Impact Stories from Youth Engagement Policy Area
TEDx Talk
Fellow(s): Diana Tsoy
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Diana Tsoy, 2015 fellow of Kazakhstan, presented at Tedx Almaty on the potential of Kazakh schoolgirls and her own journey as a mentor in STEM. Diana’s TechWomen experience inspired her to become a regional ambassador (RA) of Technovation Kazakhstan. With the help of RA Gulshnar Salpykova, 2016 fellow of Kazakhstan, not only has the Kazakh Technovation program grown from just 11 teams to more than 50 teams from across the country, but in 2017, a Kazakh team also took home the Technovation grand prize.
Diana is actively involved in research in renewable energy and is working towards an advanced degree in technical sciences at ITMO University in St. Petersburg. She was also recently invited to speak at the first “Be A Pro” conference, organized by the Astana International Finance Center, where she spoke about the importance of mentorship.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/1/2018
Ideathon
Fellow(s): Elena Selezneva, Saida Yusupova, Shodiyabegim Bakhtiyorzoda, Sevara Siradjeva, Ozoda Ismailova, Natalya Yusupova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2015, 2016, 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Six fellows from three cohorts came together this month to organize Uzbekistan’s first Ideathon. Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova, both 2016 fellows and Technovation Uzbekistan Ambassadors, led 100 girls aged 10 to 18 with the help of 40 mentors. Several other fellows of Uzbekistan, Shodiyabegim Bakhtiyorzoda (2015), Sevara Siradjeva (2016), Ozoda Ismailova (2016) and Natalya Yusupova (2017), also helped with the Ideathon by delivering presentations and offering their guidance to participants.
The Ideathon was a two-day, intensive, workshop-like experience for prospective Technovation students to address challenges of defining a social problem in their community. Participants work in teams with mentors and use design, critical thinking and innovative learning practices to collaborate and create potential solutions.
Read More »Report Date...: 12/18/2017 & 12/25/17
Mentor(s): Daniela Ushuzima and Irina Silva
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Youth Engagement
Two TechWomen mentors, Daniela Ushizima and Irina Silva, have recently been honored with Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards. Daniela received the Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in outreach from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab for her “selfless and tireless efforts as an exemplary ambassador of science and goodwill, engaging new and emerging scientists around the globe,” including the TechWomen fellows. Irina received the Joint BioEnergy Institute Berkeley Lab Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Diversity for her work connecting Berkeley Lab with local youths “to help train a future scientific workforce that truly represents the diversity of the Bay Area.
The Director’s Awards program recognizes significant achievements of Lab employees for accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multi-disciplinary science, cross-divisional projects and commitment to excellence.
Read More »Report Date...: 12/4/2017
United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan Career Day
Fellow(s): Mehak Jamal
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Youth Engagement
Mehak Jamal, 2017 fellow of Pakistan, was featured as a panelist at the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan’s (USEFP) Career Day. Mehak spoke to students and young professionals, encouraging them to pursue careers in tech given the sector’s potential for exponential growth in Pakistan.
Mehak spoke about her experience with TechWomen as well as her work with the Punjab Information Technology Board, which not only provides tech services and infrastructure to both the private and public sector, but also increases the digital literacy of Pakistani citizens.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/27/2017
HapaKenya Interview
Fellow(s): Chao Mbogo
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement
Dr. Chao Mbogo, 2017 fellow of Kenya, was highlighted in an in-depth interview on the Kenyan news platform HapaKenya. Chao details her personal and professional journey to become a computer scientist, researcher, teacher, mentor, and recently, the Head of the Computer Science Department at Kenya Methodist University. Chao also provides updates on KamiLimu, a mentorship program she launched in 2016 for university level computer science students, and Project Digniti, the seed grant-winning action plan project she developed with the other 2017 fellows of Kenya. Chao has also received grant awards from Anita B.org and Google for her work with KamiLimu.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/20/2017
TechCamp Ramallah
Fellow(s): Ruba Awayes, Rasha Hammo, Razan Qraini
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Youth Engagement
From November 18-19, Ruba Awayes, Rasha Hammo and Razan Qraini, 2017 fellows of the Palestinian Territories, participated in TechCamp Ramallah: Business Success through Academic Excellence, which was hosted by the U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem. Ruba and Razan were trainers at the camp, with Ruba leading sessions on tools for self-learning and Razan leading sessions on mobile app design. TechCamp Ramallah was designed to strengthen linkages between students and Palestinian businesses by focusing on the power of technology to solve real-world problems and drive economic growth. The program also emphasized a skills-based curriculum that addressed private sector needs.
