Dear friends,
Let me start this off by saying that I hope you and your loved ones are all fine and staying safe and healthy.
After an incredible 2019 and a fast start off the blocks in January, 2020 has turned out to be completely different from what any of us could have imagined.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a landmark occurrence and turned life around for us all. Some of us may have lost loved ones and, on behalf of the W.TEC Board, Management and Team, I extend my condolences.
In Nigeria, many states have been under a lockdown on physical movement since the last week of March.
For us at W.TEC, we transited into working online from home. At the same time, we have had to re-design as many of our programmes to online programmes. We have also made the difficult decision to suspend some activities that unfortunately cannot be delivered online at the moment.
Please read below to see what we have been up to:
Selected as a WSIS 2020 Champion
Featured on BBC Africa
Preparing for the She Creates Next Camp (a virtual version of our annual residential She Creates Camp)
Developing Virtual Maker Space
Celebrated International Girls in ICT Day
Launched Alumna Network webinar series
Commemorated International Women’s Day
Organised a panel discussion at the 2020 Social Media Week Lagos
a.) Selected as a WSIS 2020 Champion
The WSIS Prizes contest was developed by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development. Since inception, the contest of WSIS Prizes has attracted hundreds of thousands of stakeholders.
Out of 776 projects submitted by the WSIS Stakeholders’ community and a review of more than 2 million votes cast, W.TEC emerged as one of the five WSIS Champions in Category 3 (Access to information and knowledge).
Later this year, the Champions will be recognized by the WSIS community at the WSIS Prizes 2020 Ceremony slated for Geneva.
Read more: https://twitter.com/WSISprocess/status/1240658480568184832
b.) Featured on BBC Africa
The BBC Africa featured W.TEC's work. It was a great honour to have our work showcased on such a global platform.
W.TEC’s Executive Director, Oreoluwa Lesi, as well as two of our alumnae were featured..
Watch the feature: https://twitter.com/BBCAfrica/status/1256630826617495558?s=19
c.) Preparing for the 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 through programming, mobile application development, graphics designing, film-making and digital animation programming. This helps schoolgirls develop an early interest in computer science, information technology and related careers.
As a result of the pandemic, W.TEC has decided to convert this to a virtual camp this year. Activities will include online classes and other fun activities, such as career talks by speakers from across the world. Although we will miss welcoming the girls to our cosy camp facility, we are excited to explore the prospects that this new platform will bring. We especially look forward to opportunities for deeper global engagement for the girls.
Learn more about the She Creates Camp: https://wtec.org.ng/programme/she-creates-camp/
d.) Developing Virtual Maker Space
We will be launching a new programme called the MakeHer Space, modelled on traditional maker spaces. This is a hands–on programme, designed to equip young womenwith the skills to create technology and engineering-based solutions that will solve problems in their communities. The pilot of the MakerHer Space was scheduled for April, but with Lagos State locked down from the last week of March, we had to postpone it.
Since then, we have re-imagined the MakerHer Space as a “virtual maker space.” In preparation for the new launch, we hosted some test classes online in May. You can learn how these test classes went.
You can also learn more about the MakerHer Space project here: https://wtec.org.ng/make-her-space/
e.) Celebrated International Girls in ICT Day
The International Girls in ICT Day is set-aside every last Thursday of April by the International Telecommunications Union to celebrate and create awareness of the lack of women in technology.
W.TEC celebrated this day with a webinar organised in partnership with COMPSUDEV – Cameroon.
Since all our W.TEC beneficiaries are either engaged in online learning or unable to learn because their schools lack the digital infrastructure for this, the focus of the webinar was:
• Online learning platforms to ensure that their education & learning does not stop during the pandemic
• Strategies to stay motivated when studying online
Our guest speaker was Ms. Pierrette Akumawah Nanga, the Head of ICT at COMPSUDEV in Cameroon. She gave an engaging talk on tools that girls can use to keep learning from home.
W.TEC’s Research and Development Officer, Ms. Tarere Eyimina, talked to the participants about ways to stay motivated when learning online.
