Impact Stories

• Fellow(s):

  Project/Action: Recap: Week Two of Fall 2022 TechWomen Program

  Policy Area(s): Special Report

  The second full week of the Fall 2022 program kicked off with Action Plan Workshop 1, hosted at Chime, which provided Emerging Leaders (ELs) with the framework for brainstorming a socioeconomic challenge upon which to focus an impact initiative in their home country. Support from Chime was provided by mentor Beth Steinberg and numerous company volunteers with facilitation from YSC Consulting of Accenture. “We didn’t know each other going into this,” reflected EL Reevana Balmahoon. “The TechWomen program brought us together, each from a different region. And now, through this process today, we are Team South Africa.”
  Throughout the rest of the week, ELs immersed themselves in professional mentorship, working on their customized goals and networking through office days, field visits, lab trainings, and virtual meetings. “One fascinating thing is how our professional mentors (PMs) operate,” noted EL Esther Wanza of Kenya. “They have been able to bring all the ELs together where we can leverage our skills, which has enabled them to perform their duties while mentoring us.”
  To conclude the week, ELs and Impact Coaches (ICs) took part in a networking reception at state-of-the-art Autodesk Gallery. Keynote remarks were provided by Vice President of Engineering Susanna Holt, who offered insights into the power of organic career growth: “We often advise people early in their careers to have a plan, know where you’re going and then just go for it. I never did that. I drifted a bit and it has worked out well for me. I’m a VP now and I’m really proud of myself. And I didn’t do it by going in a straight line.”

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  Report Date: 10/3/2022

• Fellow(s): Safa Buzgeia

  Country: Libya

  Region: MENA

  Cohort: 2022

  Project/Action: Fellow leads project landing acceptance to accelerator

  Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

  Non-profit FabLab Libya has recently been selected into Tadamom Accelerator thanks in great part to the contribution of member and fellow Safa Buzgeia (2022). Safa led the proposal of Libyan STEM Hub, which aims to introduce modern, hands-on STEM teaching methods into Libyan elementary schools. FabLab Libya was selected among 50 organizations out of 345 applications from 28 countries. Tadamon Accelerator is a platform of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in 57 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries which is implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
  “Libyan STEM Hub was greatly inspired by my experiences with Techwomen this spring, specifically with Resource Area For Teaching (raft) non-profit organization and a Micro Blocks workshop by Professional Mentor Kathy Giori,” Safa shared. “Furthermore, I directly applied what I learned from the ‘How to Pitch Your Project’ workshop by mentor Eileen Brewer in preparation of the evaluation interview with the UNDP team.”

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  Report Date: 10/3/2022