TechCamps are public diplomacy programs managed by the Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) at the U.S. Department of State.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/20/2017
KasiMaths in HuffPost South Africa
Fellow(s): Danai Nhando
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow Danai Nhando has written a blog post for HuffPost South Africa about the South African team’s seed grant win and their plans to carry out their action plan, KasiMaths, a low-cost, scalable, after-school math enrichment hub in low-income communities. In their Pitch Day presentation, the team identified the KasiMaths program as a way to take a “holistic approach to teaching maths that demystifies all aspects of maths and shows how it relates to the everyday world.” They are already hard at work on making their idea a reality, with a plan to set up the first KasiMaths Hub in Alexandria Township in Johannesburg and take on their first cohort of 30 students in early 2018.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/13/2017
Africa Code Week
Fellow(s): Ruth Kaveke and Chao Mbogo
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
In late September, Ruth Kaveke and Chao Mbogo, 2017 fellows of Kenya, received grants to organize coding workshops as part of Africa Code Week 2017. The mission of Africa Code Week is to empower future generations with the coding tools and skills they need to thrive in the 21st century workforce and become key actors of Africa’s economic development.
Ruth’s organization, Pwani Teknowgalz, held workshops that introduced more than 100 women from Mombasa to coding. The workshop was supported by Eskill4girls, an initiative that tackles the existing gender digital divide in low income and developing countries. KamiLimu, co-founded and led by Chao, held digital skills trainings for 110 students between the ages of 13-21, 46% of whom were female. The students came from Children’s Garden Home, a charitable organization that provides care and support to children who are orphaned and/or living in poverty. The trainings, led by mentees in KamiLimu’s mentorship program, were part of a continuing relationship between KamiLimu and Children’s Garden Home, and KamiLimu has plans to work with girls from the home on the Technovation Challenge.
Report Date...: 11/6/2017
Support Girls into STEM Careers through Technovation
Fellow(s): Darya Alontseva, Diana Tsoy
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Darya Alontseva and Diana Tsoy, 2015 fellows of Kazakhstan, have received an alumni grant from the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan to implement a project called “Support Girls into STEM Careers through Technovation.” Project activities commenced in early October with an introductory seminar about the Technovation program, which attracted 77 students and teachers from 15 schools from the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk and its suburbs. In the style of a TED talk, Darya shared her motivation for organizing these seminars and spoke about the importance of encouraging girls from Kazakhstan to pursue careers in technology. Diana shared about her experiences starting and coordinating Kazakhstan’s Technovation program and the success of the Kazakh teams in the 2017 competition, where two teams made it to the finals in Silicon Valley and one team took home the grand prize. Girls from one of those teams also joined the seminar to share about their experience with the competition and answer questions from the audience.
The introductory seminar was designed to bring together students and teachers who could form teams for the 2018 Technovation competition; the next seminar, which will be held in February 2018, will prepare these teams for the competition.
Report Date...: 10/30/2017
Career Girls
Fellow(s): Amel Ghouila and Ruth Kaveke
Country: Kenya, Tunisia
Cohort: 2013, 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Amel Ghouila, 2013 fellow of Tunisia, and Ruth Kaveke, 2017 Emerging Leader from Kenya, have been featured in videos on the Career Girls website. Amel shared about her work as a bioinformatician and researcher with the Pasteur Institute and encouraged girls to be curious and learn as much as they can until they find what they are passionate about. Ruth spoke about her work teaching girls how to code at Mombasa Girls in STEM and how, as part of the Technovation program, she guides her students to come up with innovative solutions that help solve community problems.
Read More »Report Date...: 10/23/2017