Read more about the event: https://wtec.org.ng/wtec-celebrates-girls-in-ict-day-2020/
f.) Launched Alumna Network webinar series
Participants of W.TEC’s programmes graduate into the W.TEC Alumna Network. This network provides ongoing learning and mentoring opportunities, activities such as annual reunions and access to dedicated member-only mailing lists and social media channels, where career and other development information will be disseminated.
Starting from April, we launched the virtual platform for the Alumna Network. Via online channels, our alumna will be engaged regularly by W.TEC to forge a lasting synergy with them and sustain an ongoing engagement with them.
We kicked this off with 2 webinars: a virtual hangout and a webinar on study strategies.
Some of our alumna have volunteered on our programmes, facilitating and assisting in classes and workshops. We look forward to a deeper level of collaboration with them in the future.
Learn more: https://wtec.org.ng/wtecalumnaenetworkengagement/
g.) Commemorated International Women’s Day
We marked the 2020 International Women’s Day with several events in the cities of Offa and Ilorin in Kwara State. These took place in some of our host schools of the W.TEC Academy.
In Ilorin, we organised a panel discussion session at Government Girls Secondary School Oko- Erin in Ilorin, Kwara State. Our Programme Manager, Maryam Abdulsalam and Tolulope Ibiyeye the Coordinator of W.TEC Academy - Kwara anchored the event alongside senior female officials of the school.
The session centered on teaching the girls the main reality of the paths to success which included goal setting, persistence, resilience, hardworking, focus driven and being law abiding.
We organised a second career information event in collaboration with St Claires Girls Grammar School in Offa.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-marks-2020-2020-international-womens-day/
h.) Organised a panel discussion at the 2020 Social Media Week Lagos
On February 28th, the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre hosted a panel at the annual social media week in Lagos.
The panel tagged “Women Build Technology Too” was comprised of Simi Olusola (Executive Director at Aspilos Foundation), Toyosi Akerele Ogunsiji (Founder of Rise Networks), Kafayat Adeoye (I.T. Support Specialist at Eko-Konnect Research/Education Initiative) and Temilade Adelakun (STEM Advocate and recent Mechanical Engineering graduate of the Univerity of Ibadan). The panel
At the panel, moderator and W.TEC Executive Director, Ms. Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi, presented results of adigital access and habits survey administered at our She Creates Mainland Camp. One of the key findings was that 89.8% of the girls access the internet via a mobile phone.
Learn more about the panel and the report here: https://wtec.org.ng/smw-panel-women-build-technology-too/
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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
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
W.TEC on BBC Africa: https://twitter.com/BBCAfrica/status/1256630826617495558?s=19
W.TEC Selected as WSIS 2020 Champion (Category 3): https://twitter.com/WSISprocess/status/1240658480568184832
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 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,
Is it too late to say happy new year to you all? Well, better late than never. We hope that your 2020 has started off very well and wish you a year filled with dreams come true.
For us at W.TEC, the last year and decade ended on a high and we look forward to what this new one brings with it.
Over the last quarter and by the end of last year, we experienced the following:
Won the 2019 EQUALS in Tech Award
Were featured in TIME Magazine’s January edition
Celebrated Safer Internet Day at the W.TEC Academy
Kicked off a new project “Digital Generation Youth” in South Africa
Were nominated for the 2020 WSIS Prizes (World Summit on the Information Society)
Participated in 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence
a.) W.TEC wins a 2019 EQUALS in Tech Award
The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre – W.TEC was among winners announced at the 2019 EQUALS in Tech Awards held on Wednesday November 27 at a gala awards ceremony at Berlin’s Estrel Conference Center in Germany.
The Skills prize went to the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), an NGO working to enable women and girls to become professionals and entrepreneurs in the tech sector.
The awards, is hosted by the EQUALS Global Partnership, to recognize innovative solutions aimed at closing the digital gender gap. Winning initiatives were chosen from a pool of 15 outstanding finalists from 12 countries. Over 200 organizations submitted entries for this year’s awards, which span five categories: Access, Skills, Tech Leadership, SME Leadership, and Research.
