Dear friends,
We wish you a happy new year and a prosperous 2022, filled with lots of success.
Year 2022 started well for us at W.TEC with so many expectations and possibilities for the rest of the year. The uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced us all to have a rethink and restructure some of our programmes and adapt to our new realities has made us stronger.
As we plan for the year 2022, our team has pulled together with determination to continue on our journey of nurturing the next generation of female technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders through the programmes we run.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
A. W.TEC Academy resumes its second term for 2021/2022 School Year
It’s back to school season in Nigeria after the Christmas and New Year break and W.TEC is also ready to resume classes for W. TEC Academy, our co-curricular technology programme for secondary school female students.
This term, the Academy is taking place in over 21 secondary schools in Lagos and Kwara states with over 700 school girls participating. The Academy has been carefully designed for students in these schools to help improve their digital technology skills and empower them with necessary information and skills to boost their academic, entrepreneurial and professional outcomes in the future. The students will go through a practical and engaging curriculum comprised of computer fundamentals, programming with scratch programming, video game design, video editing and graphic design.
To ensure effective delivery, the W.TEC team has been hosting a series of review meetings with its trainers and partners; they also organized refresher training for all facilitators assigned to the various schools to keep them up to date with the curriculum to ensure effective training in schools. The W.TEC Academy team members have also put in their best to make sure the participating schools have their facilities in good shape for a smooth sailing class for the girls.
W.TEC Academy is a co-curricular technology programme for public secondary school girls, which presents technology in a practical and engaging way, with the ultimate aim of encouraging more girls to pursue science and technology careers.
The Academy programme in Kwara State is implemented in collaboration with Oracle and the Kwara State Ministry of Education, while the Academy programme in Lagos State is implemented in collaboration with the Lagos State Science and Research Innovation Council (LASRIC) and the Lagos State Ministry of Education.
B. MakeHer Space Project Reviewed Phase 1 and Commenced Phase 2
The pilot phase of the MakeHer space project, initially planned to run as a face-to-face programme was restructured to run in an online format from May – November 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pilot phase was a success with 88 girls given intensive training on Website Design, 3D Modelling, Video Marketing and Market Research and Analysis via 6 cohorts.
Following the successful implementation of the pilot phase, WTEC launched in-person training from May-August 2021 for 887 girls’ participants on Electronics and Renewable Energy panelled projects in Nasarawa, Bauchi and Abuja after the passing of the 2nd wave of the pandemic in Nigeria.
After wrap up of phase 1 in August 2021, we gave a month break for the project in September, to evaluate the project; we also came together to hold a meeting at the federal capital territory, Abuja, which focused on reviewing the lessons and learnings of the previous cohorts and plans for the phase 2 of the project. Present at the meeting were- the W.TEC and MakeHer Space Programme Manager- Mrs Folashade, W.TEC Curriculum Developer- Mr Lesley, Youth Initiative for Sustainable Human Development in Africa (YiSHDA) Director of Programmes- Mr Moses and our amazing state coordinators and facilitators.
In October 2021 we commenced phase 2 of the training and it was indeed another impact filled learning experience for the girls and our trained facilitators. An interesting component we added to phase 2 was giving participants of past cohorts’ access to return to our training centres to perfect their skills by doing extensive work and building community solutions projects using a self-directed approach through the Hybrid sessions.
All participants and facilitators of the projects also had the opportunity to earn W.TEC certificates and digital open badges and certificates which is in alignment with the European Union Digital Competence Framework for Citizens. This phase of the MakeHer space is set to run till June 2022 and will be expanding to Lagos and Kwara State Nigeria from January 2022.
In partnership with the nonprofit organization- Youth Initiative for Sustainable Human Development in Africa (YiSHDA), the MakeHer Space project reached 1221 young girls between the ages of 10 to 25 in Abuja, Nasarawa and Bauchi State Nigeria in 2021.
The MakeHer space project is a Hands-on Technology initiative that teaches young women to create technology and engineering-based solutions that solve problems in their communities, provide information about career options and expose them to women working successfully in STEAM.
The MakeHER Space Programme by W.TEC in Nigeria is done with support from Google.
C. W.TEC marked the 2021 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
As an organisation focused on empowering women and girls with STEM-based skills, W.TEC held a series of engaging discussion sessions and online activities to mark the 2021 16 Days of Activism campaign for select students of the W.TEC Academy (our afterschool technology club) in Lagos and Kwara state between November and December 2021.
Asides from the workshops sessions we had for girls at their schools, we also had a series of online campaigns. The focus of the workshops and campaign reflected the 2021 theme of the campaign: “Orange the world: End violence against women now!’’.
The events featured speakers from W.TEC and leading teachers from host schools, whose presentations cantered on the following:
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign for the elimination of violence against women and girls. It kicks off on the 25 November and runs until 10 December of every year.
D. W.TEC Issued Digital Badges in line with the European Union Digital Competence Framework for Citizens for Its Programmes.
