Tag: DLI

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DLI Update – Winter 2019

Happy new year from the Digital Leadership Institute!

The DLI team closed out a fabulous 2019 in Berlin at an Internet Governance Forum award ceremony where we received UN recognition for our global leadership in promoting greater participation of girls and women in digital sectors around the world! 

Our Board and Executive Team are actively involved in outreach activities with partners and stakeholders around the world that promote ESTEAM* leadership by girls and women. Find out more about our outreach activities of Winter 2019 below, and please visit our calendar for events organised by DLI.

*STEM powered by Entrepreneurship and Arts

24 September 2019 – Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media Global Symposium (New York): Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  joined a 24 September Global Symposium organised by the Geena Davis Institute on the Status of Equity and Inclusion in Children’s Television at Google in New York. DLI is a long-time advocate for Equity in Media, and member of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender and the Geena Davis Institute.

25 September 2019 – Financial Inclusion for Development: Building on 10 years of Progress (New York): On 25 September at UN Headquarters in New York, Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  joined an official side-event of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, on invite of Queen Màxima of Holland, in recognition of her successes over the past ten years in advancing financial inclusion around the world, and its role in achieving the 2030 Agenda. Contributing to the event were UN Secretary General António Guterres, Ms. Melinda Gates, and the CEOs of Paypal and Microsoft, among others.

7-14 October 2019 – Women Code Festival (Brussels): The Third Annual Women Code Festival, organized by WomenInTech.brussels, took place 7-14 October in Brussels. Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  moderated the Festival opening event on 7 October, and the 6th Annual European Ada Awards ceremony, that took place at the Google Atelier in Brussels on 16 October, was an official side-event of the Festival.

14-15 October 2019 – INNOVEIT 2019 Conference (Budapest): On 14-15 October in Budapest,Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, contributed to the 2019 edition of the INNOVEIT conference, organized by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, as guest of honor and jury member for the EIT Woman Award 2019.

23 October 2019 – Mobile World Congress – Women4Tech Summit (Los Angeles): On 23 October at the Mobile World Congress Los Angeles, Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  joined a Women4Tech Summit panel on increasing diversity in STEM careers, including AI, big data and cyber security

15-16 November 2019 – Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: DLI  joined global celebrations of 2019 Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, that took place around the world with flagship summit in New York City on 15-16 November. Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, has been Women’s Entrepreneurship Ambassador for Belgium since 2016.

21-22 November 2019 – 4IR Conference (Madrid): On 21-22 November in Madrid, Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  contributed to a conference on “Ethics and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (“4IR”), with a talk on “Inclusive Digital Transformation.”

22 November 2019 – SheDIDIT Closing Event (Ghent, Belgium): Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director,  joined the closing event of the #SheDIDIT campaign promoting Belgian women entrepreneurs from diverse origins, for which she has been a role model and mentor for the past year.

27 November 2019 – UN EQUALS Award Ceremony at Internet Governance Forum 2019 (Berlin):  As part of the 2019 Internet Governance Forum in Berlin, the DLI Team had the honour of joining a 27 November UN EQUALS ceremony recognising initiatives around the world that promote greater participation of girls and women in digital sectors.  DLI was recognised in the global Leadership category by the UN EQUALS partnership which includes the UN ITU, UN Women, GSMA and EY.

25-27 November 2019 – SME Assembly (Helsinki): Ms. Che Miller Van Dÿck, DLI Founding Director, was invited to join to the annual SME Assembly for Europe as a delegate promoting women-led (tech) startup. The SME Assembly is the flagship event of European SME Week, an event of the 2019 Finnish Presidency of the EU Council.

2 December 2019 – Work-Life Balance Conference (Brussels): Ms. Loredana Bucseneanu, DLI Development Director,  joined a panel on “digitalisation and work-life balance” at the Work-Life Balance Conference taking place on 2 December in Brussels, organized by the Global Wo.Men Hub, of which DLI is a member.

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

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DLI Founder is EU Digital Champion

On 21 November in Brussels, Cheryl Miller Van Dyck, founding director of the Digital Leadership Institute International (DLII.org), was recognised by the Financial Times and Google as one of 100 digital champions of Europe.  Miller Van Dyck, who for ten years has led global efforts to increase participation of girls and women in technology sectors, was credited as being a leader and influencer in “promoting digital transformation in Europe.”  Miller Van Dyck and her 99 cohorts were selected from among over 4000 nominations by a jury of their peers representing industry and the public sector.  The digital champions report and event are part of an ongoing Financial Times series on “Europe’s Road to Growth.”

Read the full report here (Article/Image Page 21).

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DLI Partners with EY for Global Girl Tech Fest

In celebration of International Girls in ICT Day 2018 on 26 April, the Digital Leadership Institute is proud to collaborate with EY to organise a Girl Tech Fest, across twenty-three locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, that will reach over 500 girls with hands-on digital skills workshops.

