Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Fellow wins AEIF award for initiative to train women on entrepreneurship and software development
Fellow(s): Shatha Jayyousi
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
2013 fellow of Jordan Shatha Jayyousi was among the 2018 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) award winners for an initiative that will train women and girls, including about 50 migrants, in Amman and Athens. The cross-border project, a collaboration with alumni of the International Visitors Leadership Program and the Fulbright Student Program, will utilize a mobile learning curriculum to provide business entrepreneurship and software development training to help participants launch their own businesses. The program represents an effort to address high unemployment rates in both Jordan and Greece, as well as the gender gap in STEM and digital skills. Shatha credits her participation in TechWomen for connecting her to the vast and supportive Department of State alumni network.
AEIF awards support alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. Out of more than 1,300 applications submitted this year, Shatha’s project is one of just 70 to be selected for a grant, and is funded under the AEIF theme of Empowering Women and Girls.
Report Date: 7/9/2018
Fellows travel with TechGirls to U.S. and lead panel discussion
Fellow(s): Reham Nasser, Nisreen Deeb, Shatha Jayyousi, Amel Ghouila and Hania Gati
Country: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia
Cohort: 2011, 2013, 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Fellows Reham Nasser (2011) of Egypt, Nisreen Deeb (2013) of Lebanon, Shatha Jayyousi (2013) of Jordan, Amel Ghouila (2014) of Tunisia and Hania Gati (2011) of Algeria were selected as the inaugural group of TechWomen fellows to serve as flight chaperones for the 2018 TechGirls cohort, joining the girls in traveling from their home countries to Washington, DC. TechGirls is an ECA initiative that brings 15- to 17-year-old girls from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to the United States to empower and inspire them to pursue careers in STEM. TechGirls hail from the same seven countries in MENA as TechWomen participants.
After escorting TechGirls participants to the U.S., the fellows joined a panel discussion – also livestreamed on Facebook – to kick off TechGirls’s U.S. programming. Panelists discussed their work and how they became interested in STEM and also shared advice for the girls. Reham encouraged them to never be afraid to ask questions. She spoke about how boldness enriched her TechWomen experience tremendously, enabling her to learn as much as she could. Fellows also shared about support groups that helped them throughout their career and as women in STEM. Said Hania, “Both of my [TechWomen] mentors gave me so much knowledge. I thought to myself, when I come back to Algeria I have to be a mentor. The more help you receive, the more you want to give.”
Report Date: 7/9/2018
Fellows mentor teams recognized as regional winners
Fellow(s): Josephine Ndambuki, Nezha Larhrissi, Salima Kaissi, Diana Tsoy and Darya Alontseva
Country: Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco
Cohort: 2013, 2014, 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
In addition to the three TechWomen-linked teams that have advanced to the World Pitch competition, three additional teams have won regional titles in the Technovation Challenge. The regional winners include a team from Kenya that developed an app to make it easier for minors to report instances of abuse or neglect, a team from Morocco that developed an app to help students who are being bullied and a team from Kazakhstan that developed an app that encourages people to lead healthier lives. Regional winners all receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Technovation Kenya was first started by 2014 fellow Josephine Ndambuki and has expanded to include thousands of girls from across the country. In Morocco, Technovation started as part of the programming for eSTEM Morocco, an organization founded by 2013 fellows Nezha Larhrissi and Salima Kaissi. 2015 fellows Diana Tsoy and Darya Alontseva took the lead in introducing Technovation to Kazakhstan in 2016, also winning an alumni grant in 2018 from the U.S. embassy to expand Technovation participation in their country.
Report Date: 7/2/2018
Mentor(s): Anar Simpson, Rekha Pai Kamath, Cathy Simpson, Eileen Brewer and Erin Keeley
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
At home and abroad, TechWomen mentors have been actively involved in the promotion and success of the Technovation Challenge. Mentor Anar Simpson, Technovation’s Global Ambassador, has used her TechWomen connections to inspire fellows to organize Technovation programs in their home countries, and a number of other mentors are also deeply engaged.
In addition to encouraging fellows to lead Technovation teams in their countries, mentors have also taken an active role in working with girls who participate, helping fellows by leading or contributing to Technovation workshops. Just this year, Rekha Pai Kamath led Technovation workshops in Uzbekistan, Cathy Simpson led workshops in Kazakhstan, and Eileen Brewer and Erin Keeley provided on-site support for training and activities related to Technovation Tunisia’s spring camp.
Report Date: 7/2/2018
Team from Gaza advances to finals with firefighting app
Fellow(s): Yamama Shaka’a, Ayah Soufan, Alaa Fatayer, Nadiah Saba’neh and Ruba Awayes
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Yamama Shaka’a, 2016 fellow from Gaza, mentored a team of girls who have been selected to compete in World Pitch in Silicon Valley for an app they developed to educate the public on fire safety. Their app, Be a Firefighter, is a virtual reality game designed to educate teen users on how to prevent and extinguish fires.
Yamama was introduced to Technovation by Regional Ambassadors for the Palestinian Territories, two of whom – Ayah Soufan and Alaa Fatayer – are also TechWomen fellows (2015 and 2014, respectively) and are part of a team of three women who first introduced Technovation to the Palestinian Territories in 2014. Along with 2015 fellow Nadiah Saba’neh, whose work at the Palestinian Higher Council for Innovation and Excellence complements their efforts, the team has worked hard to increase the number of Palestinian girls participating in Technovation. They enlisted 2017 fellow Ruba Awayes and incoming 2018 Emerging Leader Waad Jabbarin to translate the curriculum into Arabic, and by the order of Minister of Education Dr. Sabri Saidam, the Technovation curriculum has been distributed to all public and private schools in the West Bank. In 2014, only four Palestinian teams participated in Technovation; this year, the number grew to 262 teams – approximately 1,000 girls.
