WICxSUMMIT 2022 : Connecting Youth To Adult Mentors To Explore STEM Based Careers In Trillion Dollar Cloud Industry. Nominate Youth Today!

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Last year, we had over 70+ youth who got access to over 45+ industry experts to connect, explore and engage in leadership development, college and career readiness.

The reasons why they engaged were:

“I am dreaming about becoming an inventor of something that would make a difference and become noticeable in the world. I believe that with my diverse cultural and family background, I will find this something special, and sacrifice my dedication and time to pursue this special idea and make it successful.” Student, 16 yrs old”

“I am dreaming about how I can take my passion for technology and the love for community service to the next level by impacting many more in the world. There is so much to learn about technology skills and leadership, and I am just at the tip of the iceberg.” — Student, 15 yrs old

Through this work, we also piloted a Youth In STEM  Internship Program to help them design their purpose driven initiatives. These internship programs helped them jump start their careers in the cloud technology sector, foster self-confidence, and connect with professional mentors to increase their network value. The internship consists of 40-60 hours of high quality work, and can occur any time of year. They are highly-specific, project-based positions, often in arenas like events, research, or technology solutions.

Back by popular demand, our Youth In STEM mentoring session is happening at the WIC Summit on January 29th, 2022. The goal is to help youth connect with adult mentors to explore STEM Based Careers in the Trillion Dollar Cloud Market.

We are partnering with Creative Children For Charity (3C) to bring youth and adult mentors together to create mentorship, entrepreneurship and internship opportunities to accelerate youth leadership in our community.

This event is on January 29th 9:00am-10:30am online. This opportunity is for ages (13-19). As apart of this session, we will be offering 3 core activities:

  1. Workshop – Leading Purpose Driven-Initiatives: Youth and Adult Mentors can learn how you can develop a purpose mindset and inspire others to join you in making the world a better place. This session will help you design your purpose statement that can fuel the next movement to drive collective impact by Akhtar Badshah.

  2. Youth & Adult Mentoring: The youth will network with adult mentors to discuss ideas, challenges and opportunities in their field of interest. Adult Mentors will be providing the best practices to help foster positive youth development, academic success, and career readiness.

  3. Youth Panel Discussion on Leading Purpose-Driven Initiatives: You will hear from young innovators and change-makers on how they lead purpose-driven initiatives.

This is an exclusive interactive experience and something you do not want to miss, so make sure to apply now! Applications are due January 15th and will be notified by January 20th via email if approved.

Youth Application:  Below is the link for the youth application. It should take only 5-10 minutes to complete. Once approved, you will be notified via email with participation guidelines and the information needed to access the event.

Apply Today  https://forms.gle/jeFDudyjWbjeNumbA

Please visit the Creative Children for Charity website for more information.

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Immersive Learning Experiences with WICxAnnualSummit’s Workshops

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WICxAnnualSummit 2022 is all about Collective Influence and how can we, together, can create a positive impact on women in tech entrepreneurs.

Starting on January 26th, we expect 1,500 attendants for his highly anticipated 3-day event, jam-packed with all modalities, from Thought-Leadership Power Panels & Keynotes, Power Talks, Focused Roundtables Discussions, Workshops, and Hands-On Labs.

It’s all about Immersive Learning Experiences

We are convinced that the best way of learning is by doing. At this upcoming event, we’ll be having Workshops and Bootcamps so all participants can grow their skills and their opportunities in the tech industry.

You’ll be able to participate in the following tracks: Job Creation & Workforce Development, Technology & Innovation (AI, Cloud, Blockchain, Cyber), Professional & Leadership Development (Leadership & Allyship), Entrepreneur Business Acceleration (Planning Demand-Gen & Co-Selling), and Collective Influence.