Girl Tech Fest (“GTF”) is the flagship event of DLI’s Digital Muse initiative, a global platform promoting ESTEAM* skills to girls.  For its 2018 “global” edition, DLI has trained dozens of EY volunteers to deliver smartphone app-coding classes to girls aged 11-15, using the MIT App Inventor for Android platform.   *Entrepreneurship & Arts powered by STEM

Draft Workshop Agenda

  • 08:00-08:10 – Welcome & Introductions
  • 08:10-08:20 – Why we need more Girls in ICT
  • 08:20-09:50 – Hands-on “Talk2Me” Android app Training for Girls
  • 09:50-10:00 – Wrapup & Thank-yous

If you would like more details about this event, about International Girls in ICT Day 2018, or about organising your own GTF or other activity to increase participation of girls and women in tech studies and careers, please contact us!

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DLI Update – March 2018

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 March 2018, 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

5 March – ISS Europe 2018 (Dublin): In Dublin on 5 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  contributed to a panel on “Gaining, Training, and Retaining World Class Talent,” at ISS Europe 2018.

7 March – Empowering Girls and Women in Media and ICT (Brussels): In Brussels on 7 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  moderated a day-long seminar for journalists on “empowering girls and women in media and ICT,” as part of the European Parliament celebrations for International Women’s Day 2018.

7 March – Awareness-building for Women in Entrepreneurship (Brussels): On 7 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  joined a high-level panel, hosted by the Brussels Women in Business platform and 100,000 Entrepreneurs, promoting women-led entrepreneurship to young people.

8 March – EU Commissioner Gabriel Panel – Cyber Aware: Which Skills for Cyber (Brussels): On 8 March in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, joined a panel chaired by Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Ms. Mariya Gabriel, on “Cyber Aware: Which Skills for Cyber,” in celebration of International Women’s Day 2018.

8 March – IWD at EC Executive Agency for SMEs (Brussels): In celebration of International Women’s Day 2018, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a keynote presentation at the European Commission Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) on “Bridging the Gender Gap and Digital Divide in Europe.”

9 March – fem.talent forum 2018 (Barcelona) : Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  provided a keynote presentation on the topic of “World Wide Women: Inspiring Global Women Talent” for the fem.talent forum 2018, that took place in Barcelona on 9 March.

12 March – Open Belgium (Louvain-La-Neuve): On 12 March at the Open Belgium conference in Louvain-La-Neuve, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk on the topic of “Open Knowledge for Social Innovation.”

23 March – Commission on the Status of Women (New York, New York): On 23 March at the UN Headquarters in New York, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to launch of a GAMAG book on “the holistic nature of the gender and communication agenda,” as part of an official UNESCO, IPDC and GAMAG joint side-event for the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

27 March – BETCon (Leuven): On 27 March in Leuven, Belgium, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk at the BETCon (Business, Education and Technology) Conference. Proceeds from event ticket sales went to the charity Three Giraffes, promoting education in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

30 March – PWI Growth Club (Brussels): On 30 March in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk during a luncheon hosted by the Professional Women International Brussels Growth Club.

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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Global Recognition for DLI Founder

On 1 March 2018 in Barcelona, Ms. Cheryl Miller Van Dyck, founding director of the Brussels-based Digital Leadership Institute, was recognized for her outstanding achievement in increasing participation of girls and women in technological studies and careers around the world. Miller, a Belgian national, was awarded the prestigious Global Mobile Award by a jury representing global ICT interests at the 2018 Mobile World Congress, whose attendance this year surpassed 100,000 visitors.

Miller received a Global Mobile “GloMo” Award in the “Industry Leadership Individual” category for what the jury called her “immeasurable impact” on increasing inclusion in the global tech sector over the past ten years.

The Digital Leadership Institute, founded by Miller in 2015, was also finalist for a Global Mobile Award in the “Industry Leadership Organizations” category, for the second year running.

For more details and contact, please find a press release here: PR CMiller Glomo 2018

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DLI Update – September-October 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.  This month, DLI was selected as one of the Best 100 Startups in Belgium, and DLI team members joined Digital First on 19 October to celebrate.  Also, as part of DLI activities supported by the Digital Belgium Skills Fund, on 25 October in Brussels we launched Digital Brusselles, Europe’s first female tech incubator.  See the article about our recognition here and a video about the Digital Brussels launch below.

*Entrepreneurship & Arts powered by Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

6 September – Women in Tech.Brussels Breakfast (Brussels): On 6 September, Ms. Katja Legisa, Digital Brusselles Director, joined a Women in Tech.Brussels breakfast meeting to contribute to coordinating upcoming initiatives that promote women in technology in Brussels.

13 September – EIB Gender Action Plan Expert Engagement Meeting (Brussels): On 13 September in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to an expert meeting on the Gender Action Plan of the European Investment Bank.

15 September – Creative Ring Brussels “Women in Innovation” Meeting (Brussels): On 15 September at the BOZAR Lab in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to a Creative Ring meeting on the topic of Women in Innovation.

19 September – Women in Business.Brussels Platform Meeting (Brussels): Ms. Katja Legisa, Digital Brusselles Director, and Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, joined the 19 September meeting of the Brussels Women in Business platform.

