DLI Update – March 2016

March has been a roller-coaster of a month at the Digital Leadership Institute. It roared in like a lion celebrating International Women’s Day with DLI’s favorite Belgian and international stakeholders, and went out like a lamb seeking community with loved ones near and far in the wake of the Brussels tragedies that DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller and so many others experienced first-hand.  In between, we advocated for greater participation of women in media, peacekeeping and global leadership at the annual Commission on the Status of Women in New York, and brushed up our expertise portfolio with Ms. Rosanna Kurrer–DLI Cofounder’s graduation from a Certified Trainer in Mobile Educational Computing program at MIT.  Herewith you can find details about it all shared with, as Cheryl wrote, the expression of our heartfelt grief for the people whose losses are so much greater than ours, and a wish for continued vigilance on all our part in the work for peace.

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 2016, learn here about future activities we are involved in, and visit our calendar for upcoming events that DLI is organising. *entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics


EP2 March – European Parliament Media Conference “Women Refugees & Asylum-seekers in Europe” (Brussels): In celebration of International Women’s Day 2016, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, moderated a conference for European media on the subject of “Women Refugees and Asylum-seekers in Europe,” which took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 2 March.


us seal7 March – US Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium Roundtable on “Civil Society as Change Makers” (Brussels): On 7 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  joined a roundtable on the subject of “Civil Society as Change Makers,” on invitation from her Excellency Denise Campbell Bauer, US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium.


useu8 March – US Mission to the European Union Roundtable on “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the Tech Sector” (Brussels):  Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to a moderated roundtable on the subject of “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the Tech Sector,” hosted by the US permanent mission to the European Union in Brussels in celebration of International Women’s Day 2016.   The event was part of a pan-European initiative to promote greater participation of women in tech on the part of the US Commercial Service in Europe and led by the honorable Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of Commerce.  Photos of the Brussels event, attended by leading policy players in Belgium and Europe, may be found here.


codeweek-badge10 March – European Code Week Ambassadors Meeting (Brussels):  On 10 March, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, joined the annual meeting of European Code Week Ambassadors as 2016 Ambassador for Belgium.


GSMA_logo15 March – GSMA Mobile Meeting Series “Digital economy: Balancing inclusion, opportunities, and access for women” (Brussels):  On 15 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to a GSMA Mobile Meeting breakfast on the topic of  “Digital economy: Balancing inclusion, opportunities, and access for women,” report for which may be found here.


Facebook18 March – Facebook Roundtable on “Women’s Online Safety” (New York, New York):  Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to an international roundtable on the topic of  “Women’s Online Safety,” that took place at Facebook New York HQ as part of the 60th Meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women.


gamag19 March – GAMAG Europe & North America Panel at 60th Meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (New York): Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, moderated a Global Alliance on Gender and Media panel at the 60th Meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, that took place at the United Nations in New York, on 19 March.

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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 Update – December 2015

The Digital Leadership Institute closed out 2015 in style. After organising twenty events reaching over 500 girls and women in only ten months as Europe’s first female digital innovation center, the DLI team, along with you, is ready to tackle another fabulous year with even greater ambitions! But first, let’s take a quick a look back on the final weeks of 2015 — highlighted by DLI founder, Cheryl Miller, becoming a small-time Spanish celebrity after a video interview with Vodafone was carried in El Mundo, one of Spain’s largest newspapers! 😉 Check out the video, and the rest of our December 2015 news, here!

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 December 2015, learn here about future activities we are involved in, and visit our calendar for upcoming events that DLI is organising. *entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics


gamag7-8 December – GAMAG Europe Launch (Geneva): As part of the International Dialogue on Gender Equality in the Media, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, contributed to the incorporation meeting for the Europe region of the UNESCO-supported Global Alliance on Gender and Media, which took place at the UN Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Read our article and press release about this ground-breaking event here.


wep9 December – Women Entrepreneurship Platform Lunch Debate & General Assembly (Brussels): DLI Cofounder, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer,  contributed to a WEP Lunch debate on the topic of Digital Networking hosted at the European Parliament Members’ Salon by Ms. Sirpa Pietikainen, Member of European Parliament. The lunch debate was followed by the first annual general assembly of the WEP membership.