W.TEC is extremely proud to have won this highly competitive and prestigious award and look forward to leveraging on this accolade to do even more to enhance gender diversity in technology.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-wins-2019-equals-in-tech-awards/
b.) W.TEC was featured in TIME Magazine
W.TEC was featured in the January issue of TIME Magazine. The publication invited Tim Berners-Lee, Madeleine Albright, Michelle Bachelet, and other prominent personalities to write to a young person or people of their own choosing.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and co-founder of the World Wide Web Foundation opted to write a letter to the girls at the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) in Lagos.
In his letter, he states: When I visited you in Lagos during the 30th birthday of the web, you filled me with hope for the the web’s impact on our world because, as you bring new voices and experiences to the web, you will change it for the better.
The visit of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, to W.TEC in 2019 was part of his global tour to mark the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web (WWW). The exhibitions and presentations by beneficiaries of STEAM programs by W.TEC, left a lasting impression on Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
We at W.TEC are profoundly inspired by Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s work, thank him for his motivating message and appreciate TIME Magazine for sharing his message with the world.
Read more about the visit and read the letter from Sir Berners-Lee.
c.) Celebrated Safer Internet Day at the W.TEC Academy
Safer Internet Day is a day set aside to create awareness, among young people especially, of ways to use online tools safely. Digital technologies provide a world of possibilities at your fingertips. Yet, the internet also opens up certain risks to its users – especially the most vulnerable ones, such as children: privacy concerns, cyberbullying and disinformation.
Every year since 2017, W.TEC has supported the SID by organizing day-long programmes featuring educational and fun exercises and Staying Safe Online workshops for young people.
In 2020 W.TEC organized a SID event in Kwara State at St. Barnabas Secondary school, Ilorin – Kwara State for students from 13 schools across the state.
The programme was a day-long activity which featured fun exercises on what cyber crimes are all about. The was followed a workshop on Nigerian Internet Laws, enforcement, and staying safe online.
The evnt also featured keynote speaker, Mrs Olabimpe Olani - the Head of the National Library - Ilorin branch.
Read more about the event: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-holds-2020-safer-internet-day-in-kwara-state/
d.) Kicked off a new project “Digital Generation Youth” in South Africa
Another highlight of the year so far, has been the launch of the Digital Generation Youth project. This is a 2-year project aimed at developing new content, methods and activities to improve the quality of youth non-formal learning programmes for organisations in Nigeria, South Africa, Lithuania and the Netherlands. All partner organisations are delivering non-formal digital literacy and 21st century education programmes to young peoples.
The DGY project had its kick-off meeting in Port Elizabeth, South Africa with W.TEC Executive Director, Oreoluwa Lesi and Programme Manager, Folashade Braimoh representing the organisation.
A key aspect of the DGY project is the use of Digital Open Badges. Digital Open Badges are ways to recognise learning and experience achieved by completing some set activities. For every organisation we visited in Port Elizabeth, we had the chance to earn a badge by providing evidence of what we had learnt.
Read more: See our playlist of activities for which you can earn badges and read more about the visit to South Africa.
e.) Were nominated for the 2020 WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Prizes
Early in January, we discovered that we had been nominated for the World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2020 also known as the WSIS Prizes.
W.TEC was nominated in the 3rd category of the awards (C3: Access to information and knowledge) alongside 19 other amazing initiatives from around the globe. This nomination was a great way to start the year and it was an honour to be listed among the other impactful initiatives.
Read more: See the other finalists
f.) Participated in 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence
In November 2019, W.TEC participated in the 2019 – 16 Days of Activism programme for the Elimination of Violence against Women and girls for the 9th year in a row. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that kicks off annually on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
W.TEC supports the movement annually with a series of Staying Safe Online workshops for girls and women in secondary schools and higher institutions.
The workshops were scripted to reflect the 2019 theme of the campaign: “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands against Rape!” W.TEC’s 2019 workshops were held in 3 states across Nigeria for the first time to boost the reach of W.TEC’s campaign:
I.) In Lagos state in partnership with the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) and with speakers from the United States Information Service – Lagos and Project Alert.
2.) In Ogun State at Yewa College, Ilaro.
3.) In Kwara State at Lower Niger Basin Staff College, Ilorin.