In 2021, W.TEC introduce the digital open badges for facilitators and volunteers at 4 of her programmes; the MakeHer Space, W.TEC Academy, the She Creates Camp and Early Innovators Camp. Facilitators.
The W.TEC's digital open badges are aligned with the European Union Digital Competence Framework for Citizens and were introduced as part of our work on the Digital Generation Youth project (https://www.citiesoflearning.eu/digital-generation-youth/). Learn more at: https://wtec.org.ng/digital-generation-youth-2/.
Digital Generation Youth is a 2-year project funded by the European Union agency ERASMUS+ and aimed at developing new content, methods and activities to improve the quality of youth non-formal learning programmes. W.TEC is working as part of a coalition of organisations across Europe and Africa focused on imparting digital and 21st-century skills to youths. The organisations are Breakthrough Foundation (Netherlands), Nectarus (Lithuania), Afri.ko (Lithuania) and Ready4Life (South Africa).
E. Sustaining Her Enterprise Career and Network (SHE CAN WITH ICT) achievements
The SHE CAN WITH ICT programme since its launch in September 2021, has equipped 338 existing and inspiring female entrepreneurs with technology skills and knowledge. The beneficiaries of the programme also go through mentorship sessions from professional women who share from their wealth of experience with the participants.
The Sustaining Her Enterprise Career and Network (SHE CAN WITH ICT), is a W.TEC Initiative designed to improve the productivity and profitability of women-owned businesses, by equipping them with in-depth practical digital technology skills and tools to catalyze their entrepreneurial growth in an increasingly technology-driven business environment. The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is implementing the SHE CAN WITH ICT programme in collaboration with Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation,
The graduation ceremony for our beneficiaries took place online (for the virtual classes) and for the in-person centers, we had a graduation ceremony for them physically and also connect them with opportunities. One of the graduation ceremonies took place at International Women Society Jakande Lekki in Lagos State on the 18th of November and another one was held on December 2, 2021, at Impact Center, Ojodu Berger in Lagos State. In attendance were female entrepreneurs, volunteers, partner organizations, media and staff of W.TEC.
Various graduation ceremony centre high tables were graced by the guest speakers and representatives from Women Radio 97.1FM, FCMB, W.TEC, International Women Society, ACT Foundation, AAAF and members of the Association of Nigerian Women in Business (ANWIB).
The SHE CAN WITH ICT training continues this year in our in-person centers as well as online classes. We look forward to equipping more female entrepreneurs in the year 2022.
F. 2021 Camp review and strategy for 2022
In August, 2021 W.TEC organized and hosted the She Creates Camp and Early Innovators Camp virtually for 2 weeks and 4 weeks respectively.
In Week 1 of the She Creates camp, participants learnt Website design and UI/UX design and they learnt Creative Film Editing in week 2. For the Early Innovators camp, the participants learnt 3D Modelling in week 1, Video Game Design for Beginners with Kodu in week 2, Video Game Design for Intermediates with Roblox in week 3 and Junior Filmmakers in week 4.
The last quarter of 2021 was a busy time for us as we reviewed the camp activities and strategized for the coming 2022 camps as well as other projects. W.TEC plan to resume her face-to-face residential and non-residential summer camp this year and it promises to be impact filled. Please stay tuned to hear more about it.
The She Creates Camp is aimed at helping to nurture more female technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders, by inspiring and encouraging girls aged 13 to 17 years to explore and learn about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) subjects.
The Early Innovators Camp is a technology camp for girls and boys between ages 7 and 12 years and designed to make learning about technology fun and engaging, with the intention of also inspiring them to pursue technology-related careers in the future.
G. She Creates Camp Alumnae Spotlight
Oluwanifesimi is an alumnae of the 2014 W.TEC Technology Camp for Girls which is now known as the She Creates Camp, she was selected to attend the camp on scholarship and had an amazing experience there. She returned to the camp 3 times as a volunteering camp instructor and volunteered at the W.TEC Academy. Today, Nifesimi is employed at W.TEC as Programme Assistant for our MakerHer space project, where she supports the Programme Manager in the implementation of the project.
In this feature, Nifesimi shares with us more about herself and how she uses technology to share her passion with the world.
“My name is Oluwanifesimi, I studied Accountancy at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria, am an entrepreneur, God-lover, a public speaker and a friend. I also love helping others in achieving their various goals in life.
It was at W.TEC camp I fell in love with technology and the great thing I can do with it. I learnt from the Mobile Application Development class how to build mobile applications and understand how to interact with them. Presentation skills I learnt at the camp through project presentations also helped to get rid of the fear I had for speaking in front of a Crowd.
It has been an amazing journey with W.TEC. I thank the organization for introducing me to Technology. I wouldn't wish for anything better.’’
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After a mix of virtual, in-person and hybrid programmes in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have been energized and equipped to be able to engage in any of these mediums of programming with our participants this year.
Despite all the challenges, we are determined to keep innovating and adapting best practices and our new realities, so that we can continue to serve all girls and young women.
