urban slum in Africa. Our visitors are space right there, and so even in Ethiopia, the space academy is really growing and so I think that the future is bright.
Speaker 2:The future is really bright. Lots of little board and, yeah, there's not a lot of diversity now, but it's coming. A wave is coming.
Speaker 1:We all have an opportunity to be a part of that and those of education.
Speaker 2:it looks to be a connector and provide a platform, a garden-like experience for creativity, curiosity and imaginations to dislarge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the CHIPS area, the CHIPS and the Science Act that was signed into legislation. I think that's one great way in which we actually, as a diverse population, can be part of this, through the universities, especially the HBC schools, I think. Focusing on the steam industry, I think it's time to ramp up our efforts encouraging more minorities to go into steam field and seeing the future and the possibility that steam can offer. So us sitting back and just waiting also for these opportunities to come to us, I think we cannot really take it for granted any longer. We have to make efforts through all opportunities, like the university, like the HBC schools, to ramp up our efforts of encouraging recruiting more of diverse minorities to pursue a career in this field and also education degrees in those fields.
Speaker 1:Talking about legacy and preparation, preparing future generation I love what you said. You continuously bringing it back to your grandchildren, and I think that is what we, the older generation, should continue to consider, especially as we're looking to the future. So you mentioned your grandchildren and the desire to build a legacy. How does your work with steel contribute to this legacy?
Speaker 2:I get the vision to establish a moon or Mars colony, which would be an expression of what the roles of education and vision means, of this inclusive vision that we are really just one world and that how do we represent all of us in that project.
Speaker 2:That Eden project is really meant to be an expression of that, that the collective wisdom of humanity can solve all the problems that we're facing, and so that is really hopefully the legacy that I would need for my grandchildren is really just this journey and really just to acknowledge that we just really are one.
Speaker 2:And Eden is an acronym for each day, every name, and so the roles of education, all these projects and all these vision is that each day and every name may be blessed. That is the vision, that is what RoseVenge means for. So the Eden project we want to have a really that the legacy would be a community where each day and that we see the blessing, we see blessing that in ourselves and each day that we wake up by each other and that we are one, and the language game is meant to be an expression of that. Sharing our names, what are our real selves? Who are inside, who are inside of our name in an application, we share our stories with one another from different parts of the world and find that we really are the same we laugh the same things.
Speaker 2:This is part of that kind of ecosystem. The games that connect people, not only in the physical fun, but also real in a real, meaningful way with our stories that can resonate with people, that we will find that we have connections and similar stories, people that we wouldn't even have thought, and that's what we, that's what they hope that we can connect people that would not have initially connected and that we learned a little bit and we each try to do to be better and do better each day Excellent and yeah, and dream big, play hard, get back and have fun.
Speaker 2:That's really what's about.
Speaker 1:I like that. So what's? What steps can parents, educators, take to help children identify their strengths and prepare for career in steam? Like you know what you're trying to do to inspire, to instill in your own grandchildren.
Speaker 2:There's. There's a bit of growing movement when I started traveling where things I connected with and even volunteered in Germany there's organizations, the Democratic School philosophy that they've launched, where they don't have traditional classes or classrooms, or organizations like bashing without walls and really looking to engage those students who may be viewed or identified as trouble students or a problem learners, and it just turns out that they weren't being given the resources or being they were, given the dignity of the individuals that they learn. Taking the time to education system doesn't take time to learn how these young kids learn or, to ease, try to figure it out, and so this democratic schools and something like the Montessori concept in the schools as well. So that's growing and we're seeing it more and more and I would say we just need just more of it, more of an adoption, more of an openness from educators but to adopt those kind of things, but ultimately their hands are constrained by all the policies and all the regular late for teachers. One of the things I learned is that their focus is how do I get this the student from sixth grade to seventh grade out of and introducing something into their process? That just that, that something else knew that. They learned that. That just how does it? Will it really have results that they're looking for?
Speaker 2:But it can be really difficult, and so that was also one of the challenges and that I see where there's not teachers fault is just the system that they're in, and so how do we change the system? Some teachers have success. I don't know. I've had teachers who are just brilliant, who have been turned dry information. That's just so.
