  It has been observed in many studies that female students in general are
unwilling to undertake a course of study in ICT. Recent literature has also
pointed out that undermining the prejudices of girls with respect to these
disciplines is very difficult in adolescence, suggesting that, to be effective,
awareness programs on computer disciplines should be offered in pre-school or
lower school age. On the other hand, even assuming that large-scale computer
literacy programs can be immediately activated in lower schools and
kindergartens, we can't wait for >15-20 years before we can appreciate the
effectiveness of these programs. The scarcity of women in ICT has a tangible
negative impact on countries' technological innovation, which requires
immediate action.
  In this paper, we describe a strategy, and the details of a number of
programs coordinated by the Engineering and Computer Science Departments at
Sapienza University, to make high school girl students aware of the importance
of new technologies and ICT. In addition to describing the theoretical
approach, the paper offers some project examples.
