Support Our Women and Coding Survey

In early 2017, the Digital Leadership Institute joined a group of organisations from across Europe in the WOW Code2Confidence project, funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission, which aims to empower women by teaching them to code. In the two-year project, a team of five partners from the UK, Romania, Croatia, Lithuania and Belgium, will research the following questions:

  • How can coding inspire women to develop themselves, encourage them to take active part in the digital society, and allow them to access new jobs created by the digital transformation?
  • What are the skills and competences women can build from basic coding education?
  • How can outcomes around coding for women be improved upon?
  • How can digital skills be used by women for social and economic empowerment?

In the first stage of the project, DLI and its partners are conducting a survey that will form the basis for recommendations and future action around the scope of the WOW Code2Confidence project.

To contribute to our research on women and coding, please participate in the survey here!

Read the first WOW Code2confidence Newsletter here, and for more information about the project, or about other DLI work promoting women in coding, please contact us!

Celebrate "Girls in STEM" for Women's Day 2017

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2017, the Digital Leadership Institute will organise several exciting activities across Europe promoting “women and girls in STEM*”.  In Brussels, DLI will lead an invitation-only visit with Ms. Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice, where several young women — including Ms. Manon Van Hoorebeke, 2014 European Digital Girl of the Year — will share about their experiences and aspirations toward studies and careers in STEM sectors.

In Dublin, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, will give a talk on “Be Bold for Change” as part of a day-long event organised by Amazon Web Services, in order to promote greater participation of girls and women in digital studies and careers.

Ms. Miller will also author a special International Women’s Day opinion piece on “the digital gender divide” for General Electric‘s GE Reports, read by three million people annually.

In collaboration with the European Commission and European Parliament, Ms. Miller will also moderate an International Women’s Day event on “Women’s Economic Empowerment” that will feature keynotes and panel discussions by European thought-leaders, including renowned French nuclear physicist Hélène Langevin-Joliot, granddaughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie.

Coming up on 29 April 2017, DLI will organise its second “Girl Tech Fest” promoting ESTEAM** skills for girls, for which we welcome inquiries by potential partners, workshop leaders, volunteers and sponsors.  Other DLI activities supporting our mission of inclusive digital transformation may be found on the DLI Calendar and Upcoming Activities pages.

  • *Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
  • **STEM plus Entrepreneurship and Arts

DLI Update – January-February 2017

The DLI Board and Executive Team are actively involved in initiatives with partners and stakeholders around the world that promote ESTEAM* leadership by girls and women. Find out below about our work in January and February 2017, learn here about future activities in which we are involved, and visit our calendar for upcoming events organised by DLI. 

*entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics


18 January – Gender Mainstreaming Congress for Metropolis Women Network: Ms. Cheryl Miller, Brussels Capital RegionDLI Cofounder, moderated a day-long global congress for cities and regions on the topic of Gender Mainstreaming, chaired by Ms. Laura Perez Castano, Barcelona City, and hosted by Ms. Bianca Debaets, Brussels Capital Region Secretary of State for Equal Opportunity and Brussels Smart City, on behalf of the Metropolis association of world cities and capitals.


wowc2c19-20 January – WOW Code2Confidence Project Meeting (Nottingham, UK): Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, contributed to the first working meeting of the WOW Code2Confidence project, on the topic of Coding for Beginners, which was hosted on 19-20 January in Nottingham by project partner Go Digital All. WOW Code2Confidence is an Erasmus+ project of the European Commission.


Unconv2017-0123-25 January – Unconvention 2017 (Brussels, Belgium): On 23-25 January in Brussels, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, contributed to the fifth edition of the European Young Innovators Forum’s Unconvention in Brussels, as a mentor and jury member for the InnoPitch competition. Innopitch promotes entrepreneurship for young Europeans and contributes to the European Young Innovator of the Year contest.


3 February – Design Your Life Workshop at euroclearEuroclear (Brussels, Belgium): On 3 February in Brussels, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, organized a Design Your Life workshop for Euroclear staffmembers to tackle questions of personal and professional development based on design thinking.


SEW176-10 February – Startup Europe Week Brussels (Brussels, Belgium): From 6 to 10 February, the second annual Startup Europe Week was celebrated across Europe with as many as six events taking place in Brussels alone. As 2017 SEW ambassador for Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, and a team of Co-organisers organised several SEW Brussels 2017 events that showcased resources for Brussels-based startups. On 9 February, Ms. Miller moderated a panel on “Navigating EU Resources for Startups,” at Infopoint Schuman. On 11-12 February, DLI hosted the Move It Forward for Women in Media female digital starters weekend.


IMG_61088-9 February – InnoApps Challenge 2017 (Brussels, Belgium): Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, mentored and trained top projects in Design Thinking for Startup and MIT AppInventor for Android for the 2017 InnoApps Challenge which took place 8-9 February in Brussels.


pes power to women9 February – Gender Equality and Cyber Empowerment Workshop for PES (Brussels, Belgium): On 9 February in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, and Ms. Maria Alfonso, DLI Development Manager, led a hands-on workshop for the Party of European Socialists on the topic of Gender Equality and Cyber Empowerment.


fintech16 February – Financial Inclusion at B-Hive #FinAndTonic (Brussels, Belgium) : On 16 February in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, gave a keynote presentation on the subject of Financial Inclusion as part of the #FinAndTonic evening at B-Hive, newly-formed Belgian FinTech bridge.


distdenialofwomen23 February – Distributed Denial of Women (Global): On 23 February, DLI supported Distributed Denial of Women (#DDoW), an online and offline campaign to promote greater participation of girls and women in digital studies and careers.


Be sure to visit our Calendar, Upcoming Activities page, and sign up for the DLI Newsletter in order to keep up with DLI events and activities!

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DLI Recognised by Global Mobile Awards

At Mobile World Congress 2017 on 2 March in Barcelona, the Digital Leadership Institute and its cofounder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, will both be recognised for their outstanding contributions to closing the gender gap in mobile and digital sectors, as part of the first-ever Women4Tech Summit.  Ms. Miller and DLI have respectively been shortlisted for 2017 Global Mobile Awards for Mobile Industry Leadership in both the individual and organisation categories.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djyGQ5moEYU

In support of this year’s Women4Tech activities at MWC, the Digital Leadership Institute will also spearhead a European Commission mission to MWC that includes policy-makers, researchers and advocates for Women in Tech from across Europe and Africa.  In addition, Ms. Miller will moderate a panel on “Reducing the Gender Gap in the Startup Ecosystem” taking place on 28 February as part of the 4YFN (4 Years from Now) startup event at MWC.  Ms. Reine Essobmadje, founding member of DLI, will also be on hand the same day to award top projects from the Hack D Gap global challenge promoting gender balance in the tech industry.

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For more information about DLI activities at MWC and the Women4Tech Summit, please follow our activities and feel free to contact us!

Move It Forward Brussels with Women in Media

On 11-12 February in Brussels, the Digital Leadership Institute, Women’s Entrepreneurship Platform, Creative District and their partners hosted a Move It Forward female digital starters event for Women in Media, as part of Startup Europe Week 2017.  Move It Forward is an initiative of inQube, DLI‘s female digital accelerator, and is supported by the Digital Belgium Skills Fund, top technology companies, non-profit organisations, and youth and women’s networks and communities. Its objective is to give teen and adult women* the skills to become digital entrepreneurs and leaders, and to support them in driving positive change in their communities.

*anyone who identifies as a woman