Altogether over 140 girls participated in the workshops.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-holds-2019-16-days-of-activism/
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In all, this has been an uplifting start to the new year and decade.
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. And please share our work with others in your network.
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
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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,
2019 has been a year of some memorable firsts!! W.TEC expanded the Academy in Kwara State to Offa earlier this year and more recently launched in 2 secondary schools in Ogun State.
Over the last 3 months, W.TEC:
Launched the W.TEC Academy (Technology After School Clubs) in Ogun State
Launched monthly STEAMHer Series for girls in Lagos
Girls Voices for Change Participants Receive Awards
Completed the 2019 She Creates Camp Season & Recorded Highest Number of Participants
Reached Finalist stage of Girls Voices for Change Multimedia Contest & Other Awards
a.) Launched the W.TEC Academy (Technology After School Clubs) in Ogun State
Our after-school technology club for girls – W.TEC Academy, has commenced classes for the new phase of the program in Ogun State.
The extension of the program to the State for the 2019-2020 school session, started in October 2019 with 2 secondary schools in Yewa North Local Government Council.
Selected female students in Obalaju High School – Joga Orile and at Yewa-Egba High School – Ilaro, will be treated to numerous technology-related workshops. This is aimed at increasing the number of tech savvy girls within the community and inspiring more girls to studying STEM subjects in their schools, thereby closing the STEM gender gap and increasing the socio- economic opportunities for girls and their community.
The Ogun Academy is powered by the Dr. Abi A. Afonja Trust and GlobalGiving community of donors.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-academy-opens-in-ogun-state/
b.) Launched monthly STEAMHer Series for girls in Lagos
The STEAMHer Series, a monthly STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) training program for secondary schools has taken-off in Lagos. This is an initiative of the United Nations Information Centre – Lagos (UNIC-Lagos) in conjunction with Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) .
The main objective of this program is to bridge the gender gap in STEAM in Lagos schools. Sessions of the programme will be held once a month for girls at the UNIC Ikoyi office in Lagos and will cover a variety of Science and technology-themed topics.
The STEAMHer Series was officially launched on Wednesday October 30th at the UNIC office. The program was officiated by officials of UNIC, W.TEC and Lafarge Africa. The beautiful event had in attendance 100 girls from eight secondary schools, from Lagos State Educational Districts 3, who were treated to career talks and a small-group mentoring session anchored by female staff from Lafarge Africa Plc.
Learn more about the STEAMHer Series launch: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-unic-lagos-launch-steamher-series-program/
c.) Girls Voices for Change Participants Receive Awards
Participants of our Girls Voices for Change Program from Lagos City College, Sabo – Yaba, Lagos were presented with awards from our partners, Girls’ Voices for Change, aimed at supporting their education with study materials.
Girls Voices for Change partnered with W.TEC for the 2nd year to empower school girls with digital photography skills for them to share their important stories from their communities online.
The programme also collated pictures from all the workshops conducted around the world for an international photo contest. Thankfully, one of our participants from the workshop emerged in a finalist in the top 40 and subsequently finished in the top 5.
Read more: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tecs-participants-of-girls-voices-for-change-contest-presented-gift-awards/
d.) Completed the 2019 Camp Season & Recorded the Highest Number of Participants
The She Creates Camp took place in 4 locations across Lagos, Kwara and Anambra states:
She Creates Camp, Lagos Island – July 29 to August 9 with 17 girls
She Creates Camp, Lagos Mainland – August 19 to 31 with 50 girls
She Creates Camp, Awka, Anambra State – August 26 to September 6 with 17 girls
She Creates Camp, Ilorin, Kwara State – August 26 to September 6 with 19 girls
Across all 4 camps, we had 103 girls participating – up 29% from 2018. The girls learned Digital Electronics & Circuitry, Mechatronics, Python Programming, Computing Fundamentals, Website Design, Mobile Phone Repair, Digital Photography, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. The girls also benefited from Gender & Leadership workshops, Career Presentations, Excursions to Technology-focused companies and participated in Team-Based Projects.