And to achieve that, we have developed four Bootcamps. For every session, you’ll count on the participation of high-profile speakers, which are experts in their area. Join Adrianna Alterman (Director at Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund), Gillian Muessig (Managing Director at MastersFund), Chandra Sanders (Director – RISE from The Mom Project), Pat Sullivan (Senior Managing Director at Accenture), Tucker Stine (CEO at TuckerStine + Brand Architect), Patti Dobrowolski (CEO of Up Yout Creative Genius), Dan Langille (Director, Marketplaces and Alliances at Armorblox), Chaitra Velludapalli (Co-Founder & CMO at Meylah), Akthar Badshah (Founder and Chief at Catalytic Innovators Group), among others, on this extraordinary series of workshops.

Take a look at what’s to come:

  • #FindYourFit: The Pandemic has forced many people to change jobs and even careers. In fact, many people have found a lot of opportunities by migrating to the technology world industry. In this workshop, you will learn how to overcome this challenge, crush any job interview, and get your dream job.
  • #TechProfessional: With technology advancing fast, more specialists (such as engineers, developers, and architects) are needed. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to take advantage of these opportunities (and more).
  • #ThoughtLeadership: A powerful story can open the doors for outstanding business and job opportunities down the road and prove and demonstrate your knowledge to others. You’ll learn how to craft a solid narrative to get the best of every opportunity.
  • #CloudFounders: Nowadays, women’s representation in the tech industry for corporate procurement dollars and federal contracts is very low. In this workshop, you’ll learn the best practices and strategies for developing creative investment models to help you secure finding for enterprise opportunities.

For every bootcamp, you’ll be able to get downloadable worksheets, live exercises, and training from the industry’s experts to up-level your skilling and professional development.

You are still on time to save your spot for the #WICxAnnualSummit 2022. Don’t miss the chance to attend and honor the Collective Influence of the fantastic milestones and achievements of women tech founders, entrepreneurs, and purpose-driven tech industry leaders!

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Inaugural #WICxALLIES Awards Nominations Now Open 📣

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We are delighted to announce the call for nominations for the Inaugural #WICxALLIES Awards.  

As part of the #WICxALLIES campaign, Women in Cloud partners with tech-industry leader Gavriella Schuster to bring you WICxALLIES Inaugural Awards.

As part of the campaign, WIC is pleased to announce the first ever WICxALLIES Awards, recognizing the individuals who demonstrate allyship by empowering women by Advocacy, Listening, Lifting, Including, Elevating and Sponsoring. 

Allies are the men and women building for inclusion through their everyday actions to bring more women into their network, organization and leadership roles. 

The #WICxALLIES Awards are a unique opportunity to acknowledge those who have supported your entrepreneurial  and professional journey through their Advocacy, Listening, Lifting, Including, Elevating and Sponsoring. 

We would like to hear from you! Nominate the allies in your community and network for the Overall Allyship Award, Advocate Award or Sponsor Award by December 30, 2021.

Allies are the men and women building for inclusion through their everyday actions to bring more women into their network, organization and leadership roles. 

The #WICxALLIES Awards are a unique opportunity to acknowledge those who have supported your entrepreneurial journey. The awards will recognize three allies in the following categories: 

  • Overall Allyship Award – recognizing an ally who clearly demonstrates their work who act to Advocate, Listen, Lift, Include, Elevate and Sponsor women in their network with examples of outcomes. Nominate an Ally here >>
  • Sponsor Award – recognizing a leader and ally who clearly demonstrates their work to sponsor women in tech through financial empowerment and mentorship. Nominate a Sponsor here >>
  • Advocate Award – recognizing a leader and ally who clearly demonstrates their work to advocate for women in tech through their supplier and organizational ecosystems. Nominate an Advocate here >>

As a community, we count on your support to spread the word about the call for nominations so that we reach all the noteworthy individuals and organizations around the world. 

Important:

1. Organizations and initiatives can nominate themselves!

2. Nominations are open until December 30, 2021.

3. This year’s award ceremony will be on January 26, 2022 during the #WICxANNUALSUMMIT event. 

We can’t wait to see the nominations start to roll in!  

