Today 8 of March is International Women’s day
From ESN Polimi we would like to pay a small tribute to women who serve as leaders and examples for us and our Erasmus students.
The cultural exchange that international mobility offers, helps us to open our minds and to get to know new models and new ways of thinking.
That's why we of ESN PoliMI want to tell you the story of Sofia Corradi:
“Known also with the name of Mamma Erasmus, she is the woman who battled for years to create the Erasmus Program”.
Why can she be considered as a role model?
In the 50s, when in Europe women didn’t yet have all the freedoms and opportunities of men, while Sofia was studying law in Rome, she won a prestigious scholarship at Columbia University where she spent the following year studying. When Sofia returned, her university didn’t recognize the exams she took in New York. Since then, she never gave up and she worked hard to spread the idea and the importance of an exchange program that gives students the opportunity to experience an intercultural model of study and life until 1987 when, finally, the Erasmus Program was born.
Corentine, from Belgium, tells us about Nafissatou Thiam:
“She is a Belgian athlete. She practices heptathlon (summer season-outside) and pentathlon (winter season - inside). She’s from the French part of Belgium. She is the only Belgian athlete, male or female, to successfully defend an Olympic title.
She is so strong, yet a very nice person! She takes time to talk with her fans after a competition even if she won a lot of world and Olympic championships, she is still very humble. She doesn’t think that she is a star and so everybody can talk with her. She’s very open minded and I really appreciate her!”
Chiara, a Spanish student, share with us the story of Matilde Ucelay:
“One of the architects who inspires me the most is Matilde Ucelay, the first Spanish woman to become a qualified architect and practice the profession. To think that she had to work harder than others to be what she wanted to be, in a world where women were not valued, gives me the strength to fight to achieve my goals”.
Jill, from Germany, tells about the achievement of Steffi Graf:
“Her real name is Stefanie Maria Graf, a former German tennis player. Why can she be considered a role model?
Steffi during her career she won 22 Grand Slam tournaments and spent 377 weeks at the top of the world rankings, making her one of the most successful players in history. She is a role model for women in many ways, including the foundation of “Children for Tomorrow“, a charity that cares for traumatized children all over the world, and the promoting of “Mrs Sporty“, a company that runs sports clubs for women. Therefore, she is the best example that for women the road for being a professional athlete is long but not impossible”.
Giovanna, a Brazilian student, share the story of Lina Bo Bardi:
“She is an Italo-Brazilian architect, she brought the modern architecture of Europe to São Paulo when she was frustrated with the architectural field after WW2. She is a role model for the way she innovated and designed in a completely new (to her) country, in a extremely male environment, fighting for her ideas and understanding, with time, the characteristics of the space she was dealing with, which she later fell in love with and stayed there until the end of her life”.
A special thank you to all these students who have been able to dedicate a little of their time to explain to us their models. We have found it very enriching and interesting, and we hope that all of you will too.