The Silicon Cape Women Subcommittee has announced it will hold the Women in Technology Unconference on September 16, aimed at taking a step in the right direction when it comes to fostering collaboration between group’s representing females in the ICT industry.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this year Silicon Cape announced the 11 individuals joining Women Portfolio head Zimkhita Buwa on the sub-committee, charged with understanding the challenges faced by women in the local startup ecosystem and encouraging females to embark on tech-related careers and businesses.
The “unconference” is designed with these goals in mind, with the event designed to bring together groups working towards the same common aim when it comes to increasing female involvement in the tech sector in the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole.
“As Cape Town already boasts a number of organisations, both formal and informal, that promote the interests of women in technology in various ways, we saw an opportunity to foster stronger collaboration between these groups and individuals that represent the diversity of the female experience in the ICT industry. By working together more closely, we can focus our energy toward impactful action,” the subcommittee said.
The event will take place on September 16 at Workshop 17, with Silicon Cape calling on interested parties to attend and add their voices to the conversation about realistic, practical and inspiring ways different groups and individuals can work together to increase the representation of women in technology.
“Our commitment is to create an engaging space for this conversation and to share it with the broader community to ensure that future initiatives build on the ideas that are identified by the community,” the subcommittee said.
The aims of the event, according to Silicon Cape, include to connect diverse women in technology groups in Cape Town, support the work of existing women in technology groups, encourage active collaboration and combined problem-solving, identify possible common challenges and combined actions, and create greater awareness and understanding of the diversity in the female technology experience.
