Girl Tech Fest Brussels 2016

In celebration of International Girls in ICT Day 2016, on 30 April in Brussels the Digital Leadership Institute will launch the first-ever Digital MuseGirl Tech Fest” — an all-day event promoting digital and creative skills to 11-15 year old girls from the greater Brussels region.  This event, supported by top technology companies, youth networks, and public and private partners in Belgium and Europe, aims to increase participation of girls in ESTEAM* studies and careers through hands-on workshops at the intersection of creative and digital endeavor.

Digital Muse Girl Tech Fest:  The first-ever Girl Tech Fest will showcase inspiring women role models in tech, a Digital Muse Lab where girls can experiment with the latest high-tech gadgets, and dozens of hands-on workshops promoting digital skills and creativity with subjects like “The Future of Fashion,” “Digital Music Composition,” and “Building Smarter SmartPhone Apps.”

DM1 Art

Digital Muse One – Music Compilation Release:  On the occasion of the Girl Tech Fest, the Digital Leadership Institute will also release its first compilation album, “Digital Muse One – DM1,” featuring top women electronic musicians from the past and present.  Album artists will join the Girl Tech Fest as speakers and workshop leaders.  Proceeds from the DM1 release event and sale of the album will benefit this and future Digital Muse activities.

If you or or your organisation would like to support the Digital Muse Girl Tech Fest — with expert-led workshops, sponsorship, promotional consideration, media coverage, technical infrastructure or onsite volunteers, please contact us.  We are looking forward to launching this world-first for International Girls in ICT Day in Brussels on 30 April 2016 with you!

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

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Girls in ICT Day 2015

Imagine a world where you can attend your Economics class from the comfort of your own room, where your gerbil can send you a picture to say it’s hungry, or your dress can tell when you’ll need a rain coat….  If you think this is the World of Tomorrow, you’re in for a world of surprises!  This phenomenon is called the “Internet of Things”.  It’s a world where things connected to the Internet can “think” and “communicate” for themselves.  It’s a world where all the things mentioned here are already taking place.  It is the World of Today, and YOU are a part of it!

On 23 April, In celebration of International Girls in ICT Day 2015, Digital Muse and Cisco Belux presented “Girls & The Future Internet”:  A hands-on workshop – in English, Dutch, French & German – for girls ages 13-17, to promote active participation and leadership by girls in designing and building the Internet of tomorrow, for fun, safety and wellbeing.

During the workshop, participants learned about the Internet of Things, developed IoT projects with a focus on health, safety, entertainment, fashion, “smart” cities, etc.; and they were encouraged to participate in the global Cisco-sponsored contest for IoT projects by girls.

Europe’s First Digital Innovation Centre for Girls and Women

On 9 March in Brussels, the Digital Leadership Institute and 150 of its closest friends and supporters celebrated International Women’s Day with the grand opening of DLI‘s Digital Innovation Centre for Girls & Women, a first of its kind in Europe! This very special occasion was marked with fun, hands-on digital activities for all ages, a high-level roundtable with Brussels, Belgian and European stakeholders, and a reception for all in attendance.

To kick off the evening, DLI volunteers and partners took over the entire, new 100m2 space to give young and young-at-heart members of the DLI family a try at hands-on digital activities with the following themes:

  • 3D Design & Printing
  • Digital Music & DJing
  • Bits, Bytes & Machine Code
  • Silly Robot Missions
  • Play Your Musical Fruit

In particular, the Bits, Bytes & Machine Code activity – a card game for all ages designed by Ms. Rosanna Kurrer, DLI Digital Literacy Lead and g-Hive Community Manager – was a popular (and loud) crowd favorite. It required players to calculate in bits and bytes, and showcased the digital natives in the group, who nimbly trounced their analog ancestors to much vocal lamenting.

The Digital Activity Stations then gave way to an official DLI Opening Ceremony graced with a beautiful video message from Ms. Bianca Debaets, State Secretary of the Brussels Capital Region for Equal Opportunity and ICT, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony officiated by Miss Manon Van Hoorebeke, 2014 European Digital Girl of the Year, and Ms. Esther Roure Vila, 2014 European Digital Woman of the Year.