Thank you for supporting and sharing our work. Because of you, we have been able to increase our reach, improve the quality of our programming and also have a successful 2021.
Please continue to donate to our work. Also, consider becoming a recurring donor and setting up automatic monthly payments to us. We especially need your support at this time.
Together, we can keep working to build a pipeline that supports girls and women throughout their journeys from early engagement to a career in technology and sciences. We thank you and our girls thank you too.
Warm regards,
Maryam Abdulsalam
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUm1h7FDQVJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUuljbwDWtI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVfQUnOjCyl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVAla7zjqRZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVSr8FojPSf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWsk0BVDUVJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
ABOUT W.TEC & THE W.TEC ACADEMY:
The W.TEC Academy is an after-school technology programme for girls in public secondary schools, designed to inspire girls to pursue computer science careers. The girls go through a year-long computing curriculum, which includes Computer Architecture & Networking, Scratch Programming, Alice Programming and Digital Arts.
The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Links:
Dear friends,
We hope that you and your loved ones are all fine and staying safe and healthy.
The uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to adapt to our new realities. We have seen that only the nimble and agile survive in this new climate.
For us at W.TEC, this has necessitated being observant, implementing quickly and learning the lessons we need to as we go along.
Thankfully, our team has pulled together with determination to continue on our journey of nurturing the next generation of female technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
As the pandemic lockdown eases and schools have re-opened, we have been able to run more in-person activities. Notwithstanding, we know that this is not a time to relax on any of the safety protocols.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
2021 Camp Season Successfully Completed
W.TEC Academy Resumes for 2021/2022 School Year
W.TEC Uses Digital Badges for Its Programmes
W.TEC Partners with ACT Foundation to Train Female Entrepreneurs
MakeHer Space Project Achievements
She Creates Camp Alumnae Spotlight
a.) W.TEC Academy Resumes for 2021/2022 School Year
It's back to school season in Nigeria and W.TEC is also ready to resume classes for W. TEC Academy, our co-curricular technology programme for secondary school female students.
This term, the Academy is taking place in over 15 secondary schools in Lagos and Kwara states with over 500 school girls participating.
The Academy has been carefully designed for students in these schools to help improve their digital technology skill and empower them with necessary information and skills to boost their academic, entrepreneurial and professional outcomes in the future. The students will go through a practical and engaging curriculum comprised of programming with scratch programming, video game design and video editing.
To ensure effective delivery, the W.TEC team has been hosting a series of train-the-trainers session (TOT) for all facilitators assigned to the various schools. The W.TEC Academy team members has also put in their best to make sure the participating schools have their facilities in good shape for a smooth sailing class for the girls.
W.TEC Academy is a co-curricular technology programme for public secondary school girls, which presents technology in a practical and engaging way, with the ultimate aim of encouraging more girls to pursue science and technology careers.
The Academy programme in Kwara State is implemented in collaboration with Oracle and the Kwara State Ministry of Education, while the Academy programme in Lagos State is implemented in collaboration with the Lagos State Science and Research Innovation Council (LASRIC) and the Lagos State Ministry of Education.
b.) 2021 Camp Season Successfully Completed
This year, W.TEC organised and hosted 2 camps for young people: The She Creates Camp and the Early Innovators Camp.
The She Creates Camp is aimed at helping to nurture more female technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders, by inspiring and encouraging girls aged 13 to 17 years to explore and learn about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) subjects.
The 2021 She Creates Summer Camp ended on a high note with a closing ceremony for all the participants, their parents, well wishers and staff of W.TEC. The 2-week camp was capped by a closing ceremony, during which the participants presented their projects and shared what they learnt during the camp.
W.TEC's Executive Director, Oreoluwa Lesi, shared with the parents and participants that W.TEC was set up to help close the gender gap and explained why it is important to have more women engaged in science, technology and engineering fields.
Our participants were so delighted to participate in the camp programme mot of the indicated that they will use their new skills for many activities in the future.
This year's participants came from across Nigeria and joined in the virtual sessions and career talks.
The camp ran from August 30 to September 10 and covered the following topics:
Week 1: Website Design and UI/UX Design
Week 2: Creative Film Editing
W.TEC also hosted the Early Innovators Camp, a technology camp for girls and boys between ages 7 and 12 years and designed to make learning about technology fun and engaging, with the intention of also inspiring them to pursue technology-related careers in the future.
This year's camp ran from August 6 to 27 and drew participants from both Nigeria and the United Kingdom and the curriculum covered the following modules:
Week 1: 3D Modelling
Week 2: Video Game Design for Beginners with Kodu
Week 3: Video Game Design for Intermediates with Roblox
Week 4: Junior Filmmakers
c.) W.TEC Uses Digital Badges for Its Programmes
For the last year and a half, W.TEC has been working as part of the Digital Generation Youth project.