Partners for this year’s camp include Oracle, SAGE Foundation, Laureates College – Lagos, Kiddies Kingdom Private School, Roboton Robotics, Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation, Hadassah STEM Millenial Foundation, Swift Networks Ltd., Kenneth Dike eLibrary – Awka, Anambra State, Kwara State Ministry of Education, Queen Elizabeth School – Ilorin, African Women Global Technology Initiative, FGGC Sagamu Alumni, Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation, The Wellbeing Foundation, Roboton Robotics Academy & Bestman Games, Devamplify, Edufun Technik and YOU.
We deeply thank everyone who is receiving a copy of this newsletter, because it means that you have also provided financial support for our programmes.
You can read more about the camps online: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-holds-its-12th-girls-she-creates-camp/
e.) Awards Galore for W.TEC
2019 has been a phenomenal year of recognition for W.TEC as we have won some prestigious awards and be shortlisted for others.
We have won:
The inaugural NEDIS Recognition Awards in the Gender-focused education intervention category for our work on the She Creates Camp. The NEDIS Recognition Award for Innovation in Education which is designed to identify and recognise innovative solutions within the education space that addresses identified problems of access, equity and quality in the education sector.
Read more: https://www.tepcentre.com/awards/
NIRA Presidential Awards: The .ng Presidential Awards are special awards presented by the President of NiRA to individuals and organisations for their contributions to the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) and the growth of the .ng brand. The awards promote the Nigerian businesses, individuals, charity, public and private sector organizations which help to make the Internet a more secure, accessible and rewarding experience.
Read more: https://www.nira.org.ng/pdf/2019.ngAwards_winners.pdf
GlobalGiving October 2019 Project of the Month Award: We are honored to have our She Creates Camp, selected as “Project of the Month by GlobalGiving – the world’s largest crowd funding community.
The Project of the Month recognition is given to projects with a high-impact on their target communities and which actively demonstrate a high level of effectiveness and engagement with the GlobalGiving community. Selected projects must have in the past provided regular high-quality, substantive, and informative project reports to donors and have the capacity to absorb the generous funding from Project of the Month gifts.
We say a big THANK YOU to GlobalGiving and the entire GlobalGiving community for this big honour. We also say a big thank you to you, our steadfast supporter. W.TEC would not be able to carry out its mission if it were not for your financial and in-kind donations. Thank you for making our work possible.
Read more about our big win: https://wtec.org.ng/shecreates2020-wins-project-of-the-month-status-on-globalgiving/
We have emerged as finalist for:
EQUALS in Tech Awards: The annual EQUALS in Tech Awards is organized and presented by the EQUALS Global Partnership – a network of 90+ organizations, companies, UN agencies, and research institutions. The Awards recognize groundbreaking initiatives from around the world aimed at bridging the gender digital divide.
W.TEC emerged as finalist in the Skills category: https://twitter.com/equals/status/1192488858811863041
Girls Voices for Change Contest: One of W.TEC’s students made it to the finalist stage of the Girls Voices for Change contest in the Photography category. From hundreds of talented girls in 20 countries, she was one of the outstanding finalists of the contest and emerged in the top 5 for the Digital Photography category.
The #girlsvoicesforchange photography contests is a follow-up of the global partnership programme by @girlsvoicesnow whom engaged local NGOs and schools to organize photography workshops for girls, tagged ”Girls Voices for Change”. The aim of this initiative is to empower girls globally with a voice to tell their stories with photography.
Project Zero Awards: The Inclusive Technology for All project, which is led by the Children’s Developmental Centre (CDC) and the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) was shortlisted as a finalist for the Zero Project Awards.
The Zero Project Awards celebrates Innovative Practices and Policies that help improve the lives of persons with disabilities,
Nominated practices and policies go through a detailed quality check and through one round of peer-reviewing from experts – with and without disabilities – from around the world. In 2019, 169 Practices and 24 Policies made it through to the Shortlist, selected from an incredible 469 nominations. All shortlisted projects will be invited to attend the Zero Project Conference 2020 at the United Nations Offices in Vienna, Austria.
W.TEC is proud that the IT4A project has been recognised among the world’s best practices seeking to improve life for differently-abled people.