The evening’s activities were rounded out with a high-level discussion on the topic of “Women Driving Digital Innovation,” with unique and insightful interventions by the VIPs in attendance, all amazing role models for girls and women in technology:

As a magical closing to an exciting evening, Ms. Pascale Van Damme, Managing Director of Dell Belgium & Luxembourg and 2014 “ICT Woman of the Year”, surprised the convened guests with dedication of forty Dell laptops to DLI saying “this is a contribution to help ensure the DLI Centre gets off on the right foot and is able to achieve its mission which we support very much.”

Thank you, Dell! And thank you to all of our DLI community and supporters for such a wonderful and memorable DLI opening event!

Future of Fashion

On Wednesday, 21 January 2015 – in collaboration with GE Garages BrusselsDigital Muse hosted a half-day workshop for 6-16 year old girls on the “Future of Fashion.”  At this workshop, fifty girls learned about cutting-edge tech in 3D printing, electronics and textiles which inspired them to stop dreaming about the future of fashion and start inventing it!

Agenda:

  • 13:30-14:00:  Registration
  • 14:00-14:10:  Welcome Words GE & DLI
  • 14:10-14:20:  Chat with Manon Van Hoorebeke, 2014 European Digital Girl of the Year (BE – 11 years old)
  • 14:20-14:40: Digital Muse Talk by Ms. Katrien Herdewyn, PhD in Physics at KUL & Student in Shoe Design at the Academy of Fine Arts, Sint-Niklaas (SASK)
  • 14:40-16:30:  Digital Fashion Workshops by Ms. Rosanna Kurrer/DLI & Mr. Chris Savage/ICON:Live!
  • 16:30-17:00:  Project Presentations & Closing

Follow the Digital Muse calendar for more activities giving girls the skills and confidence to design and build our digital future!

  

Girls in ICT Day 2014

On 15 April, DLI organized an all-day workshop on “Digital Music” as part of the 2014 Girls in ICT Day festivities at the UN International Telecoms Union headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.  The workshop, presented by Cheryl Miller, DLI/DigitalMuse founder, and Adele Rogers, a local music talent, and included a short history of digital music, song-writing and the digital tools available for “creative digital independence” for aspiring music-makers.  Tune in here to check out the amazing creations that resulted from our digital musings!

On 23 April, Digital Muse also hosted its first-ever Mother & Daughter digital music workshop, organised by Cheryl and Sandrine Droubaix, world-reknown digital musician hailing from Brussels.  The event took place in DJ Sand‘s studio in Brussels, and delivered some fantastic digital music inventions from teams of adult- and mini-digital muses!

Banner Girls in ICT Day for Digital Muse!

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Digital Muse Treat: EU Commission VP Kroes & Girls

On 25 April 2013, Digital Muse celebrated International Girls in ICT Day by contributing to the United Nations ITU, EU Commission and EU Parliament events taking place in Brussels. The day began with ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré officially launching global Girls in ICT Day at the “Women in STEM” breakfast of Zen Digital sister-initiative Women2020.

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Girls in ICT VIPs & Digital Muse Founder

This momentous event was followed by a full day of Digital Muse workshops on “The Tech Behind DJ-ing & Digital Music Composition,” led by DM veterans Sandrine Droubaix and Tony Welter, as part of the “DigitaLive” activities at Tour & Taxis in Brussels. Youngsters from Belgium and around the world composed and presented musical creations to Ms. Neelie Kroes, EU Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, Brussels Region Minister of Employment Céline Fremault and Secretary General Touré.

Girls Learn the Tech Behind Digital Music with Tony Welter
Girls Learn the Tech Behind Digital Music with Tony Welter

Later in the day, VP Kroes spoke at an EU Parliament hearing on the topic of girls and women in ICT and generously lauded Zen Digital initiatives Digital Muse and inQube, and our newly-launched Digital Woman and Digital Girl of the Year Awards, as the very kinds of activities needed to increase participation of girls and women in digital studies and careers.