Digital Generation Youth is a 2-year project funded by the European Union agency ERASMUS+ and aimed at developing new content, methods and activities to improve the quality of youth non-formal learning programmes. W.TEC is working as part of a coalition of organisations across Europe and Africa focused on imparting digital and 21st century skills to youths. The organisations are Breakthrough Foundation (Netherlands), Nectarus (Lithuania), Afri.ko (Lithuania) and Ready4Life (South Africa).
A key aspect of this project is the use of digital badges to signify learning achievements. These are similar to the badges one earns when playing video games or during an online learning course, which represent different levels of learning or accomplishment.
W.TEC has developed a system of badges for our MakeHer Space, She Creates Camp and Early Innovators programmes and so far, over 160 badges have been issued to participants and 18 to facilitators. We are looking forward to working with more girls earning badges through our programmes.
Learn more at: https://wtec.org.ng/digital-generation-youth-2/
d.) W.TEC Partners with ACT Foundation to Train Female Entrepreneurs
The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) in collaboration with Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, recently launched the latest edition of the ''SHE CAN WITH ICT'' Programme.
The Sustaining Her Enterprise Career and Network (SHE CAN WITH ICT), is a W.TEC Initiative designed to improve the productivity and profitability of women-owned businesses, by equipping them with in-depth practical digital technology skills and tools to catalyze their entrepreneurial growth in an increasingly technology-driven business environment.
The 2021 - cycle of the programme is poised to equip 300 aspiring or existing female entrepreneurs with technology skills and knowledge to improve their business productivity and profitability. In addition, the programme is also aimed at closing the digital gender gap and promote sustainable and financial empowerment for female entrepreneurs via their strategic use of technology. Each cohort runs for 4 weeks until March 2022.
The launch ceremony was held on September 6, 2021 at Impact Center, Ojodu Berger in Lagos State. In attendance were female entrepreneurs, volunteers, partner organizations and staff of W.TEC in attendance.
The high table was graced by the representative, Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, Mr Ahmed Umar, Programme Manager, W.TEC, Mrs Maryam Abdulsalam and Executive Coordinator, AAAF, Mrs Foluke Ademokun.
The Impact Center serves as one of training venues for the programme. There are other centers in Surulere, Ajegunle and Lekki neighbourhoods of Lagos state. We will also resume virtual trainings for entrepreneurs resident across Africa.
W.TEC will be implementing this programme in partnership with Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF) & Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation ( AAAF).
e.) MakeHer Space Project Achievements
The MakeHer Space programme is on a hiatus at the moment after an incredible 1st Phase.
The MakeHer Spaces project is teaching girls from low-income communities how to create technology and engineering-based solutions that solve problems in their communities.
The pilot of the MakeHer Space ran from June to September of 2020 in a virtual format. Taking the lessons learned from the pilot, W.TEC was able to launch Phase 1 in May 2021 in Abuja, Nasarawa and Bauchi states of Nigeria.
We were excited on two counts: the first, being our ability to return to in-person programming and second, being our first multi-state project held in northern Nigeria.
In partnership with the nonprofit organisation Youth Initiative for Sustainable Human Development in Africa (YiSHDA), the MakeHer Space project has so far reached 668 girls between the ages of 10 to 25. 491 of the girls (73.5% of the total participants) are in secondary school, while 177 (26.5%) are out-of-school.
During this break, the W.TEC and YiSHDA teams have been reviewing the 1st phase and planning for Phase 2. We look forward to a bigger and more impactful second phase.
Learn more:
f.) She Creates Camp Alumnae Spotlight
Toluwani Precious Ogunbiyi is an alumnae of W.TEC's Technology Camp for Girls now called SheCreates Camp, found the camp so amazing in 2014 she returned to the camp twice as a volunteering camp instructor for the next two years. Today Toluwani is an interesting online content creator a passion she traces back from her time in camp. In this feature, she shares with us more about herself and how she has uses technology to share her passion with the world.
"I'm Toluwani Precious Ogunbiyi, I'm an agriculturist, entrepreneurs, a content creator and influencer, but most importantly, I'm passionate about God and helping people become the best versions of themselves.
So far, I've gotten excellent feedback on how much my content has inspired and motivated many. One very important thing I've learnt from this journey is. JUST DO IT!
Don't overthink the cons and all the ways it can go wrong cause that'll make you more likely to not do it at all. Taking that bold jump is the first step to infinite possibilities.
I thank W.TEC for kick starting my passion in technology and content creation. This started when I made my first video in our video production class I remember how interesting that was for me and from that day, I knew it was something I wanted to keep on doing".
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After the mostly virtual programmes of 2020, it has been energising to be able to return to in-person programming this year. However, in consideration of the ongoing pandemic, some of W.TEC's programmes are being delivered fully in-person, some programmes fully virtual and some being a hybrid of in-person and online.
Despite all the challenges, we are determined to keep innovating and adapting to our new reality, so that we can continue to serve all girls and young women.
Thank you for supporting and sharing our work. Because of you, we have been able to increase our reach and improve the quality of our programming.