Speaker 2:It's such engaging classes, but not all teachers are trained or have that love and they're underpaid, overworked. So it's such a challenge and one of the things I saw as I traveled around how could I make the delivery of these offerings, of these games, as hopefully an aid to supporting the work that they're already doing in class, make it as easy as possible to digest, and so, just like with the real names game, they're doing stuff on the chalkboard already, they're just making a part, they don't have to learn anything else. They could be dictionary out. So it became an easy process. And then, even in areas of schools that didn't even have a playground or just had dirt and rocks or or just concrete, we're showing how you can stuff like a coconut or tree branches or rocks and what we turn into a dragonfly and exercise and that and that there's way to deliver education and they can be accessible without it being cost-pronucrative.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just listen to it and go ahead. Finish your talk, please.
Speaker 2:Go ahead, please, there. You just thanks for the imagination. That's it. That's what we want to be. Tag lines of the rows of education. One of our hashtags is just imagine. Okay, Just imagine. People say, just do it. Or just let me say, just imagine.
Speaker 1:That is really awesome. This dude takes me back to the conversation that I was having this week with one of my colleagues. He said one of the problem with education is, he said, there's too much, too many technology. He said look at when we all grew up, look at how we turned out. Right, we didn't have all this technology back then. Then another teacher said we need to decentralize education. That's also the issue with education nowadays there's too many red tapes, there's too many policies, there's so many stuff playing. It makes it handicaps the hands of the teachers, educators and administrators. I just wanted to share that touch with you. What do you say?
Speaker 2:That's the point and by every minute that's created a thought in my mind. Is that really? I think what we're trying to get, whatever we look at, is that we are the technology. It comes from us, it's an expression of us. We think it's separate. The way I look at it is wait a minute.
Speaker 2:I am the type I always think that envision and embody those and understanding my processes is just an articulation of that framework or wireframe of this application and that, instead of viewing it as something separate, but that we are biotechnological machines, organic machines, even in the way I view myself and even my physical exercise I think about, I train myself like a machine, train myself to operate like a machine. When I was working construction building, I got to the point where I could build and I could build a 200 foot fence from the ground up, digging the pole, so planning the poles, doing it in three days. Wow, because I was like at its process. I just had this process where I would say I know that's how I operate in most efficient way. I found a way. That's how I found a way to basically train my body, or learn how my body to learn, train my body to work really efficiently, effectively and the dragon flying game route a bit as well.
Speaker 2:But I think if we look at ourselves not separate from technology, but that it is really an expression of humanity and our own processes, and if we understand our processes, our unique processes, we can then maybe find how we can improve current processes, because we may have a more efficient way of doing things if we can express those in a manner that could become an application or product or solution than yet. And that's really the goal and how we do that is. I think it's open because we all learn differently. Not everybody people can read. Some people they learn and apply without a bunch of distractions, but others, like myself, I need the rockets and I need to be down in the creek rolling around and laughing, and, yeah, excellent.
Speaker 1:So I take it that you disagree with the technology use of problem. I think what I'm hearing from you is that technology can be very helpful, especially we're also technological in our construct. Correct, please.
Speaker 2:You mentioned that because, even so, what am I? The job, the job is I'm a training coordinator for non-profit cybersecurity training, education and certification yeah, organization. So one of our models, then, is people, processes and technologies Technology with a small t, because, when it comes to cybersecurity and building they're secure and mature as cybersecurity, information security management system and preventing threats. And it's really about it's not about so much the technology, it's about the people, it's about the process, and so we focus on technology. Technology is an enabler, and so which lead the people and the processes in place that really help determine how that technology is going to be applied. And if there's not a problem directly in processing, like there's a problem with the processes or the people, then that's where the weakest links are.
Speaker 2:And so showing up and that's where an industry that needs a lot of diversity of thought and experience, and so that's and it aligns so that the roles of education is partnered with this organization that I work for is that I don't work with them Trail contractor, with the holistic information security practice and research institute as the training to provide training coordinator services, and so using a, because it aligns with our further goal of education and providing opportunities. Because, just as you talk about the STEM landscape and the opportunities for space and cybersecurity, what about cybersecurity in space, the importance of protecting the assets, like with Elon Musk and Starlink, or with the space station or the satellites and all everything that needed to support space operations, from launch to land and everything in between, and of those systems from bad actors, from from unintended access or illegal, all these things, and how do you protect that information?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm glad you said we're into challenges and opportunity in STEM and the space industry. If you can highlight the importance of STEM education and the space industry and what challenges do you see for individual pursuing career in this space? And then, what are the opportunities do you see in this space, especially for students that are interested? After listening to this program, you've inspired them to want to pursue career in space industry, if you can speak on that. Yeah, I remember you mentioned cyber security too. I love it, please.