Report Date: 7/2/2018
Uzbekistan team named Junior Division finalists
Fellow(s): Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Elena Selezneva and Saida Yusupova, both 2016 fellows of Uzbekistan, serve as Technovation Regional Ambassadors for their country. They first learned about Technovation during the TechWomen program and felt inspired to start a local chapter upon their return home. In 2017, their first year implementing the Technovation curriculum, 90 girls participated; this year, the program welcomed 310 girls. One team of girls has been selected to advance to the Junior Division Finals at World Pitch in Silicon Valley for developing ELIST, an app that will more equitably divide household chores between girls and boys.
Elena and Saida are committed to expanding the Technovation program in Uzbekistan. This year was the first time they had students participate at the Junior Division level and also the first time they had teams join from outside of the capital region of the country, and they plan to grow even further in 2019.
Report Date: 7/2/2018
Egyptian girls advance to finals after TechWomen delegation encouraged them to enter Technovation Challenge
Fellow(s): Reham Nasser, Eman Mousheir Ezzat, Rekha Pai Kamath and Yousra Anwar
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2011, 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Reham Nasser and Eman Mousheir Ezzat, 2011 fellows of Egypt, collaborated in 2014 to launch Teenpreneurs, an organization that runs workshops and camps for teenagers to learn about technology, entrepreneurship and career planning. During the TechWomen delegation trip to Egypt earlier this year, the delegation had a chance to meet Teenpreneur alumni and learn more about the initiative. It was during this meeting that mentor Rekha Pai Kamath encouraged the girls to participate in Technovation and connected them with Yousra Anwar, 2016 fellow of Egypt and Technovation Egypt’s Regional Ambassador. Inspired by Rekha’s confidence in their abilities, four Teenpreneur alumni, under the mentorship of Yousra, developed an app called Stray Paws that will connect animal shelters with people who want to adopt pets. The team is one of just six Senior Division teams worldwide to be invited to World Pitch in Silicon Valley.
Read More »Report Date: 7/2/2018
Mentor(s): Anar Simpson
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
The Technovation Challenge, an initiative of the science education non-profit organization Iridescent, invites teams of girls from all over the world to solve real-world problems through technology. Working under the guidance of a mentor, Technovation teams identify a problem in their communities, develop a mobile app solution, build a business plan to launch the app and pitch their idea to bring the business plan to market. Regional winners are awarded with $1,000 scholarships, and the top teams are invited to the World Pitch in Silicon Valley for a chance to win between $5,000 and $15,000 in scholarships.
TechWomen fellows and mentors have played an instrumental role in Technovation’s global success. After learning about the program during the fall TechWomen program, and with the encouragement of their mentors, which include Technovation Global Ambassador Anar Simpson, fellows have returned home to launch Technovation chapters in their countries and mentor teams of middle school- and high school-aged girls. TechWomen fellows are responsible for introducing Technovation in 15 of the 78 countries where the program currently operates: Cameroon, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, South Africa, Tajikistan, Thailand (started by a 2014 fellow of Algeria who relocated there), Tunisia and Uzbekistan. Teams led by fellows have consistently seen success; this year, three TechWomen-affiliated teams are advancing to the World Pitch finals and three teams were named regional winners.
Report Date: 7/2/2018
Fellows presents action plan initiative at Women Ambassador Forum
Fellow(s): Hiba Shabrouq
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2017 fellow Hiba Shabrouq recently represented Jordan at the Women Ambassadors Forum (WAF) in Dallas, Texas. The forum aims to provide women leaders with resources and the supportive network they need to reach their full potential. While attending, Hiba pitched Ozwah, Team Jordan’s action plan project that won a TechWomen seed grant during the 2017 program. Ozwah strives to make higher education more accessible to female orphans through training and mentorship. After her pitch presentation, Hiba received valuable feedback about the possibility of international collaboration.
The annual Women Ambassadors Forum runs five days and includes professional development seminars, meetings with corporate and community leaders, a speaker series and field trips. WAF receives more than 1,000 applications from changemakers across the globe, but only a select pool is invited to attend.
Report Date: 6/18/2018
Fellow shares experiences as a female founder at MEST Africa Summit
Fellow(s): Baratang Miya
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Baratang Miya, 2015 fellow of South Africa, spoke on a panel about female founders at the MEST Africa Summit in Cape Town. The panel discussed the lack of women in the African tech space and the challenges female CEOs face in building their businesses. Baratang is a self-taught coder who believes coding is a powerful tool that can be used to empower women and girls who are often shut out of the technology industry. After learning to code, Baratang was inspired to found GirlHype, an organization that offers free after-school programming for 6th to 12th grade girls to learn coding. In addition, the program teaches participants lessons in digital literacy, such as positive and negative consequences of the internet, including privacy concerns and ways to protect one’s information.
When discussing resources for success on the panel, Baratang said, “You need mentors. I was in business for too long until I went into a program of women who just said to me, listen, you just got to do it. Forget about all the stereotypes in your head.”
Report Date: 6/18/2018
