Digital Leadership Institute – Page 36 – Inclusive Digital Transformation, since 2014

1 July 201514 March 2025

DLI Meets Sheryl Sandberg on Women in Tech

Facebook & DLI Meeting — Sandberg Meeting in Brussels: Tessa Lyons, Erika Mann, Nicola Mendelsohn, Janine de Keersmaecker, Sheryl Sandberg, Kristen Jorna, Cheryl Miller, Ann Mettler, Renate Nikolay, Anne Hoerée, Nadia Calvino, Julia Harrison, & Ditte Juul Joergensen

On 29 June 2015 in Brussels, DLI board members, Ms. Cheryl Miller and Ms. Janine de Keersmaeker, joined Ms. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and founder of LeanIn.org, and a small group of Brussels policy-makers to discuss increasing participation of girls and women in technological sectors. In her remarks, Ms. Sandberg underscored Facebook’s engagement in Europe where it employs 1500 people and provides a platform for businesses that creates another 140,000 jobs. “In Europe, less than 1 in 3 tech workers — and less than 1 in 5 tech graduates — are women,” said Sandberg. “This isn’t a European problem,” she said. “It’s an everywhere problem.”

Facebook is a long-standing sponsor of the Ada Awards – an initiative of the Digital Leadership Institute which recognises outstanding girls and women in digital studies and careers, and the organisations who support them. The European Ada Awards were launched in 2013 under patronage of then-European Commission Vice President responsible for the Digital Agenda, Ms. Neelie Kroes, as a pledge to the Grand Coalition for Digital Skills and Jobs in Europe.

29 June 2015

Transatlantic Dialogue on Women in Tech

On 1 July in Brussels the Digital Leadership Institute, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, is thrilled to host the third Ada 200 best practices roundtable of 2015 on getting more girls and women into digital studies and careers. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Lady Ada Lovelace, who is credited with being the world’s first computer-programmer, Ms. Cheryl Miller, Digital Leadership Institute founder, and Ms. Teresa Carlson, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services, will co-host a high-level luncheon to explore this important question from a trans-Atlantic perspective, with focus on the following topics:

Rallying corporate and policy organisations around the question of getting more girls and women into digital studies and careers;
Encouraging an ongoing transatlantic dialogue on the issue; and
Identifying concrete actions for driving this issue up the policy agenda.

The luncheon will be followed by a 3D Jewelry Design & Printing workshop for girls generously sponsored by Amazon Web Services. For outcomes and follow up activities, please stay tuned here!

Ms. Teresa Carlson is vice president of worldwide public sector at Amazon Web Services where she is responsible for operations, strategy, sales and business development. She was previously vice president of federal government business at Microsoft, among several other positions, and worldwide vice president of marketing and business development for Lexign Incorporated. Before moving into IT, Carlson spent nearly 15 years in healthcare. Among her many honors is the March of Dimes Heroines in Technology Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also one of the Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

28 June 2015

Call for Local Partners

The Ada Awards are a global initiative recognising outstanding girls and women in digital studies and careers, and the organisations who support them, active in Europe and Africa since 2013. With support from the United Nations, European institutions and private sector partners, the Awards have continually grown in impact since their inception — today reaching hundreds of female role models in digital studies and careers around the world.

Would your organisation like to become part of this global network recognising female digital leaders of today and tomorrow? Are you well-placed to identify and showcase top girls and women in tech, and the organisations who support them, in your country or region?

Please contact us to receive information on becoming an official Ada Awards Local Partner, and get involved in a global movement promoting community, diversity and digital leadership by girls and women around the world!

Local Partner Privileges include (TBC):

Exclusive partnership for specific geographic area (national, regional or local)
Branded local Ada Awards, e.g. “Italian Digital Girl of the Year Award”, etc.
Local Ada Award Event
Link with globally-recognised female digital leadership Awards

Local Partner Responsibilities include adherence to:

Ada Award branding and communication standards
Award Terms & Conditions
Jury selection criteria
Regional and global award calendars
Partner and sponsorship requirements

For more information about the Ada Awards, please subscribe to our newsletter or visit the below websites:

Please visit the Digital Leadership Institute to learn more about the organisation behind the Ada Awards!

9 June 201514 March 2025

African Ada Awards and Africa Code Week

The first-ever Africa Code Week, taking place across Africa on 1-10 October 2015, was launched last week with a CodeWeek Celebrity Challenge in Johannesburg. The inaugural edition of Africa Code Week will span eleven countries and aims to reach 20,000 kids. And we would like half of those reached to be girls! To that end, the Digital Leadership Institute — organizers of the Ada Awards — is teaming up to promote participation of girls in Africa Code Week, and to recognize, via the 2015 African Ada Awards, outstanding girls and women in tech in Africa and the organizations who support them.

If your organization would like to be involved in promoting the 2015 African Ada Awards, please contact us.

27 May 201514 March 2025

DLI Update – May 2015

May 2015 – Gender Equality in Media Campaign (Global): May is the month for promoting greater and better representation of women and girls in media. As an active member of the UN Global Alliance on Gender and Media and part of the GAMAG Advocacy Committee, DLI is promoting this campaign across Europe. Please support the campaign on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to sign the UN petition for greater equality in media!

1-3 May – Startup Weekend Leuven (Leuven, BE): On 3 May, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI founder, judged nine teams competing for final recognition at Startup Weekend Leuven. Prizes were rewarded to three projects: “FestivalRadar,” “Woodies,” and “ZenSay.” See more details and photos on the inQube Facebook page.

8-10 May – Startup Weekend Brussels – Maker Edition (Brussels): 8-10 May in Brussels, Ms. Selma Franssen, DLI Communication Director and inQube Community Manager, and Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Digital Literacy Lead and g-Hive Community Manager, provided startup and maker advice to the over eighty participants of Brussels’ first-ever Startup Weekend Maker Edition. On the final day of the event, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, participated in an all-star jury and awarded prizes to deserving winners in three categories: Internet of Things, Fab and Maker. All the women participants of Startup Weekend Brussels – Maker Edition also received free admission to two upcoming inQube workshops. See more details and photos on the inQube Facebook page.

19-21 May – Pink Wave / Nuvola Rosa Girls in ICT Event (Milan): On 19 May, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, traveled to Milan for the third edition of “Pink Cloud” (Nuvola Rosa) organized by Microsoft Italy, aiming to inspire 1500 girls to take up studies and careers in technology. Ms. Miller moderated a high-level panel on the topic of “Skilling up to be Digital Leaders of Tomorrow” with leading women from Microsoft, ASUS, Ernst & Young and Aviva. Ms. Miller and other event speakers also enjoyed a guided tour of the US and European pavilions at the World Expo 2015 and attended a VIP gala hosted by the Region of Lombardy. Photos on the DLI Facebook page.

20 May – MIT Innovators Under 35 Belgium (Brussels): DLI has partnered with MIT Technology Review and Opinno to identify and recognise top innovators in Belgium, France and Poland for the 2015 MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe awards. On 20 May, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, contributed to the event recognising Belgian award-winners for 2015 on the topic of “Diversity Equals Innovation.”

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!