All of a sudden when there are "chix" involved - the gurus start popping up ;-) hehehe ..... Just kiddin ..... That's a good idea, we need to develop our local human networks as much as possible. Regards, Brian On 5 Sep 2005, at 17:18, Sammy Lusiola wrote:
Ngigi,
Perhaps you could consider rounding some gurus together and getting them to contribute at this event. I think it's about time we started giving something back to the community.
Sammy Lusiola Systems Manager ISPKenya
On 2 Sep 2005, at 16:44, Dorcas Muthoni wrote:
On September 10, 2005 starting 9.30 a.m, members of LinuxChix Africa (www.africalinuxchix.org) who live in Kenya will to hold a Career Workshop for High School girls to encourage them to pursue careers in Computing.
We believe that computing as a whole and Free and Open Source Software(FOSS) in particular, can play a significant role in empowering women. The copyleft nature of FOSS helps programmers to learn from programs or modify them so that they build on the innovations of others rather than re-invent the wheel: Great achievements can only be made by standing on the shoulders of giants.
However, IT innovations and the opportunities are ineffectual if people are un-aware of them. The lack of awareness goes a long way in explaining the notable dearth of women in the IT industry in Kenya. A situation, that exists inspite of the fact that they achieve as well as the boys in pre-university examinations. Due to lack of access to information about the opportunities in the ICT field, girls who do well in their O-Levels often opt for other disciplines. The purpose of this workshop is to provide them with information on computing and also answer their questions regarding computing as a career.
The team is composed of former and current Computer Science students and other players in the computing industry. Keynote speakers will comprise luminaries from various IT displines. We shall have women system administrators, system analysts, developers, academics, entreprenuers, CTOs and other computer scientists. The focus on women keynote speakers is a deliberate move that aimed at demonstrating success in the IT industry is not impeded by one's gender. It is hoped that the speakers will inspire and serve as role models to the girls.
We expect up to 450 students to attend. The event will be held at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Jubilee Hall Auditorium in collaboration with their Computer Science Department.
Although this event is in commemoration of the Software Freedom Day, the team intends to build on the gains of the day by setting up Linuxchix Africa affliated clubs in the schools in order spread the spirit of opensisterhood in computing.
In the afternoon starting *2.00 p.m*, we shall have discussion tables where industry players can freely interact with the students in order to share their experiences and inspirations. All are welcome.
We shall distribute CDs and leaflets to the girls which they will be able to carry and share with others.
This event will happen with support from Catholic University of Eastern Africa, KENIC, KICTANET and CATIA. We applaud them for their kindness.
Thanks and regards, Dorcas Muthoni Team Leader Cofounder LinuxChix Africa
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