Emma Okonji
Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev), a non-profit organisation, has intensified its campaign on women participation in technology, with am art exhibition.
The exhibition, which held in Lagos, showcased the paintings of women who have used technology to empower themselves and the society.
To achieve her goal of impacting 10,000 women in 2021 and five million women across Africa by 2030 through the Women Techsters initiative, Tech4Dev, launched the #IAmAWomanTechster Campaign with an Art Exhibition in Lagos on Sunday.
The Women Techsters Initiative is an initiative of Tech4Dev in partnership with Microsoft, aimed at bridging the digital divide between men and women in the technology ecosystem by empowering five million women across Africa with digital and deep tech skills by 2030. The initiative is currently being delivered across five African countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt, to reach 10,000 women by the end of 2021.
The #IAmAWomanTechster Campaign was born out of the need to advocate for and inspire more women to consider technology careers, celebrate women who have built careers in these fields to serve as a model for other women and possibly provide guidance to the next crop of women through their career journeys.
To launch the Campaign, Tech4Dev called for visual artists to share artworks celebrating women and women in technology, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Out of 43 entries submitted, 16 finalists were chosen, with three of them – Ifeoluwa Aminu, Yewande Ambeke and Jessica Ogechi Louis – emerging as winners of the competition. They went home with $500 each.
Speaking at the Art Exhibition and Campaign launch event, Co-Founder and Director of Partnerships and Sustainability at Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, highlighted the aim and objectives of the campaign. According to him, “As an organisation that is passionate about bridging the digital divide between men and women in the technology ecosystem, we decided the best way to launch the #IAmAWomanTechster campaign was by celebrating Women in tech and STEM fields using various art forms to showcase and support women within the technology ecosystem because representation matters. We are big on empowering young people, and as a result, all proceeds from the artworks sold will be remitted to the artists, and all winners will receive their winnings.”
The I Am a Woman Techsters Campaign will be a yearly campaign advocating for gender inclusion within the technology ecosystem. All conversations around the Campaign can be followed using the #IAmAWomanTechster hashtag, Ogunsola said.
