Future Problem Solving Program International Announces Topic on International Women's Day

MELBOURNE, FL, March 10, 2013 (Press-News.org) A Chinese saying, "Women hold up half the sky," was the inspiration for The Future Problem Solving Program International's selection of this year's topic to be used at their International Conference. FPSPI, an educational non-profit competition for students ages 10 and beyond, is announcing its topic for the International Conference on International Women's Day this year. International Women's Day was first observed in 1909, and in 1981 Congress established National Women's History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. Congress later expanded the week to a month. Events around the world will celebrate women's role in history and promote this year's theme, Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination:

Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Joining in this celebration, Future Problem Solving Program International chose March 8th, International Women's Day, to announce the International Conference topic, Global Status of Women, to their students.

Each year FPSPI students research and apply a problem solving process to a topic of international importance. At the conference students will address a futuristic scene relating to the Global Status of Women and develop a plan of action that will focus on opportunities for women world-wide while considering various governmental policies and the vast cultural and religious differences in attitudes towards women. This year's conference will welcome nearly 2,000 students from around the world at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, from June 6th through June 9th.

In addition to the Global Issues Problem Solvers who will be addressing the Global Status of Women, scenario writers will write futuristic stories projecting ideas about the topic into the future. All students who participate at the international level have competed on various other topics throughout the school year and have earned a place at the conference. The conference also features teams and individuals who have completed a year-long service project on a topic of their own choosing that aids their community, their nation, or the world in some way. These Community Problem Solvers also compete for top honors and will showcase their projects at a conference fair.

Future Problem Solving Program International was established in 1974 by Dr. E. Paul Torrance at the University of Georgia. It has since grown to include students from 42 states and 16 countries. It is difficult to say how many hundreds of thousands of students participate each year as the program reaches students who may be participating non-competitively in classrooms or after school programs using the materials to enhance curriculum, critical, and creative thinking. Future Problem Solving Program International may be contacted at their website http://www.fpspi.org or on Facebook.