26 September – WISE4ALL Launch Event: Women Contributing to Innovation (Brussels): On 26 September, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  joined the WISE4ALL launch event at the European Parliament, in collaboration of MEP Pina Picierno and with support from the S&D Group, as part of a pan-European consortium promoting diversity in innovation. On the same occasion, Ms. Miller contributed to a round-table on Digital Manufacturing and New Innovation Processes.

28 September – First Meeting of the Governing Board of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition (Brussels): Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  joined the meeting of the first Governing Board of the European Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition on 28 September at the European Commission in Brussels. Ms. Miller was recently selected to the inaugural 12-member governing body of the DSJC.

4 October – Grand Opening of BeCentral (Brussels): On 4 October in Brussels, the DLI Team will join the grand opening of BeCentral, a community space in the heart of Brussels dedicated to closing the digital skills gap and accelerating Belgium’s digital transformation.

9 October – Women Code Festival 2017 Launch (Brussels): On 9 October at Co.Station in Brussels, Ms. Katja Legisa, Digital Brusselles Director, will contribute to a panel discussion as part of the launch of Brussel’s first-ever Women Code Festival.

19 October – Digital First 2017 (Brussels):  DLI was selected among the Best 100 Startups in Belgium in 2017 by a jury organised by media company Digimedia. Ms. Valentina Calà, DLI Digital Creative Officer, and Ms. Katrien Geraedts, DLI Marketing & Communications Manager, were on hand at Digital First 2017 on 19 October, at Tour & Taxis  in Brussels, to celebrate.

11 October – InnovIris Women in STEM Panel (Brussels): As part of the Brussels Women Code Festival and European Code Week, on 11 October Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, provided a keynote presentation on Digital Brusselles: The Heart of Inclusive Transformation and contributed to a Women in STEM panel organised by InnovIris, the Brussels agency for scientific research.

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 Among Top Startups in Belgium

On 19 October, Brussels-based Digital Leadership Institute joined Digital First 2017 to celebrate being selected among the Best 100 Belgian Startups by a high-level jury organised by media company Digimedia. DLI team members, Ms. Valentina Calà and Ms. Katrien Geraedts, were on hand to greet investors and discuss the work of DLI, who has successfully launched Europe’s first female tech incubator, Digital Brusselles, and is driving world class programs to differentiate Brussels, Belgium and Europe as “the heart of inclusive digital transformation.”

“With a three-year track record as a social enterprise, DLI is outperforming most startups even outside its class,” shares DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, about the recognition. “We believe this is as much about how innovative and impactful our work is, as it is about the engagement and dedication of our partners to our mission,” she says. “It is not every day, for example, that organisations like Amazon Web Services and the Digital Belgium Skills Fund come together to help drive positive change,” says Ms. Miller. “This is a testament to both the quality of the work we are doing and to just how important that work is — for which we feel very honoured.”

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Coding Brings Confidence Say Europe's Women

In May 2017, the Digital Leadership Institute team met in Croatia with its WOW Code2Confidence partners, a project funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. The project organisations explored how learning to code can lead to more confidence for women during studies and in the job market.

During the meeting, results from a pan-European survey on the interest of European women in coding were presented. Key findings of the survey, which was carried out by WOW Code2Confidence partners across Belgium, Croatia, England, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Romania, are below:

  • 53% of European women surveyed expressed an interest in learning to code;
  • Most women surveyed rate their current coding skills as Beginner, and 85% of women surveyed noted that coding activities give them confidence.
  • The main reason for women’s interest in coding is because coding skills are required for studies/work and due to an expressed desire to become more familiar with technical terms and jobs.
  • The survey also revealed that the main reason for those surveyed having never tried coding is due to a lack of suitable training resources.

Read the full results of the survey in our most recent WOW Code2Confidence newsletter, and for more information about the project, or about other DLI work promoting women in coding, please contact us.

On 5-6 October in Brussels, DLI will host the Fall 2017 meeting of the WOW Code2Confidence Project whose focus will be how women can leverage coding skills to improve their opportunities in the job market.  Stay tuned!

 

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FREE Android Training Toolkit

In the context of the Coding for Young People project, the Digital Leadership Institute and its partners have developed a FREE Android App Training Toolkit for use and sharing by individuals and organisations interested in teaching Android using the MIT App Inventor platform.


In order to fully benefit from the Toolkit, please be sure to:

  1. Download the ‘Talk2Me” training presentation and watch the 50-minute “Talk2Me” training video. Use these to teach Android to your students, and feel free to share them with others!
  2. Download the training guidelines that include links to resources in English, Italian and Spanish!
  3. Fill out the Survey about your experience to let us know if we’re on the right track!
  4. Join the Coding for Young People Community to benefit from future resources from the project and its partners!
  5. Don’t hesitate to contact us if we can support you in any way in your mission to teach coding to young people!

Happy coding!

Featured Image: PC Magazine

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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!