WRITTEN BY
Collège Champittet
02 December, 2024

JOM 2024: Breaking gender stereotypes with Dare All Trades Day at Collège Champittet

JOM 2024 - JOM 2024

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Here at Champittet, we know that inspiring children to dream big while envisioning their future is a core part of education. It’s also the focus of Dare All Trades Day, or JOM (Journée Oser tous les Métiers). Every November, this Swiss event invites children from Grades 7 to 9 to discover “all kinds of futures”. Most importantly, the initiative aims to break gender stereotypes in the workplace by encouraging children to explore a diverse range of careers – especially those traditionally dominated by one gender, like nursing or construction.

Gaining exposure to new careers at Collège Champittet

Our young guests enjoyed an action-packed day at Champittet, beginning with a welcome breakfast to start the day off right. Then, it was time to hit the lab. Our teacher Fabio Edafe guided our participants in doing scientific experiments with everyday substances such as yeast, lemon juice, water and soap. The children also conducted an iodine test to detect the presence of starch in foods. Everyone had a great time learning how to think like a scientist!

We also challenged our visitors to take a surprise quiz about the Collège. To answer the questions, our participants had to explore our campus and talk to staff from different departments.

After replenishing their energy with a delicious lunch at Les 4 Saisons, our young explorers immersed themselves in another career field: early childhood education. Assisting our preschool teacher in the classroom, our JOM participants helped our youngest learners to draw a tree while following special activity guidelines. Our visitors truly enjoyed helping someone else, and our preschool children loved the extra attention!

The day at Champittet concluded with a wrap-up chat and snack at Café 1903. We were delighted to welcome our JOM participants, who left with happy smiles, new career knowledge – and plenty of inspiration for the future!