Please continue to donate to our work. Also consider becoming a recurring donor and setting-up automatic monthly payments to us. We especially need your support at this time.
Together, we can keep working to build a pipeline that supports girls and women throughout their journeys from early engagement to a career in technology and sciences. We thank you and our girls thank you too.
Warm regards,
Oreoluwa Lesi
*******************
ABOUT W.TEC & THE W.TEC ACADEMY:
The W.TEC Academy is an after-school technology programme for girls in public secondary schools, designed to inspire girls to pursue computer science careers. The girls go through a year-long computing curriculum, which includes Computer Architecture & Networking, Scratch Programming, Alice Programming and Digital Arts.
The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Links:
Dear friends,
We hope that you and your loved ones are all fine and staying safe and healthy.
The uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to adapt to our new realities. We have seen that only the nimble and agile survive in this new climate.
For us at W.TEC, this has necessitated being observant, implementing quickly and learning the lessons we need to as we go along.
Thankfully, our team has pulled together with determination to continue on our journey of nurturing the next generation of female technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
As the pandemic lockdown eases and schools have re-opened, we have been able to run more in-person activities. Notwithstanding, we know that this is not a time to relax on any of the safety protocols.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
International Girls in ICT Day Hackathon
W.TEC Celebrates International Women’s Day with Webinar
W.TEC Academy Graduation Ceremony in Ogun
W.TEC Launched In-Person MakeHer Spaces
W.TEC Nominated for 2021 WSIS Prizes
a.) International Girls in ICT Day Hackathon
On International Girls in ICT Day, civil society organisations, governments and other stakeholders around the world organise activities to build awareness about the gender digital divide, support technology education and skills training, and encourage more girls and young women to actively pursue careers in STEM.
W.TEC, in partnership with Oracle, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and the Kwara State Ministry of Education organised a virtual hackathon for female students of the W.TEC Academy.
The Kwara State W.TEC Academy currently works with girls in 13 government-owned secondary schools located within Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara state, as well as in the ancient town of Offa. A total of 328 girls are currently enrolled in the Academy, but 28 students were selected to participate in the hackathon.
The event was interspersed with inspirational talks by senior technology and science female professionals, sharing their career journeys and the main activity of the students’ presentation of the databases they had built to the judges and audience. After the rigorous question and answer sessions and an exciting tie between two schools, Basin Staff College was declared the first place winner.
b.) W.TEC Celebrates International Women’s Day with Webinar
W.TEC hosted a virtual panel discussion event to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day. The event’s theme was in line with the 2021 global theme “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”.
This event was part of W.TEC’s MentorHER programme, a mentorship programme for Nigerian female university STEM students, and featured mentors from the programme:
The speakers were: Basia Nasiorowska (Africa Space, AI and Robotics Hub), Dr. Kemi Olurinola (Founder, Exquitec Educational Technology) and Prof. Sherein Saied Abdelgayed (Cairo University), while the moderator was Tarere Eyimina (W.TEC’s Research and Documentation Officer).
During the event the panelists explored how women can successfully balance their lives with work, especially during the pandemic. They also discussed the importance of leadership by women and its impact on encouraging more women to aspire for leadership roles.
c.) W.TEC Academy Graduation Ceremony in Ogun State
After over 7 months of schools being closed across the country, in November 2020, W.TEC was able to resume the W.TEC Academy in Ogun state and graduate 100 female students.
The students who are participants of the W.TEC Academy in Obalaju High School and Yewa College completed a hands-on curriculum covering computer fundamentals, graphic design, electronics and renewable energy.
The final project for students involved building a solar-powered phone charger, rechargeable lamp and a power bank, devices which were inspired by the lack of adequate electricity in the community.
d.) W.TEC Launched In-Person MakeHer Spaces
The MakeHer Space project aims to teach over 1,000 girls to create technology and engineering-based solutions that solve problems in their communities, provide information about career options and exposes them to women working successfully in STEAM.
The pilot, scheduled to start in April 2020, had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually modified to be delivered virtually.
However, as maker spaces are experiential hands-on spaces, we looked forward to the opportunity to run this project in-person as originally intended.
In March 2021, we had the opportunity to launch in-person spaces in Nasarawa state, followed by Abuja and Bauchi. We are excited for the opportunity to expand the MakeHer Space project to more locations over the next few months.
e.) W.TEC Nominated for 2021 WSIS Prizes
W.TEC's MakeHerSpace project was nominated for the 2021 WSIS Prizes 2021 in the 'Capacity Building' category.
We made the shortlist of 360 nominees out of 1,270 projects submitted from all over the world.
The WSIS Prizes contest was developed in response to requests from the WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development. Since its inception, the contest of WSIS Prizes has attracted more than 300,000 stakeholders.
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After the mostly virtual programmes of 2020, it has been energising to be able to offer some in-person programming this quarter. Despite all the challenges, we are determined to keep innovating and adapting to our new reality, so that we can continue to serve all girls and young women.
