Impact Stories from Education Diplomacy/Mentoring Policy Area
Fellows conduct online training for remote teaching
Fellow(s): Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This month, 2018 TechWomen fellows Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva spearheaded online training sessions for educators on best practices for remote teaching. The training was launched through Techaim, an AEIF-winning mentorship program launched by TechWomen fellows from multiple cohorts.
The presentation was attended by over 60 educators from preschools, elementary schools, secondary schools and high schools, as well as professors from the universities. During the session, the fellows demonstrated how to optimize tools such as Google Classroom, Zoom, Canva and Kahoot to digitalize the learning process. Currently, the fellows are working to create a STEAM teachers club in order to share curriculum ideas. “We see ourselves as STEAM promoters in the country and aim to develop the community and STEAM development,” says Elena.
Report Date...: 4/13/20
Mentor(s): Nancy Hang (Mentor)
Company: Mozilla
Mentor Type: Professional
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TechWomen Professional Mentor Nancy Hang spearheaded the creation of sfbay.help, a website that provides up-to-date community resources as well as a list of NGO’s and hospitals that need support. “The idea came from when I was picking up and delivering groceries to some of the elderly in my neighborhood, and was thinking about how to extend the reach quickly during these critical and uncertain times,” Nancy wrote in a recent LinkedIn post.
The site provides a list of hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area, including resources they require such as N95 masks, gloves and cleaning supplies. Nancy and her co-creators published the project on GitHub, and are encouraging community members to contribute resources. Although the list was created for the Bay Area, Nancy provides instructions on how others can create similar sites specific to their areas in order to reach those most in need.
Report Date...: 3/30/20
Fellow named to the 100 Women Creating A Better Africa list
Fellow(s): Mide Ayeni
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
This month, 2017 fellow Mide Ayeni was recognized for her work building sustainable cities and communities on the 100 Women Creating A Better Africa list, an initiative created in commemoration of International Women’s Day. The campaign was organized by WeForGood International, a sustainable development consulting firm that focuses on fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African leaders who are leading the way.
Mide is the founder of Pearl Recycling, a social enterprise 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. WeForGood recognized Mide for her efforts in addressing SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Recently, a Ford Foundation grant allowed Mide to expand Pearl Recycling’s programs and train 100 young women in Lagos in eco-friendly furniture making. She also plans to equip 20 Nigerian public schools with 400 ergonomic classroom chairs made from recycled materials, as well as train 800 young students on waste re-use in Lagos.
Report Date...: 3/30/20
Fellow interviewed about empowering women in aerospace
Fellow(s): Zainab Saleem
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2017 fellow Zainab Saleem was recently featured in a blog post for her accomplishments in STEM and her commitment to empowering other women and girls. Zainab, an aerospace engineer, is currently working in Finland at ICEYE, a radar satellite imaging company. In the post featured on ICEYE’s blog, Zainab is interviewed about her work at ICEYE’s spacecraft engineering department, her TechWomen experience and her projects designing, developing and launching satellites.
In the interview, Zainab spoke about her efforts to combat gender disparity in STEM fields and encourage more women and girls to enter STEM. Currently, she mentors the all-women Kyrgyz Space Program, headed by 2019 fellow Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova, by delivering bi-weekly training sessions. When asked about her advice for women and girls in STEM, Zainab said, “I want to say to all the girls: please, don’t do it because you are good at it, do it because you love it. Don’t let the opinions of others and standard examinations define what you want to be in life.”
Report Date...: 3/30/20
Fellow begins 3D printing masks for Tunisian hospitals
Fellow(s): Faten Khalfallah
Country: Tunisia
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2015 fellow of Tunisia Faten Khalfallah began designing and 3D printing personal protective equipment for the healthcare workers in Tunisia who are caring for patients affected by COVID-19. Faten is the founder of First Skills Club, a STEM education initiative that introduces Tunisia’s youth to technologies such as mobile apps, robotics, electronics, design and 3D printing. She moved from her home to the First Skills Club headquarters alongside her family in order to make as many face shields as possible.
After preliminary trials, Faten began printing the shields; each piece takes slightly over an hour to print and five minutes to join. Already, Faten has been contacted by Yes We Breathe, an initiative that is working to create additional equipment for Tunisian hospitals, as well as local doctors requesting supplies. Each day, Faten sends the equipment she creates to a local doctor in Sfax who is distributing them to his medical staff. It is her goal to print over 1,000 pieces.
Faten has also recruited help from her First Skills Club mentees, who are all working to create mobile apps, awareness videos, and robots that can serve as resources. “It’s my duty toward my country and my community, and I’m so happy to help and inspire young generation,” says Faten. “I will not stop working.”
Report Date...: 3/23/20
Fellows host first Women Techmakers event in Turkmenistan
Fellow(s): Maral Hudaybergenova, Merjen Saparmyradova
Country: Turkmenistan
Cohort: 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, 2018 fellow Maral Hudaybergenova organized Turkmenistan’s first Women Techmakers event, hosted by Ashgabat’s local Google Developer Group (GDG) that she launched this month alongside fellows from multiple cohorts in Turkmenistan. GDG chapters offer local developers a space to learn new skills, network and advance their careers. Women Techmakers, a global program from Google, is dedicated to helping women succeed in tech through resource-sharing and community events.