Learn more about the Zero Project: https://zeroproject.org/shortlisted-projects/
Learn more about our awards online: https://wtec.org.ng/w-tec-win-multiple-awards-in-2019/
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In all, this has been an energizing quarter for us with the promise of even more impactful months ahead.
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. And please share our work with others in your network.
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:
“Teary farewell for teens at STEAM camp” (Newspaper Article): https://thenationonlineng.net/teary-farewell-for-teens-at-steam-camp/
“W.TEC’s ‘She Creates Camp’ is committed to increasing the numbers of Nigerian Women / Girls working in Science, Technology & Maths related Fields” (Online Article): https://www.bellanaija.com/2019/10/w-tec-steam-camp/
“W.TEC Summer ICT Training Camp Ends In Awka” (Online Article): https://www.nobedad.com/article/b58c8472?c=226dc472ad&nc=1
“Group organises summer ICT training for girls” (Newspaper Article): https://www.nationallightngr.com/2019/09/12/group-organises-summer-ict-training-for-girls/
“NGO trains 50 girls on electronic circuit technologies, web designs”: (Newspaper Article) https://nnn.com.ng/ngo-trains-50-girls-on-electronic-circuit-technologies-web-designs/
“WTEC empowers 50 schoolgirls on technology skills” (Newspaper Article): https://punchng.com/wtec-empowers-50-schoolgirls-on-technology-skills/?fbclid=IwAR3C3wrmgGyC-LpeuF1G3hculBCzEOmNhICFcDvfWq6UvqnE0JSlXRiDTqI
“NGO trains 50 girls on electronic circuit technologies, web designs” (Online Article): https://realnewsmagazine.net/tech/ngo-trains-50-girls-on-electronic-circuit-technologies-web-designs/
See more photos of the camps and our other programmes online: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wtec/albums
View videos from the camps & our other programmes: https://www.youtube.com/user/watchwtec
Follow W.TEC on Instagram,Twitter and Facebook
Visit W.TEC website: www.wtec.org.ng
Email W.TEC: info@wtec.org.ng
ABOUT W.TEC & THE GIRLS TECHNOLOGY 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,
The W.TEC Academy has ended for the 2018-2019 academic year and we are looking forward to its resumption for the new year in September 2019. We are especially looking forward to our expansion to Ogun State.
The 2019 camp season is in full swing. We are in the middle of the second She Creates Camp. We are happy to share some news now and will have a more comprehensive update in our next report.
Over the last 3 months, W.TEC:
Graduated a New Set of Girls at W.TEC Academy
Launched Early Innovators Camp in Lagos-Island
Organised the 1st She Creates Camp of 2019
Is hosting the 2nd She Create Camp of 2019
Facilitated Teacher Training Workshop
a.) Graduated 110 Girls at W.TEC Academy: In July 2019, W.TEC graduated her 2nd set of students in Kwara State, Nigeria. It was a grand event featuring 9 schools and had in attendance guests from the Kwara State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.
The graduation, which took place in two (2) venues across Ilorin, was facilitated by Mrs Tolulope Ibrahim (Intern – Project Assistant, W.TEC Ilorin), Taiwo Jimoh and our team of volunteers.
The two venues where our graduation events took place were Queen Elizabeth School and National Library, Ilorin.
Students from Queen Elizabeth School, Sheikh Abdulkadri College, Government Day Girls Secondary School Oko-Erin, Waziri Secondary School and Government Day Secondary School Odo-Okun, all converged at Queen Elizabeth School.
Students from Cherubim & Seraphim College, Taoheed Secondary School, St. Barnabas Secondary School and Government Day Secondary School Tanke converged at the National Library.
In addition to the 110 girls enrolled in the city of Ilorin, Kwara State, another set of 198 girls completed the Academy activities in the town of Offa, Kwara State.
b.) W.TEC launched the Early Innovators Camp in a second site in Lagos, Nigeria: The Early Innovators Camp is designed for 5 to 10 years old girls and boys. It is aimed at harnessing the innate curiosity of children by introducing them to computing and science concepts through play and exploration.
W.TEC launched a second site of the Early Innovators Camp in Lekki, Lagos to cater to children in this neighbourhood and environs.