Thank you for supporting and sharing our work. Because of you, we have been able to increase our reach and improve the quality of our programming.
Please continue to donate to our work. Also consider becoming a recurring donor and setting-up automatic monthly payments to us. We especially need your support at this time.
Together, we can keep working to build a pipeline that supports girls and women throughout their journeys from early engagement to a career in technology and sciences. We thank you and our girls thank you too.
Warm regards,
Oreoluwa Lesi
*******************
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Voice of America “Africa 54” - features W.TEC Exec. Director (Mar 2021)
BBC Africa & Channels TV “Check Me Out” - features W.TEC Exec. Director (Mar 2021)
Photos of W.TEC’s programmes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wtec/albums
Videos of W.TEC’s programmes: https://www.youtube.com/user/watchwtec
Visit W.TEC website: www.wtec.org.ng
Email W.TEC: info@wtec.org.ng
ABOUT W.TEC & THE W.TEC ACADEMY:
The W.TEC Academy is an after-school technology programme for girls in public secondary schools, designed to inspire girls to pursue computer science careers. The girls go through a year-long computing curriculum, which includes Computer Architecture & Networking, Scratch Programming, Alice Programming and Digital Arts.
The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Links:
W.TEC Blazing through a pandemic
Dear friends,
We hope that you and your loved ones are all fine and staying safe and healthy.
The past year has been unique in many ways, living through restrictions of an unprecedented pandemic. We have had to adapt our operations to mostly being online and continuously thrived through it all.
The pandemic limitations have restricted the execution of our programmes and meant that W.TEC has continued to work from home most days. Our programmes continue to be offered online.
Despite challenges, W.TEC has been through. Read below about our most recent activities.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
a.) Released our 2019 Annual Report
W.TEC released its annual report which documents the different events we engaged in, in the year of 2019. It begins with a message from our Executive Director, Oreoluwa Lesi as she elaborates on the new partnerships formed during the year which led to an expansion in W.TEC’s reach.
A look at 2019 in numbers revealed that W.TEC reached 4,490 people through its programmes and 3,095 people through speaking engagements. The report also looked at each programme held in 2019, including one time programmes like Safer Internet Day which held 3 different events.
Awards and Highlights of the year were also included in the report which ranged from awards to the visit of Sir Tim Berners Lee to W.TEC. We highlighted several of our She Creates Camp Alumnae who are now doing amazing things; Dolapo, Sophiyat and Monsurat.
Our financial statements for 2019 can also be found in this report, as well as information about our Staff, Board, Supporters and Volunteers. A copy of our 2019 Annual Report can be accessed here.
b.) Organised Virtual Mentor Her Programme
In October of 2020, we launched the second cohort of our Mentor Her Programme which will run for 6 months. The Mentor Her programme is aimed at supporting young women studying STEM courses at the tertiary level, sharing important technical tips, which will be instrumental in helping them succeed as technology professionals. This mentoring programme provides a platform for young women to gain first-hand knowledge from experienced women in STEM fields, so they start and navigate their careers in a more informed and strategic manner.
The mentees in this program are all Nigerian while the mentors are from various countries around the world. Mentors and Mentees went through an orientation that would guide the mentoring relationship. Mentees and mentors meet several times in a month to work towards the goals the mentee mapped out at the start of the program. Monthly webinars are also held on varying topics which are intended to enrich the experience. The impact of this program is expected to be life-changing as it often solidifies career choices of mentees.
The first monthly webinar was held on November 2020 and was titled “The Creative Me”: How to Develop the Right Idea for your Professional Development and it was led by a mentor Basia. This session was essential as it taught participants how to set goals.
The second monthly webinar held in December 2020 and was titled Personal Development as a Self-Improvement tool and was led by another mentor Mariam. This topic was very enlightening and suitable for the stage in life the mentees are.
The third monthly webinar was held in January 2021 and was titled Careers in Software Development and led by Mentor, Ommo. This session was very informative and essential to the mentoring process. Three more webinars will be held before the end of the program to further enhance the experience.
c.) Held W.TEC Academy (afterschool clubs) Graduation
The W.TEC Academy came to a close for the term in December 2020 with a 100 hundred girls graduating in two different schools in Ogun State. This iteration of the programme was centred on equipping girls with STEM skills which include Computer Fundamentals, graphic design and electronic and renewable energy.
For their final projects, the girls were taught how to create a solar phone charger, rechargeable lamb and power bank which each girl created. The projects were directed towards solving environmental electricity issues. At the graduation ceremony, one of the beneficiaries, Rokibat , shared her experience and how she can recreate all she learnt.
The W.TEC Girls Academy is an after-school technology programme for girls in public secondary schools, designed to inspire girls to pursue computer science careers.
