On 8 December in Brussels, in the context of GE Garages 2016 and the European Commission’s Vocational Skills Week 2016, the Digital Leadership Institute is proud to host a high-level panel on the topic of “Disrupted Workforce: Leveraging Talent and Tech for Europe’s Future,” and the 2016 European Ada Awards Ceremony recognising top European girls and women in tech and the organisations that support them. The event is free and open to the public, but registration at the following link is required: https://bit.ly/Ada16
Agenda:
15.30–16.00: Registration and Access to GE Garages
16.00-16.45: Panel on Disrupted Workforce: Leveraging Talent & Tech for Europe’s Future
- Ms. Eva Paunova, Member of European Parliament, EPP Bulgaria
- Ms. Beata Stelmach, CEO, GE Poland
- Ms. Esther Roure Vila, CISCO and 2014 European Digital Woman of the Year
- Mr. Andrea Parola, General Manager, European e-Skills Association
- Moderator: Ms. Cheryl Miller Vandyck, Cofounder and Executive Director, Digital Leadership Institute
16.45-17.00: Fireside Chat with Miss Niamh Scanlon, 2015-16 European Digital Girl of the Year and Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, Cofounder and Digital Literacy Lead, Digital Leadership Institute
17.15-18.00: 2016 European Ada Awards Presentation by Ada Awards Partners
- Keynote: Mr. Alexander De Croo, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Digital Agenda
- Finalists – Digital Impact Organisation of the Year – presented by Ms. Joanna Sterzynska-Lindberg, European Commission
- GeekGirlsCarrots (Poland)
- Cybermentor (Germany)
- Finalists – Digital Girl of the Year – presented Ms. Caroline Kearney, Corporate Communications and Advocacy Manager, European Schoolne
- Gabi (14yo Croatia)
- Cerys (14yo England)
- Finalists – Digital Woman of the Year – presented by Mr. Andrea Parola on behalf of Ms. Fiona Fanning, CEPIS
- Ms. Nuria Oliver, Data-Pop Alliance (Spain)
- Ms. Saskia Van Uffelen, Ericsson (Belgium)
18.00-19.00: 2016 European Ada Awards Reception
19.00-21:00: Pecha Kucha Night featuring Miss Manon Van Hoorebeke, 2014-15 European Digital Girl of the Year – separate registration required here: https://bit.ly/pechakucha16

High-level Panel
16:00-16:45 – High-level panel on the topic of “Disrupted Workforce: Leveraging Talent and Tech for Europe’s Future,” with top decision-makers from the European public and private sector.
2016 European Ada Awards Ceremony
16:45-19:00 – Fireside chat with Miss Niamh Scanlon, 2015 European Digital Girl of the Year from Ireland, 2016 European Ada Awards Ceremony and Reception generously hosted by GE. European awards for Digital Woman of the Year, Digital Girl of the Year and Digital Impact Organization of the Year will be presented by a high-level representative of the European Commission and members of the European Ada Awards partnership.

Pecha Kucha Night
19:00 onwards – Following the 2016 Ada Awards reception, participants will enjoy a Pecha Kucha night with inspiring talks from European thought-leaders, including Miss Manon Van Hoorebeke, 2014 European Digital Girl of the Year from Belgium.
Venue
All of the evening’s events will take place in the Panoramic Hall at The Square Brussels, Coudenberg Entrance, as part of Garages 2016 and in celebration of the 201st anniversary of the birth of Ada Lovelace.



Saskia Van Uffelen has been working in the sector of information and communication technology (ICT) for over 25 years. She has held national and international sales and marketing functions in leading companies such as Xerox, Compaq, HP, Arinso, Bull and CSB Consulting. Thanks to her experience to transform a product driven organization to a provider of services and solutions, Saskia was appointed in 2014 as CEO Belgium and Luxemburg of Ericsson bringing her through the Telecom offer in the heart of the Networked Society.Since 2012, the federal ministry of economic affairs appointed Saskia Van Uffelen as ‘Digital Champion’ for Belgium in support of the mission of the European Commission.
Nuria Oliver is a computer scientist and holds a Ph.D. from the
Cerys is a fourteen-year-old who has a passion for technology. Over the past couple of years she has got very involved with Raspberry Pi Computers and now runs her own raspberry jam in her hometown. She also helps at a code club and visits events right across the UK. There is a growing number of media clips and blogs on the internet that she been involved in, all aiming at getting young people–especially girls–involved in tech. Her motto is “if I can do it, you can too.”
Gabi is fourteen years old and has been programming web and smartphone apps for three years. She builds digital projects and has a passion for creative digital content like music and graphics. Gabi regularly participates in coding activities in school and in her community, especially those reaching out to girls. Her first project was a website to promote ICT to girls and women. Gabi started volunteering at young age and is a member of the school archery club and woodwind orchestra. She is always keen to try new things and believes everybody can be good at something.
CyberMentor is Germany’s largest online mentoring program for girls in STEM (MINT in German).





and growing opportunities for all”: On 18 October at the European Parliament
21 October –
24-26 October – WOW Code2Confidence Project Launch (Targu Mures, Romania) : On 24-26 October, Ms. Katja Legisa, DLI Communications Director, traveled to Targu Mures, Romania for the launch of the WOW Code2Confidence project supported by the European Commission Erasmus+ program. This project, which aims to share best practices to increase digital skills among women, was recently awarded to a European consortium made up of DLI and four partners.
25 October – 