Banner Year for DLI: In 2016, the Digital Leadership Institute directly reached over seven hundred girls and women with hands-on workshops and role model activities aiming to improve their ESTEAM* skills and promote their participation in strategic, innovative sectors of the economy — as creators, entrepreneurs and leaders. We thank you for your support of DLI in 2016 and, with your help, we look forward to positively impacting the lives of more girls and women in 2017!
Support DLI in 2017: If you would like to support the ongoing work of DLI to promote inclusive digital transformation, which is reaching some of the most under-served communities in Europe, please consider donating to our institute or supporting us in other ways in the coming year. US-based organisations can make a tax-deductible donation to DLI here. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information on how to get involved.
Upcoming Events in 2017: The following DLI events are coming up in 2017. To keep up with the rest of our events, please visit our calendar or sign up for the DLI Newsletter.
- 1 February – Launch of CYPRO Cybersecurity Cohort #2: Cyber professional training and job placement program for experienced women. Please contact us for more information.
- 11-12 February – inQube Move It Forward for Women in Media: Female digital starters weekend as part of Startup Europe Week 2017, at the Creative District Ravenstein Coworking Space in Brussels.
- 29 April – Digital Muse Girl Tech Fest Brussels 2017: In celebration of International Girls in ICT Day 2017 at the European School of Brussels IV.
Update November-December 2016: On 8 December 2016 in Brussels, the Digital Leadership Institute celebrated the 2016 European Ada Awards recognising top girls and women in digital fields in Europe, and the organisations that support them. The event was hosted by GE Garages in the context of European Vocational Skills Week 2016, and supported by top decision-makers from public and private sectors across Europe, including Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Ms. Eva Paunova, Member of European Parliament, and Ms. Beata Stelmach, CEO of GE Poland. DLI and its partners awarded the 2016 European Digital Girls of the Year, Digital Woman of the Year, and Digital Impact Organisation of the Year.
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 November and December 2016, 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
8 November – “Promoting Digital Skills for Girls” Webinar: Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, was a special guest for an 8 November webinar on “promoting digital skills for girls,” hosted by the Innovation in Education Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education, Art and Culture.
17 November – “Enterprising Women in Tech” WeHubs Closing Event (Brussels): On 17 November in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, judged the final pitch competition and contributed to an expert panel on “best practices in promoting female entrepreneurship,” in the context of the closing event of the WeHubs project for women web entrepreneurs in Europe.
21 November – “Make America Great Again” – Debaets Debates (Brussels): On 21 November in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, joined a high profile public debate on the topic of “Make America Great Again” hosted by Ms. Bianca Debaets, State Secretary for the Brussels Capital Region, and moderated by Mr. Rik Van Cauwelaert, journalist for De Tijd.
23-24 November – “Helping Europe’s Entrepreneurs Reach New Heights” 2016 SME Assembly Slovakia (Bratislava): On 23-24 November in Bratislava, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Cofounder, contributed to a high-level roundtable on “Entrepreneurship Education” at the European Commission’s annual SME Assembly, taking place as part of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council.
29 November – Think Digital “Shaping the Digital Future of Europe” (Brussels): On 29 November, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, moderated an expert panel on “Shaping the Digital Future of Europe,” including Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Ms. Kaja Kallas, Member of European Parliament, which took place at Egmont Palace in Brussels as part of the first Think Digital summit.
1 December – A Journey into European Factories of the Future (Graz, Austria): On 1 December in Graz, Austria, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Cofounder, delivered a closing keynote on the topic of “Industry 4.0” for the event “A journey into European Factories of the Future,” organised by SFG.
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!
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.
Geek Girls Carrots is a global organisation focused on connecting, learning and inspiring women in Tech and IT. We create community by organising meetings, workshops and other events which gather people to share their knowledge and experience. We bring together female admins, analysts, application architects, developers, graphic designers, IT managers, programmers, social media specialists, system architects, project managers, women with startup ideas, computer science students and many more. Geek Girls Carrots is present in Poland, Germany, USA, Luxembourg, France, Ireland, UK, Japan, Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel, South Korea and Czech Republic. Since 2011, meetings have taken place in 31 cities.
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 
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 –