Maral and 2019 fellow Merjen Saparmyradova hosted the event in celebration of International Women’s Day, bringing together TechWomen fellows and other local women in tech to discuss Turkmenistan’s technology sector, share best practices and brainstorm projects they can implement in their community. Moving forward, Maral and Merjen hope to use GDG Ashgabat to educate and inspire local women in tech and encourage them to apply for TechWomen.
Report Date...: 3/23/20
Fellow featured in AnitaB.org spotlight
Fellow(s): Chepkemoi Magdaline
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Chepkemoi Magdaline was featured by Wogrammer, an AnitaB.org program that highlights stories and successes of diverse women in tech around the world. Chepkemoi recently won the 2019 AnitaB.org Systers Pass it On Award, a program that offers grants to support women whose projects empower women in computing.
In the article, Chepkemoi speaks about her work as the founder of EldoHub, an innovation platform that provides tech bootcamps, resources and mentorship to young students in Kenya. Since winning the award, Chepkemoi has begun to organize 15 bootcamps that will support 450 women and girls in the North Rift region of Kenya. “I want to encourage, support and inspire girls and women to consider careers in STEM and help them to excel in the tech field,” she said. “This will contribute to increasing the number of girls joining and excelling in STEM fields.”
Report Date...: 3/23/20
Fellow named a 2020 AfricanDoer
Fellow(s): Crescence Elodie
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2018 fellow Crescence Elodie was named a 2020 top 500 #AfricanDoer, joining innovators, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs throughout the African continent who were recognized for their contributions. The annual list from Tropics Magazine features the most powerful leaders working to shape the future of Africa through their companies, initiatives and research. The list of 500 changemakers were chosen from a list of 1,500 candidates and judged based on their impact, their digital influence and their economic power.
Crescence is the founder and managing director of EN group, a platform that designs tech entrepreneurship programs to create digital empowerment and community development in Central and West Africa. She also recently founded Women in Entrepreneurship and Technology (WETECH), an organization dedicated to supporting African girls and women entrepreneurs through leadership programs, digital entrepreneurship bootcamps and capacity-building trainings. Currently, WETECH is working to support campaigns such as Young African Aviation Professional Association, a non-profit that encourages girls to enter careers in aviation, as well as FAY’AM, an initiative that trains women to craft household products.
Report Date...: 3/16/20
2019 fellows of Pakistan hold first session for their initiative
Fellow(s): Asna Javed, Ayesha Mumtaz Kahn, Asmara Rahat, Farhat Yasmeen and Zeenat Anjum
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, 2019 fellows of Pakistan Asna Javed, Ayesha Mumtaz Kahn, Asmara Rahat, Farhat Yasmeen and Zeenat Anjum held the first educational session for their TechWomen seed-grant winning impact project, Bachaoo. With the tagline “Save Children, Save Pakistan,” Bachaoo has a mission to advocate for the rights and protection of children who are most vulnerable to sexual abuse.
Recently, the fellows established a partnership with Door of Awareness (DOA), a local non-profit that works with children ages three to 17 in underserved neighborhoods. DOA was enthusiastic about Bachaoo’s mission, and invited the team to organize an awareness session during their yearly Teachers Training Week. At the session, the fellows brought together 80 teachers for a day of knowledge-sharing on how to best advocate for children from impoverished backgrounds. “We were informed that children from these backgrounds need more attention with reference to good touch, bad touch and consent,” said Ayesha.
Later this month, Bachaoo plans to host another awareness session for 50 primary school children. The fellows are also consulting human rights lawyers and child psychologists, and hope to organize a panel on child protection laws. “We want to start conversations for children, parents and teachers,” said Ayesha. “Our vision is to advocate for the rights and protection of the children, because they will be our future leaders. “
Report Date...: 3/9/20
Fellow named an inspiring woman in business
Fellow(s): Omnia Eteyari
Country: Jordan, Libya
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2013 fellow Omnia Eteyari was recognized as a leading woman in business by Women in Business Arabia in partnership with Etihad Bank. Their campaign, 365 Inspiring Arab Women, is featuring an Arab woman in business each day of 2020. Omnia, who is from Libya but currently living in Jordan, is the first Libyan to be featured in the campaign.
Omnia is the co-founder of BulbulHub Academy of Public Speaking, a Jordan-based academy that provides public speaking, leadership and personal development courses to youth ages 11-17. She also recently supported the launch of LIBUS, the first Libyan online business school, as a curriculum developer and a tutor. Last week, she attended the launch of the TechWomen/TechGirls club Jordan, giving a workshop to the girls on best practices for public speaking. Omnia is also a business advisor for Eureka Tech Academy, Jordan’s first children’s tech academy that was started by 2011 fellow Afnan Ali.
Report Date...: 3/9/20
