Impact Stories from Professional Development Policy Area
"Fellow helps youths develop peace-building mobile apps "
Fellow(s): Joan Nabusoba Simiyu
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow Joan Nabusoba Simiyu (2020-2021) was “thrilled” to have recently served as a team guide for the MobiPeace Hackathon for Social Justice and Peace in Kenya. The MobiPeace Hackathon is an EU-funded project by UNESCO’s YouthMobile which engages youth in the development of mobile applications that advance peace and combat misinformation with social media technologies, civic education, and more. Utilizing Google’s open-source Flutter framework, Joan lead youngsters in a session to build-out of the user interface of their peace-building projects, one of several components in the multi-day event designed to coach participants through full application development from conception to publication.
Joan is a software developer and a program lead at Pwani Teknowgalz, a woman-led nonprofit created to bridge the gender gap in STEM.
Report Date...: 8/15/2022
Fellow delivers keynote speech at African youth summit
Fellow(s): Sabina Nforba
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow Sabina Nforba (Cameroon, 2020-2021) delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of “Democracy and Political Transitions in Africa: Harnessing Youth Voices for Change,” a two-day youth summit held in Accra, Ghana this summer. Acting as a representative of the Office of the Youth Envoy of the African Union Commission, Sabina addressed an audience of participants aged 15-35 from among the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) 15 member nations on the importance of youths taking ownership over the democratic and developmental goals of the continent.
Sabina encouraged attendees to get involved in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063, which works to strengthen Africa’s position on the global stage by driving inclusive socio-economic development, comprehensive integration, peace and security and democratic governance. “The youth should actively and meaningfully participate in politics, become entrepreneurs, and fully exploit the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement,” Sabina urged, adding that they should “champion good governance, starting from local communities to regional communities and the continent at large.”
The Youth Summit is a collaboration of ECOWAS, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA).
Report Date...: 8/8/2022
Mentor(s): Tina Shakour
Policy Area(s): Professional Development
Mentor Tina Shakour served as a senior judge in a global search party for missing persons recently held at Def Con 30’s “Hacker Homecoming” conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Trace Labs Search Party Capture the Flag (CTF) gamifies contestant crowdsourcing to conduct open source intelligence (OSINT) operations to locate missing persons. Their mission is to improve the chances of family reunification by providing “a modern, cost effective and transparent solution.” Teams race to find individual flags that can help map a description of a missing person’s location. As a senior judge, Tina assisted by vetting submissions to ensure they provided high value information useful to formal investigative efforts. Upon conclusion, Trace labs submits the found intelligence to relevant law enforcement agencies. Tina shares that the weekend was “amazing” and she was “honored to be a senior judge” in the tough but effective event.
Report Date...: 8/8/2022
Fellow gives lecture on earning a master’s degree abroad
Fellow(s): Yasmin Redjil
Country: Algeria
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development
Fellow Yasmin Redjil (2022), an engineer at the Ministry of Public Works and Transit in Algeria, was recently invited to give a guest lecture at the Al-lyha Islamic University of Kuningan, Indonesia entitled “All About the Master’s Degree: The Life, The Thesis, the Future.” Yasmin’s talk focused on preparing undergraduates for earning a master’s degree abroad, establishing a defense-ready thesis and developing a bright vision for the future. She discussed her own experiences undertaking graduate study in Beijing, China, provided motivation on assuming ownership of one’s academic field and shared her experiences as a TechWomen emerging leader in Silicon Valley. “I wanted to [help them] achieve their dreams by eliminating the word ‘impossible’,” she says, “and show them that they are amazing people who deserve the best!”
Report Date...: 8/8/2022
"Fellow announces partnership to co-host mega IT conference "
Fellow(s): Ayesha Zaman Hammad
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Professional Development
SkillsTodo, an e-learning platform co-founded by fellow & CEO Ayesha Zaman Hammad (Pakistan, 2022), recently announced that it will serve as an execution partner for the 7th annual Connected Pakistan conference, a two-day mega event that brings together up to 20,000 participants in the IT and freelancing sectors for 50+ workshops featuring over 300 speakers and government officials.
SkillsTodo provides 90-minute in-demand skills courses taught by field experts at an affordable rate. The startup has quickly gained influence and popularity, rising to the number one spot on the Startany.com “trending startups to follow” list, just four months after its launch in February of 2021.
Ayesha notes that she has boosted her professional engagement due to the influence of TechWomen. “I give a lot of credit for this confidence,” Ayesha said, “to my professional mentor Aliya Janjua,” from SS&C Advent. In addition to running SkillsTodo, Ayesha conducts marketing bootcamps for Microsoft Business to business clients, recently helped raise funds for a co-working space in Lahore, and just joined on as an advisor for Techtitans Pakistan, a peer-to-peer exchange network for tech and HR professionals.
Report Date...: 8/1/2022
"Fellow selected as final jurist in Lebanese accelerator event "
Fellow(s): Shahrazad Shehab
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Professional Development
Lebanese fellow Shahrazad Shehab (2019) recently had the honor of serving as a final jurist for the Take-Off Accelerator by Centre MINE x Bloom.
Take-Off is a Lebanese growth accelerator designed to promote better job opportunities in Lebanon and help businesses adapt to the changing circumstances in the country, region and globe. Winning enterprises receive $10,000 in new funds and embark on a four-month mentorship and training program conducted mostly online to promote accessibility.
Shaharazad is a startup digital strategist and the co-founder of Creative Consults, an agency that helps businesses modernize their IT and technical expertise. In addition to serving as a jurist, she recently hosted a webinar for Take-Off Accelerator focused on pitching to investors.
Report Date...: 8/1/2022
