Impact Stories from Education Diplomacy/Mentoring Policy Area
Fellow shares her TechWomen experience with students
Fellow(s): Sondos Ibrahim
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Sondos Ibrahim recently spoke to students about her
TechWomen experience, her work in engineering and the value of
cultural exchange at an event for Women in Engineering Day. Her
session was held at IEEE An-Najah Student Branch, a sub-association
of the Institution of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, the world’s
largest association of technical professionals.
Sondos is a software engineer team lead and co-founder of
Palestinian Youth Association for Social Development, an initiative
that supports young people with their educational and professional
goals. Her talk, attended by IT and computer engineering students,
focused on her TechWomen mentorship experience at Salesforce and
the knowledge she gained from learning alongside women from other countries. “I shared how the cultural
experience affected us and expanded our way of thinking,” she said. Sondos and the students hope to create
regular sessions that invite other TechWomen alumnae to speak about their skills and experiences.
Report Date...: 9/6/21
Fellows work together to inspire youth in Turkmenistan
Fellow(s): Merjen Saparmyradova, Maral Rejepova, Nasiba Charykulyyeva
Country: Turkmenistan
Cohort: 2019, 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2019 fellow Merjen Saparmyradova participated in the UNFPA Turkmenistan International Youth Day celebration, recruiting fellows Maral Rejepova (2019) and Nasiba Charykulyyeva (2020-2021) to help her educate and motivate young people in Turkmenistan.
The three-day event offered online seminars and training for youth, featuring sessions on emerging technologies, cyber security, women in tech and more. Merjen, who is currently a visiting lecturer at the International University for the Humanities and Development, led the Youth and Girls in Technology session for 150 youth ages 10-24.
Merjen began the session with a presentation on cyber security and the future of technology, and Maral shared about her work with 5G technology and her TechWomen mentorship at Qualcomm. “Speaking about my mentorship caused great admiration, motivated them and gave a clear understanding that they can reach heights if they pursue their goals,” she said. Nasiba concluded with a presentation on nanotechnology and the manufacturing of the third generation of solar cells. Each session was followed by a Q&A where the participants could ask the fellows questions about their fields of expertise. “I saw sparking excitement in the eyes of our youth when they asked us questions,” said Merjen. “We aimed to come together and work with with youth to build a more inclusive and sustainable future for all.”
Report Date...: 8/30/21
Fellows share experiences as women in STEM
Fellow(s): Ghada Amin, Salma Gherraby
Country: Egypt, Morocco
Cohort: 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2018 fellow of Egypt Ghada Amin and 2019 fellow of Morocco Salma Gherraby were featured panelists in a session on women in STEM, speaking about their career trajectories and giving advice for girls interested in pursuing STEM fields. The Facebook Live session was led by 2021 TechGirls participant Nadia Esawy and hosted by Prodigy, a platform that offers training and workshops in technology skills. Ghada and Salma spoke about what inspired them to enter STEM as well as the challenges they’ve faced as women in their fields. They also reflected on their TechWomen journeys, giving advice on the application and offering professional guidance for girls who are new to STEM. Both Ghada and Salma encouraged the girls to follow their curiosity and remain ambitious, despite the challenge of entering male-dominated industries. “I was asked if it is worth it for young girls to pursue careers in STEM and why,” said Salma. “I said, why should we not do it? Why shouldn’t girls follow this path? It’s not about gender — it’s about skills.”
Read More »Report Date...: 8/30/21
Fellow appointed to South African science council
Fellow(s): Dr. Tiisetso Lephoto
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2016 fellow Dr. Tiisetso Lephoto was appointed to the South
African Council for Natural Scientific Professions by Dr. Blade Nzimande,
South Africa’s minister of higher education, science and innovation. Tiisetso
is a lecturer of molecular and cell biology at the University of the
Witwatersrand as well as the CEO of Nematech, a biotech company that
supplies farmers with biopesticides and other eco-friendly products to
control pests.
The council, comprised of science professionals with diverse specialties, has
a mission to promote natural sciences in South Africa as well as set
standards for the education and training of natural scientists in the country.
The council also has a goal of bringing more women into natural sciences.
During her four-year term, Tiisetso hopes to inspire more young people
through science advocacy. “We need many more young people to participate in STEM orientated careers and
innovations in order to solve day to day societal problems and challenges,” she said.
Report Date...: 8/30/21
Two fellows named to a Top 5 Nigerian Women in Tech list
Fellow(s): Carolyn Seaman, Olamide Ayeni
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2017 fellows Carolyn Seaman and Olamide Ayeni-Babajide were named to the Top 5 Nigerian Women in Technology list from WebNation Africa, a media company sharing stories of African business, politics and culture. The list features five women who are creating change and positively impacting communities in Nigeria and beyond.
Carolyn is the founder of Girls Voices, an initiative that trains and empowers adolescent girls in human rights, STEM skills and leadership. Girls Voices has reached over 300,000 girls through their programs, and has collaborated with the UN to create policies that seek to end child marriage, violence against women and human trafficking. Carolyn was also recently featured in a World Pulse #SheTransformsTech article about her work with girls in Nigeria during the pandemic.
Olamide founded Pearl Recycling, an initiative that collects waste such as plastic, car tires, newspapers and other recyclables and trains youth and women to transform them into furniture and upcycled items.
Olamide was recently included in an International Youth Day campaign by the British High Commission in Nigeria, sharing her thoughts on how young people have the power to create change: “We hope that young people will stop waiting for the world to call them to the table when they can actually build theirs,” she said.