This programme is designed to complement the existing computer science curriculum in the schools, which tends to focus more on theoretical knowledge than practical experience.
d.) 16 Days of Activism Campaign
In November 2020, W.TEC took part in the annual ’16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women’ virtually due to the pandemic restrictions. The event spanned 3 weeks from November 25th to December 10th. The first week was for techniques for girls to “staying safe on the internet” while the second week was focused on online threats faced by ladies on the internet during the lockdown. The third week was focused on a conversation on why some girls are getting sexually assaulted by men.
In addition to these weekly themes, a few resources were created to boost W.TEC’s capacity to serve our online female population with techniques and knowledge to staying safe online in the long-run. This is aimed at setting the pace for a sustained public awareness for the online safety for our ladies and girls. The resources include; a resource webpage for staying safe online, a YouTube staying safe online channel and an interactive feedback session designed to observe latest online trends of online attacks on women and girls.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
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This has certainly been a matchless quarter for us. Despite all the challenges, we are determined to keep innovating and adapting to our new reality, so that we can continue to serve all girls and young women.
Thank you for supporting and sharing our work. Because of you, we have been able to increase our reach and improve the quality of our programming.
Please continue to donate to our work. Also consider becoming a recurring donor and setting-up automatic monthly payments to us. We especially need your support at this time.
Together, we can keep working to build a pipeline that supports girls and women throughout their journeys from early engagement to a career in technology and sciences. We thank you and our girls thank you too.
Warm regards,
Tarere Eyimina
Research & Documentation Officer
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
ABOUT W.TEC & THE SHE CREATES CAMP:
The She Creates Camp is an initiative designed to help Nigerian secondary schoolgirls develop an early interest in computer science, information technology and related careers. The She Creates Camp helps to intervene early, combat stereotypes and tackle the digital gender divide. We teach girls to create digital content, create software and develop skills that use information and communication technologies. Our two-week immersion programme empowers girls to contribute meaningfully to the digital economy and improve their economic opportunities.
The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Links:
Dear friends,
We hope that you and your loved ones are all fine and staying safe and healthy.
This year has been one of continuous adaptation and change. We have not been able to implement any of our programmes in the ways that we planned. However with flexibility, perseverance and good humour, we have been able to roll with the punches.
The pandemic lockdowns were gradually eased over the last few months, but physical distancing restrictions and safety caps on the sizes of physical meetings has meant that W.TEC has continued to work from home and our programmes have continued to be offered online.
Notwithstanding, W.TEC organised the first virtual W.TEC Academy. Read below on this programme and our other activities.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
W.TEC recognised as a WSIS 2020 Champion
Organised the 1st virtual She Creates Next Camp
Moved the W.TEC Academy (afterschool clubs) online
Completed the Virtual Maker Space pilot phase
Instituted our Girl Advisory Council
Published Gender & Technology factsheets and infographs
a.) Recognised as a WSIS 2020 Champion
W.TEC is pleased to have been selected as a 2020 WSIS Champion in Category 3 (Access to Information and Knowledge).
The WSIS Prizes contest was developed in response to requests from the WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the WSIS Forum went completely virtual.
W.TEC was recognised as a Champion for our work giving Nigerian girls and women the skills, knowledge and opportunity to participate equitably in the information and digital society.
This years WSIS Champions had the opportunity to give messages of appreciation and share stories from their work during a special interactive session organised with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Mr. Houlin Zhao.
W.TEC’s Executive Director, Ms. Oreoluwa Lesi thanked WSIS for their recognition of our work and highlighted key facts about the gender gap in technology, which emphasises the big work that still needs to be done to improve women’s ability to participate in and contribute effectively to the global information society.
Photos from the session can be viewed here: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2020/Agenda/Session/372
The video recording of the session can be viewed here (Oreoluwa Lesi’s remarks start from 19:58): https://web.facebook.com/WSISprocess/videos/319907055899370
b.) Organised the 1st virtual She Creates Next Camp
W.TEC’s flagship programme is the annual residential She Creates Camp. It provides a high quality and exciting environment where girls learn to create useful technologies for everyday living. As a result of the pandemic, W.TEC has decided to convert this to a virtual camp this year.
Our first virtual camp for girls tagged She Creates Next has come and gone. Over the 4 weeks, the participants learnt mobile apps design, video editing, python programming and Website design.
According to a participant who built a website for herself during the class indicated that with her new skills she can build a website for her blog and possibly establish her own website development company.
Upon completion of the programme, the camp was rounded-off with an online graduation ceremony with participants in attendance alongside their parents. During the programme, the Executive Director Mrs Oreoluwa Lesi in her welcome address highlighted the innovative edge of the virtual camp to the participants and their parents.
The online ceremony featured presentations by participants on all what they have learnt during the camp. Parents also shared heartwarming impact stories of the children. According to one of the parents: “The camp has made my daughter have a good advantage in both learning and the possibility to making money with her new skills. I will surely recommend the camp to everyone’’.
Although we missed the face-to-face aspect of our camp, the online format provided the opportunity for participants from across the world to join in the camp.