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Cheryl at WSIS Panel on Women in ICT Careers

On the heels of this amazing day, Cheryl Miller, Digital Muse Founder, was invited to contribute to a global panel on Women in ICT at the ITU’s World Summit on the Information Society on 15 May in Geneva. Following that, Zen Digital and Digital Muse have been asked to further contribute to ITU’s activities promoting digital and entrepreneurship skills for youth by curating and running workshops for “Get Ahead” Day at BYND 2015, the UN’s Global Youth Summit taking place in San José, Costa Rica on 9-11 September 2013.

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Next Stop: Costa Rica!

Be sure to like us on Facebook to enjoy more content from Girls in ICT Day, and to stay tuned with our upcoming Digital Muse activities!

DigitalMuse.org Gears Up for Girls in ICT Day

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On 25 April 2013, Digital Muse will be celebrating International Girls in ICT Day in a BIG way by sharing in a host of activities promoting girls in ICT in Brussels!  As part of the fun, and with thanks to the terrific people at Intel, DigitalMuse.org will organize several hands-on workshops on “The Tech Behind Digital Music,” teaching hundreds of teenage girls the skills behind DJ-ing and digital music-making!  Find out how to register for the event here, and to get in on the excitement be sure to like the “Every Girl Digital” Facebook page and join our event online to show your support for digital muses everywhere!

In the lead up to Girls in ICT Day, DigitalMuse.org parent organization, Zen Digital Europe has been selected by the European Commission to run a social media campaign to help build interest in Girls in ICT Day, and to broadly promote the message of Ms. Neelie Kroes, Vice President for the European Commission, about getting more girls and women digital.

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Zen Digital is running a campaign to crowd-source the text of Vice President Kroes’s speech at the European Parliament on 25 April.  So anyone interested in collaborating is encouragaged to join our EU Women LinkedIn group and get in on the discussion.  Zen Digital sister-initiative, Women2020, will also host a breakfast on the day, on the topic of getting more women into ICT (information and communication technologies) studies and careers.

 intel_logoDigitalMuse.org What's Your Story girlsinict

Please contact us if you would like to know more about all these exciting activities taking place in honor of the second annual Girls in ICT Day on 25 April 2013.  And, to get a taste of what is to come, please visit here and here to see how we celebrated “Girls in ICT Day” in 2012!

DM goes to the EU Parliament!

On 20 February 2013, DigitalMuse.org carried out a half-day workshop on “3D Design & Printing” at the European Parliament, as part of a wider event promoting female entrepreneurship in Europe.  The event, hosted by Seldia, gave a group of lucky young women the chance to design and print their very own creations using the latest in 3D print technology, and showcased the importance of STE(A)M* skills for young people and the vital contribution all women can make to the future European economy.

DLI sister initiative, Women2020, also collaborated on the event as part of its mission to promote the contribution of women to the Europe2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, where women-led enterprises, female entrepreneurship, social enterprise and STE(A)M skills play a critical role. These issues were also the subject of a panel luncheon where our young digital muses were encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions.

*Science, Technology, Engineering, *Art* & Mathematics

DigitalMuse Meets Digital Champs

On 18 December 2012, Cheryl Miller, founder of DigitalMuse.org, had the opportunity to share her thoughts on the importance of getting more girls and women into STE(A)M studies and careers in the context of a meeting with EU Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, and Digital Champions from all the EU Memberstates.

In her comments to those gathered, including recently appointed Digital Champion for Belgium, Saskia Van Uffelen, Cheryl emphasized the importance of women-led enterprises, especially in STE(A)M, and a feminine growth model for the future economy of Europe, the latter being socially-oriented, digitally-driven, slow-growth, resilient and having a long-term vision.

Pictures from the gathering, including a visit from Stella the Angry Bird, are included here.

 

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Chain Reaction Video

Chain Reaction Video

As a part of our collaboration for the Science: It’s a Girl Thing campaign, DigitalMuse.org composed and choreogrpahed an original song and dance number that was performed at the campaign launch event on the Esplanade of the European Parliament on 21 June 2012.  Catch the “making of” and snippets of the final video of this “unofficial” campaign song and dance via the YouTube link above, and be sure to check out other video from the campaign here!