Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Mozilla Foundation Digital Literacy Groups
Fellow(s): Solange Tuyisenge
Country: Rwanda
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls
Solange Tuyisenge, 2015 fellow of Rwanda, has partnered with the Mozilla Foundation and Dot Rwanda to implement more than one hundred digital literacy clubs in five districts in Rwanda. In the past two months, the initiative has reached more than 3,000 individuals, focusing on women and youth in rural and underserved communities.
The groups are led by Digital Ambassadors, community members who have advanced technological experience, and meet regularly to learn, teach and exchange computer, mobile and internet skills. Many group members are accessing the internet for the first time and are using the opportunity to pay their taxes, stay up to date on the news, develop small businesses or open community savings accounts.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/29/2018
The Jordan Times Interview
Fellow(s): Diana Nassar, Dhelal Al Shorman, Hiba Shabrouq, Nour Al Toubasi, Alaa Agha Karss, Afnan Saqr, Shatha Jayyousi, and Rania Bader
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls
Eight fellows of Jordan from three cohorts – Hiba Shabrouq, Dhelal Al Shorman, Nour Al Toubasi and Ala’a Agha Karss (2017), Diana Nassar and Rania Bader (2016), Afnan Saqr (2015) and Shatha Jayyousi (2013) – were featured in an article by The Jordan Times that highlighted their experiences with TechWomen.
The piece outlined the fellows’ numerous personal and professional successes since completing TechWomen and highlighted an informational event the fellows organized for other female entrepreneurs and businesswomen from Jordan who were interested in learning more about the program.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/15/2018
STEM Training
Fellow(s): Saltanat Alieva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Saltanat Alieva, 2016 fellow of Kyrgyzstan, recently joined with the American Corners and Centers in her country to launch the project “Girls in Science.” She led a workshop focused on teaching 25 high school girls how to use 3D modeling software from Autodesk, her TechWomen host company.
Earlier this month, Saltanat also received two prestigious designations from the Kyrgyz Economic University: the award for Best Senior Lecturer and the medal for Contributions to the Development of the University.
Additionally, she was one of six winners chosen from participants in a social entrepreneurship training program at the University of Central Asia School of Professional and Continuing Education. As a result, Saltanat received a $3,000 grant to implement an innovative community development project in Kyrgyzstan.
Report Date...: 1/15/2018
Mentor(s): Marily Nika
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
In a guest blog post, mentor Marily Nika writes about her experience working with Lindiwe Matlali, 2017 fellow of South Africa. Marily was particularly impressed by Lindiwe’s background as founder and CEO of the program Africa Teen Geeks. In her post, Marily affirms the positive impact that mentoring had on her, as she was was able to reinforce her own skills and knowledge while working alongside someone with such infectious enthusiam and unconditional passion as Lindiwe.
Marily is an Engineering Manager at Google and an AI EdTech startup founder. She completed her Ph.D. in Predictive Analytics and has received the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Influence Award and Google’s North America Diversity Award.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/8/2018
Empowerment Workshop
Fellow(s): Dina Shaikhislam and Anara Molkenova
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Dina Shaikhislam and Anara Molkenova, 2017 fellows of Kazakhstan, completed a Women Empowerment: Entrepreneurial Skills course organized by the U.S. Embassy in Astana. The program was held at the American Corner and Maker Space in honor of International Entrepreneurship Week and focused on women’s contributions to global development, networking, team-building and identifying business opportunities for women.
On her chance to participate in the workshop, Dina writes, “[I] cannot thank enough the U.S. Embassy for offering so many opportunities to realize our full potential and understand that time is really up on waiting, on silence, on discrimination, on unequal representation of women in leadership and inequality in the workplace”.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/8/2018
Nigerian Fellow's organization selected by High Commission
Fellow(s): Carolyn Seaman
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Carolyn Seaman, 2017 fellow of Nigeria, has been incredibly busy since returning from the United States. Her organization, Girls Voices, has successfully implemented their Tech Girls Advocacy Program (TGAP), which taught 50 public school girls advanced digital literacy skills. The girls focused on three issues that they ultimately developed into their own advocacy website: Ending child marriage, ending gender-based violence and promoting girls’ education.
Additionally, the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria selected Girls Voices for their SheCanLead campaign. As part of the project, the High Commissioner partnered with one of the young leaders of Girls Voices for a week of learning initiatives.
Read More »Report Date...: 1/1/2018
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
Pro-Fellow interview
Fellow(s): Amanda Gicharu-Kemoli
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Amanda Gicharu-Kemoli, 2016 fellow of Kenya, was featured in an interview by ProFellow about her experience with TechWomen. In the interview, Amanda emphasized her service-based vision and the profound impact of TechWomen’s professional and cultural mentors.
Amanda co-founded Tech Republic Africa, a social enterprise that creates technology-driven education tools for youth in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and has received several fellowships and honors for her work in the field, including an Anita Borg Change Agent Award.
Read More »Report Date...: 12/11/2017
Committed to Good Blog
Fellow(s): Eman Abusaada
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship
Eman Abusaada, 2015 fellow of the Palestinian Territories, has been working with Committed To Good (CTG), a non-profit consulting firm that implements humanitarian projects in 25 countries around the world. Eman is highlighted in a recent blog post about the work of female engineers in Gaza supporting CTG with material monitoring and redevelopment projects, and she cites the TechWomen program as being a catalyst in confirming her passion for her chosen career path. Only 14% of the paid workforce in Gaza is female, and Eman hopes to be a role model for young women and that “the example [she presents] will contribute towards rebuilding a strong and sturdy Gaza and maybe that will help to achieve long-awaited peace in the region.
Read More »Report Date...: 11/13/2017