Learn more about the 2020 She Creates Camp: https://wtec.org.ng/more-about-she-creates-2020/ and read the press release: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-holds-her-first-virtual-camp-for-girls-she-creates-next-camp/
c.) Moved the W.TEC Academy (afterschool clubs) online
The W.TEC Academy made a big comeback with a series of new online classes. The W.TEC Academy is an afterschool technology club for girls currently held in select secondary schools across Kwara and Ogun States. The programme, sponsored by Oracle and the Dr. Abi A. Afonja Trust, had 500 girls enrolled for its weekly classes before the outbreak of the pandemic.
When the Academy resumed online, it was with unfortunately the much lower number of 27 due to limited access to the Internet and Internet-enabled devices.
The session started with a revision of the last term’s work, before moving onto Graphic Design with Canva and Web Design with HTML
The Academy was organised on the Zoom platform, supported by WhatsApp groups.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/the-return-of-w-tec-academy/
d.) Completed the Virtual Maker Space pilot phase
In June, W.TEC launched a new programme called the MakeHer Space, modelled on traditional maker spaces. While this was planned as a hands–on programme, we had to re-design it to be delivered online. Through the twice-weekly online sessions, the young women learned to create technology and engineering-based solutions to solve problems in their communities.
The re-imagined virtual MakerHer Space featured a rich curriculum that included Website Development, 3D Design and Modelling, Problem-Solving and Market Research.
Trying to re-create a maker space online was not without it challenges. Some of the challenges experienced included:
Poor Internet connection and power supply – an unstable internet connection or lack of electricity discouraged some of the students to attend online learning sessions.
Different interfaces of the apps being learnt on the students’ different devices and operating software. This made it difficult to develop uniform learning content and screenshots for the girls.
Some students joining class late or some students are shy to speak up
The challenges notwithstanding, the MakerHer Space welcomed students from across the African continent.
You can also learn more about the MakerHer Space project here: https://wtec.org.ng/make-her-space/
e.) Instituted our Girl Advisory Council
W.TEC was so pleased to institute the pioneer set of the newly-inaugurated Girl Advisory Council.
The W.TEC Girls Advisory Council comprises of a group of select girls (alumnae of W.TEC programmes) nominated to work as an advisory group to partner with W.TEC staff members on activities ranging from programme development to research and publicity.
The GAC members will also have the opportunity to make recommendations to and share their ideas with W.TEC’s Board of Trustees and Advisory Board members. By facilitating youth-adult partnership, these leadership opportunities allow GAC members to influence decision-making processes in the organisation. This represents another step towards ensuring that W.TEC’s leadership team is representative of the target beneficiaries of our programmes. By having our beneficiaries represented, we look forward to designing programmes that better meet their needs.
The inaugural Council is made-up of 7 W.TEC alumnae, who have attended the She Creates Camp over the years since 2008.
Read more about our Girl Advisory Council: https://wtec.org.ng/meet-our-new-girls-advisory-council/
f.) W.TEC Published Gender & Technology Factsheets and Infographs
In August, W.TEC published two factsheets and articles:
1. “The Girls & Tech Factsheet” Infographic Sheet and Findings Article (2020)
2. “The Women & Tech Factsheet” Infographic Sheet and Findings Article (2020)
The factsheets and articles explain why we need more girls in Technology and related fields. Multiple studies and reports highlight the under-representation of women and girls working in and studying STEM subjects.
These factsheets pulled together key statistics on the national and global level. It is challenging finding data for Nigeria and by researching and publishing these figures, W.TEC is proud to make a much-needed contribution to shining a light on the depth of the STEM gap in Nigeria.
Download the factsheets here: https://wtec.org.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Tech-Woman-and-Work-4.pdf and https://wtec.org.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Girls-Technology-7-1.pdf
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This has certainly been a most unexpected quarter for us. Despite all the challenges, we are determined to keep innovating and adapting to our new reality, so that we can continue to serve all girls and young women.
Thank you for supporting and sharing our work. Because of you, we have been able to increase our reach and improve the quality of our programming.
Please continue to donate to our work. Also consider becoming a recurring donor and setting-up automatic monthly payments to us. We especially need your support at this time.
Together, we can keep working to build a pipeline that supports girls and women throughout their journeys from early engagement to a career in technology and sciences. We thank you and our girls thank you too.
Warm regards,
Oreoluwa Lesi
*******************
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
TechCabal ‘Women in Tech’ Report – features W.TEC: https://techcabal.com/reports/nigerian-women-in-tech-report/
Photos of W.TEC’s programmes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wtec/albums
Videos of W.TEC’s programmes: https://www.youtube.com/user/watchwtec
Visit W.TEC website: www.wtec.org.ng
Email W.TEC: info@wtec.org.ng
ABOUT W.TEC & THE W.TEC ACADEMY:
The W.TEC Academy is an after-school technology programme for girls in public secondary schools, designed to inspire girls to pursue computer science careers. The girls go through a year-long computing curriculum, which includes Computer Architecture & Networking, Scratch Programming, Alice Programming and Digital Arts.
The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
Links:
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