Report Date...: 8/23/21
Fellow launches Inn2preneur-- a platform to inspire innovation
Fellow(s): Ala’a Agha Karss
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow Ala’a Agha Karss launched a new platform to empower youth and women on their entrepreneurial journeys, sharing best practices for those interested in business, coding and more. On the YouTube channel, Inn2preneur, Ala’a shares tips and advice for people at all levels of entrepreneurship, offering actionable steps that encourage creativity, confidence and innovation.
Ala’a is the founder and CTO of Superiors TechHub, and trains women and youth in coding, mobile app development and more. The Inn2preneur videos share content on how to become a developer, an intro to programming, non-programming jobs in the IT sector and more.
Report Date...: 8/23/21
Fellows hold summer camp for over 100 students
Fellow(s): Damilola Asaleye, Ehi Aigiomawu, Flora Asibe, Happy Amos, Olayinka Fagbemiro and Oluwatoyin Adegoke
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2020-2021 fellows Damilola Asaleye, Ehi Aigiomawu, Flora Asibe, Happy Amos, Olayinka Fagbemiro and Oluwatoyin Adegoke successfully hosted a five day summer camp for children in partnership with the Girls and Women Technological Empowerment Organisation (GWTEO). The EduChamps summer camp is part of the 2020-2021 Nigerian fellows’ action plan project created during the TechWomen program to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
The camp was attended by over 100 secondary school students, most of whom were girls. Over five days, the students were placed into break out sessions where each group discussed leadership, efficiency, upcycling, solar energy and sustainability. They also received training on various topics including entrepreneurship, financial literacy, renewable energy, team building, sustainable agriculture and more. In addition to workshops and training, the students heard inspiring keynotes from women in STEM who encouraged them to be ambitious, dream big and believe they can be world leaders.
The goal of the camp was to provide an opportunity for students to network, learn leadership and technical skills and visit educational institutions during the summer break. “Through this program, we believe that these kids are better prepared and inspired to return to school having the right mindset on the importance of education and are empowered with the resources to enable them remain in school,” Flora said. Next, the fellows will continue to work with partners to further prepare the students for the upcoming fall school term.
Report Date...: 8/16/21
Fellows serve as TechGirls Pitch and Project Mentors
Fellow(s): CSA and MENA fellows
Country:
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Recently, a TechWomen-TechGirls Summit was held where over 100 TechGirls participants from 12 countries presented their pitches on community-based project initiatives to address issues with the environment, education systems, the gender gap, technology disparities, mental health and more. Select TechWomen fellows served as mentors to TechGirls participants, assisting them from the beginning of the process with solution ideation all the way to this pitch summit. Despite their young age, both the fellows and session facilitators were impressed by the TechGirls participants’ commitment to achieve their project despite the constraints due to the ongoing pandemic. They noted the girls’ outstanding professionalism that allowed for feedback on each project to be shared effectively and for concrete next steps to be planned all while making meaningful connections with one another. “This TechWomen-TechGirls Summit is the perfect moment to understand the impact of bringing women and girls from different countries, sectors and backgrounds,” said Salma Gherraby, 2019 fellow and project mentor for TechGirls Morocco. “While discussing issues around the world, they all show the importance of STEM to resolve those problems.”
Report Date...: 8/16/21
Fellow holds Women in Tech Summit with alumnae support
Fellow(s): Sabina Nforba, Janet Fofang, Sophie Ngassa, Dr. Ngwashi Christabel and Enyong-Eta Grateful
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2013, 2014, 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Last month, 2020-2021 fellow Sabina Nforba held the inaugural Women in Tech Summit, collaborating with TechWomen alumnae to share best practices on empowering women in STEM fields. The summit was hosted by AfriTech Hub, the organization Sabina co-founded that empowers young students to pursue STEM education and STEM careers.
The summit convened over 100 women in technology in Cameroon for a day of networking and knowledge-sharing. Fellows Janet Fofang (2013), Sophie Ngassa (2014), Dr. Ngwashi Christabel (2020-2021) and Enyong-Eta Grateful (2020-2021) joined as featured speakers, presenting on the importance of women in leadership, Cameroon’s digital transformation and more. Enyong-Eta facilitated a workshop called Brand-Up, drawing inspiration from Rock Your LinkedIn Profile, a TechWomen 2020-2021 event. There, she encouraged participants to optimize their profiles in order to self-promote and attract opportunities.
Since the summit, Sabina and her team have created Slack channels to facilitate conversation, mentorship and collaboration among attendees and speakers. “The summit overall was a huge success,” she said. “The turnout was not only beyond expectation but the speakers were very transparent about their experiences — a quality that is not very common.” Next, AfriTech Hub will organize a coding bootcamp for women with no previous experience to support them in transitioning to tech careers.
Report Date...: 8/9/21
Fellow named sustainability ambassador by Egypt government
Fellow(s): Ghada Amin
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Ghada Amin was named an ambassador of sustainable development by Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, an initiative that seeks to build capacity around environmental sustainability through training and partnerships with universities, NGO’s and the private sector. Ghada is part of a small group of ambassadors chosen out of over 7,000 candidates. Ghada, a researcher and engineer in the field of sustainable development, will soon enter certification training in order to learn more about sustainable development, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Egypt’s sustainability priorities. After, Ghada will begin working with schools and youth for training on the UN SDGs, educating them in order to help create a culture of sustainability. Previously, Ghada attended the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly in New York, sharing best practices on advancing women and girls in science.
Read More »Report Date...: 8/9/21