Speaker 2:Yes, please, yeah. So it's a lot of opportunity and a lot of areas that people pursue, that different interest in STEM or STEM, and so, whether it be in gaming or thinking about whatever person's interest, it goes back not only to what's available in the community to for these young people may be interested, but also there's a response to the individual might be interested that, okay, how much research are interested? Are you in it? Really Are you? Are you become part of online organizations or at school, or are you thinking maybe not too cool to be a part of that? There's a lot of challenges going up culturally, just as individuals may want to pursue that, but I think it comes down to what do you passionate about and then following that through. Dreams don't build themselves. Your house doesn't grow itself. If a dream becomes reality, it takes work and how we view that work that we need to do to get where we want to. We can either view it as a joy or not. My kind of philosophy that I've taken up is that we can either view the world as a prison or as our playground, and so one is one is one is limiting, the other is limitless and the posses as well as the possibility. So we look at, okay, at what we're pursuing as an opportunity to learn, to play and to grow, and and what, how much fun it can actually can be once we start. You start talking to people who are doing the same things and where where, at one point, my thought of sitting down with a bunch of teachers and helping to develop networking events.
Speaker 2:I would never, if part of my education was becoming part of a steering committee or an education group who put networking events for educators, people who are an early childhood education or double education, and I found myself not being an educator. I became a member of their steering committee and but that's because I was like, oh, I open myself up to that. I said, okay, I need to learn this like this, is this something I want to pursue then? Then I'm going to have to take it seriously and I'm going to have to take steps to learn. And so I volunteered and had a meeting with the members and had a chance, even though I wasn't an educator, but I would. I should have been a unique perspective into it from a company standpoint, from an entrepreneurial point, and because the rows of education just make all of its name. We meant to focus in on that as a core value of the organization and, but I think, for individuals, we have to challenge ourselves here.
Speaker 2:This is what we're gonna be done, but understanding that, what we learned during that journey and how we grow and just how much fun it actually turns out to be that if we take that on ourselves and believe, and we start to emerge and believe in ourselves and grow confidence and have experience we ever would have imagined. And so there's a challenge, but there is a great reward at the end of that as well not at the end of it, but along the way, continue to expect ourselves and excellent.
Speaker 1:So how can we as educators, parents, better prepare our young people? We know opportunities are coming, we know the space industry is growing, but you didn't mention you did put a number to it about four to ten trillion dollars. So how can we better prepare our young or inspire our young people within the BIPOC community to seize the opportunity to promote them, education and diversity? Let me say that how can we better prepare our young people to seize opportunity in this growing industry?
Speaker 2:excuse me, I think, firstly, we have to support their interests as parents. What in the American community or otherwise, even in India. Or you're a Chinese and one of things. I lived in India for two years, yeah, and become an engineer or a doctor, lawyer or something like that, but, or an engineer, but there's so many engineering schools but many of those gracts with BSCs and MSc's or work here in Carlson and then I really get the hands-on training application. But that's growing now too, because of the opportunities going out to, because of the success that India and Israel has in USP organization.
Speaker 2:I think it's as far as parents, we have to support the interest shown and but I think that's the first step whether the opera prepared for them for this opportunity. It has to be seen, they have to see it, and so we have to create more visibility. And right now I say you only see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and state all this stuff and there's not a visibility in Africa. There's more visibility of organizations like space in Africa and South Africa space industry, but it's still flow, being something that's in front of our you, and so that's where you know collab regimes, that rows of education trail sees as a way to collaborate with organizations who are working in the steam fields you know, like yourself.
Speaker 2:We're working with schools, putting together programs. Say, let's put the girl program at Grandpas, newark South, applying dragons. We're gonna bring our space art to be into the school. You have to create an after-school program, and so it becomes an opportunity then to bring it to the floor, to make an accessible and to introduce it, and I found it easier to do that, you know, outside the country, without having to go through a lot of the red tape that we have to do in the US I mean perform background checks where I was in Africa, and so forth.
Speaker 2:But a lot of it, though, is there, so the need is so great that they welcome any opportunity, and especially that they don't receive visitors of people donating, then getting a lot of donation dollars and so on, and so I see there's a great opportunity. And but here in the States, then I see the opportunity for trail is then partners, partnering with the same as we do in other countries, partnering with organizations like yourself and others that have actions to schools, that we can then collaborate, put together a program and apply for it, and there's a lot of money for that kind of thing. So I'm interested in talking when maybe in a collaborate with you and your organization to do such a thing as well, so excellent we can chat about that thanks.
