TechWomen Community: A platform for women interested in innovation and technology
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UN Women continues to offer new opportunities for women and girls interested in technology. On 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, one such initiative was launched: TechWomen Community.
The TechWomen Community platform was created as part of a partnership between UN Women, Business and Technology University (BTU), the Government of Denmark and D Block. The initiative combines free training courses, useful connections, ideathons, hackathons, entrepreneurship camps, career support and professional networking. Any woman who wants to study technology or deepen her knowledge in this field can join the TechWomen Community. Notably, participants will also have special access to D Block workspaces.
The presentation of the TechWomen Community was attended by Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia; Bergljot Hovland, Norwegian Ambassador to Georgia; and Professor Nino Enukidze, Rector of BTU. They also took part in a panel discussion dedicated to the involvement of girls in technology.
“Today, we celebrate the founding of the TechWomen Community,” Ms. Ishikawa said in her speech. “This is not only a learning opportunity but also a powerful platform and supportive space for women to meet each other, gain knowledge, develop, listen to interesting speakers, take advantage of mentoring and partnership opportunities, and access resources for career development and other skills. I encourage everyone to actively engage in the activities of the TechWomen Community and become a member, mentor, supporter or simply an advocate for change.”
The Georgian chapter of iamtheCODE, a global initiative led by BTU, was also launched at the same event. iamtheCODE is an educational platform that offers more than 60,000 certified courses in 18 languages from around the world. iamtheCODE partner members, including Georgia, have access to the courses completely free of charge.
Notably, Lady Mariéme Jamme, the founder of iamtheCODE, arrived in Georgia for the opening of the initiative. A world-renowned activist for women’s empowerment in technology and the winner of numerous prestigious international awards, she spoke to the audience about the mission of iamtheCODE as well as the experience and opportunities that will be available to Georgia as a result of this initiative.
It should be noted that the challenges in terms of women’s empowerment are growing all over the world, therefore requiring both understanding and the development of new approaches. Against this backdrop, the creation of the TechWomen Community and iamtheCODE will support women with relevant knowledge, experience, connections and skills to engage in technology and participate in innovative and high-paying fields, which will also help them to fully and equally realize their opportunities and potential.
The TechWomen Community and iamtheCODE initiatives are part of the UN Women programme “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies”, which is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UN Women offices in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine with the support of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.