gamag9-10 December – GAMAG First Assembly (Geneva): Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, joined the first General Assembly of the UNESCO-supported Global Alliance on Gender and Media, which took place at the UN Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on December 9-10. Read our article and press release about this ground-breaking event here.


emtech15-16 December – Emerging Technologies France (Toulouse): On 15 December, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, led debate on the future of education with a world class panel at the premier Emerging Technology event in Europe, Emerging Technologies France.  See a video of the event here:

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

 


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 supports First U.N. Gender and Media Meeting

9-10 December 2015 at United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the Digital Leadership Institute joined the first-ever General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG).  Read below the outcome of the gatherings, including input by Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, on the impact of online media on the struggle for gender equality.

Media Equality Critical for Women’s Rights

Geneva, December 11, 2015:  The first general assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) has rounded out a week of meetings at the UN with a call for gender equality in and through the media by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“On International Human Rights Day (10 December), we call for inclusive societies that give equal voice to all,” said Colleen Lowe Morna, CEO of Gender Links and GAMAG Chairperson. “This cannot be achieved as long as half the world’s population is effectively silenced.”

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“We have come together to forge a global movement on gender and media,” said Alton Grizzle of UNESCO, which has facilitated GAMAG and organised the Geneva meeting with the Greek Secretariat General for Media and Communication. “Better access, leadership and portrayal of girls and women in media is a critical stepping stone for equal rights,” he added.

Launched in Bangkok two years ago, GAMAG brings together some 700 media houses, training institutions, journalism unions, gender and media activists to promote gender equality within the media and ICTs, and in the content they produce, as essential for achieving fundamental human rights for women worldwide.

Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent for CNN and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression, joined the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media remotely to kick off the week’s events.  Said Amanpour: “On the very important platform that is media, women are simply not equally or even adequately represented, either in leadership roles or in media coverage.”

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Over the past ten years, little has improved concerning the presence of women in media, according to Sarah Macharia who spoke on behalf of the World Association of Christian Communicators, an organisation that regularly monitors gender equality in global news media.

The 2015 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) found that women constitute 24% of news sources – the same as five years ago.  “Women remain invisible or underrepresented on traditional media based on almost every indicator we measure,” Macharia warned. “And this trend has replicated itself in digital media as well.”

“As the struggle for gender equality moves to online media, the challenges multiply,” added Cheryl Miller of the Digital Leadership Institute, reporting for the GAMAG working group on media, ICTs and gender.  “Underrepresentation of women in both media and digital sectors converges online, and the scope for urgent action grows,” said Miller. From promoting positive role models online to tackling cyberviolence, “the internet is a double-edged sword for women,” she said. “It needs to be wielded for their benefit.”

At GAMAG’s inaugural General Assembly, stakeholders committed to making 2016 a year of unprecedented action on key priority areas which include digital media, youth, advocacy and gender and media research.  In addition, four regional GAMAG chapters were launched in order to operationalise the “Geneva Framework” reached at the International Development Cooperation meeting that preceded the General Assembly.

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Actions announced by GAMAG working groups included a set of gender equality principles and standards to be signed up to by media houses; gender sensitivity education for the media; a best practice community on gender and media, and an initiative to identify regional and local champions for gender in media like Amanpour.

Lowe-Morna underscored the urgency of GAMAG’s mission.  “Gender equality in and through the media is intrinsic to freedom of expression, democracy, good governance and transparency. We cannot hope to achieve the SDGs if this is sidelined.” GAMAG will be lobbying for gender and media indicators in the SDGs in the run-up to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting in New York in March 2016.

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UNESCO’s Grizzle celebrated the milestones reached by the Geneva gatherings, and the support garnered from UN agencies and key public and private sector partners around the world. “With these watershed meetings behind us,” Grizzle said, “we are now looking forward to the next steps that will mobilise even greater effort and resources toward actively achieving the mission of GAMAG at a local, regional and global level.”

DLI Update – May 2015

gamagMay 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!


SWL1-3 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.


bxlsu8-10 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.


nuvolarosa19-21 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.


innov3520 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!

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