Over a 2-week period, 19 children learnt and developed skills in Digital Story-Telling and Robotics.
You can learn more about the Early Innovators Camp online: https://wtec.org.ng/early-innovators-camp/
c.) Organised the 1st She Creates Camp of 2019: Starting from July 29th and for a period of 2 weeks, we hosted over a dozen girls in the Lekki edition of the She Creates Camp.
The focus of this day camp was Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence and saw the girls creating exciting and practical projects that utilised the principle of IoT and AI. Some of their work included smart door alerts that triggered a phone call when the door is opened and smart street lights that come on automatically in the dark.
We are thrilled at what our girls were able to accomplish in such a relatively short period of time and look forward to supporting them through future programmes to achieve even more.
d.) W.TEC is in the middle of the 2nd She Creates Camp of 2019: As you read this report, W.TEC is just days into our second She Creates camp of the year.
This camp edition is taking place in Ikeja, on the mainland area of Lago state, Nigeria. Forty-nine girls are living at the camp venue for the period of two weeks. Over the duration of the camp, the girls will learn Electronics and Digital Circuitry, Mechatronics (a combination of Robotics, Mechanics, Electronic and programming) and Python Programming. The girls will also learn Digital Film-making and we look forward to the films they will make about their camp experiences.
In addition to the highly technical sessions, our campers have participated in other workshops, such as Gender & Leadership and Health & Fitness workshops. One highlight so far has been the Women in Technology panel, which featured atechnologystart-up founder, a software engineer and an electrical engineer-turned-business leader in a manufacturing multinational. This panel left the girls incredibly inspired and we can’t wait to see what the remainder of the camp will bring.
The rest of the 2019 SheCreates Camps will take place in Kwara and Anambra State:
1. SheCreates 2019 Awka Camp – Non-Residential Camp (August 26th – Sept 6th)
2. SheCreates 2019 Ilorin Camp – Non-Residential Camp (August 26th – Sept 6th)
Partners for this year’s camp so far include Oracle, SAGE Foundation, Laureates College – Lagos, Kiddies Kingdom Private School, Roboton Robotics, Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation, Hadassah STEM Foundation, Kenneth Dike eLibrary – Awka, Anambra State and Kwara State Ministry of Education.
Learn more about all the camps on our website: https://wtec.org.ng/programme/she-creates-camp/
e.) Facilitated Training Workshop for Technology Teachers: W.TEC facilitated at a training of trainers workshop for teachers and club managers of the Digital Girls Club in May 2019.
The Digital Girls Club is an online initiative designed to help Nigerian secondary school girls develop an early interest in computers and in the information and communication technology field as a whole.
The Federal Ministry of Communications partnered with the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) and Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) to develop the curriculum and content for the online portal. The hands-on portal, features online tutorials on Creating Games in Alice Programming, Computer hardware, How Computers Are Built, Introduction to Building Websites Using HTML, Introduction to JavaScript, Introduction to Programming Using Python and others
W.TEC worked with existing and new club managers over the perio of the 2-day workshop and took them through the club curriculum.
You can learn more about this project: https://wtec.org.ng/federal-ministry-of-communications-partners-w-tec-witin-to-train-74-ict-teachers-from-nigerian-unity-schools/
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In all, this has been an energising quarter for us with the promise of even more impactful months ahead.
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. And please share our work with others in your network.
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:
“Monitor video games played by children, experts urge parents” (Newspaper Article): https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/monitor-video-games-play-by-children-experts-urge-parents.html
See more photos of the camps online: https://www.instagram.com/wteconline/ and https://www.facebook.com/pg/wteconlinepage/photos/?tab=album&album_id=215083191865726
View videos from the camps & our other programmes: https://www.youtube.com/user/watchwtec
Follow W.TEC on Instagram,Twitter and Facebook
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. With clubs in Lagos and Kwara states, the girls go through through a year-long computing curriculum, which includes modules such as Computer Architecture, Scratch Programming and Alice Programming. Through their participation in the technology clubs, the girls become more confident in writing programmes, developing applications and creating digital content. This programme was designed to complement the existing computer science curriculum in the schools, which tends to focus more on theoretical knowledge than practical experience.
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.
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