Please contact Sammy at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions you might have.

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The Joy Of Giving: Join Us In Providing 2,500 Women Access to Economic Relief who are on the Brink of Poverty in India Due to COVID-19.

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It’s the season of giving for everyone, we have an opportunity to pay forward the prosperity and access that we are blessed with. 

In response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on women in India, Women in Cloud launched the #empowHERfamily initiative in August 2021. The purpose of this cross-sector economic relief initiative is to empower 1M women in India to have an effective future by curating actionable digital solutions to provide economic relief. 

One of the campaign’s initial successes was the launch of digital skilling efforts in partnership with Microsoft, Coursera, RV College of Engineering and IAMCP to create access to cloud jobs and opportunities.

During this holiday season, Women in Cloud and Indiaspora partnered with Give India to help to raise $1M to distribute as direct cash assistance to 2,500 women who lost the primary bread-winner in their families due to Covid-19. Funds raised will be used to provide direct cash assistance to affected women in India through GiveIndia and their network of on-the-ground nonprofit partners.  

This giving season, can we count on you to support Women in India displaced by Covid-19 with a simple gift?

You can make a difference by joining us in one of three ways:

  • Donate – Can we count on you to contribute $100, $250 or $500 towards achieving our collective goal? It only takes a few minutes to change 2,500 lives.
  • Sign up to become a volunteer to serve in a variety of roles — from business mentors to local community advocates. Get recognized as an Influential Cloud Advisor and transform their careers through the power of collective access and action.
  • Invite and inspire your professional and personal communities to join you in this cause, by sharing with your professional and personal networks.

The enthusiasm and support of our community is inspiring. The #empowHERfamily initiative is galvanizing corporate and community partners in the U.S. to raise funds to support women in India. The Corporate campaign helped raise $40,000, and we’re excited to partner with Indiaspora and GiveIndia to launch a community campaign with a goal to raise $1 million to provide direct cash assistance to women who have lost the primary breadwinner in their families due to COVID-19.   

We want to acknowledge our deepest gratitude to Vasu Jakkal, Christine Puccio, Karen Fassio, Karen Cone, Rajiv Kapoor, Barry Russell, Michelle Pruitt, Ram Dutt, Pradhyna Desh, Maria Defante, Debbie Uttech and Tejas Dixit who helped us establish $30K Match Fund to accelerate economic relief for women.  In addition, we  are deeply grateful to our community partners Indiaspora, Restart Partners, International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners, GiveIndia, Women in Technology Network, and Microsoft Alumni Network who are supporting us to accomplish the bold goal of helping 2,500 women in India who lost the primary bread-earners in their families and were pushed to the brink of poverty due to COVID-19. 

An act of Charity bestows many benefits for the giver – it develops an attitude of service; expands the heart, and fosters the sentiment of compassion for others. Will you take this opportunity to give to women like Ninghoih and Mankhanching who are struggling to make ends meet due to COVID-19, and spread light in their lives this giving season? 

Change a life today. Click here to Donate Now

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WICxUNGA 2021: Join the conversations around AI Ethics & Innovation, Digital Skilling and Leadership Acceleration

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Revolutions cannot thrive without our industry being reshaped by those that are at the core of its future. At Women in Cloud, we have learned the power of collective access and action to ignite stronger leadership and economic opportunities for women in technology, through the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Welcome to #WICxUNGA 2021, where like-minded industry leaders, executives, investors, entrepreneurs and community members come together to share the new narrative that is accelerating digital transformation, economic opportunity, global inclusivity and proven leadership development for our community and beyond.
The #WICxUNGA event will capture powerful dialogue through unique activations focused on UN SD goals, including gender equality, sustainability, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and strategic partnerships to achieve our collective mission and vision. We’ll cover social responsibility and collaboration to eliminate inequalities and injustices, including TED-like workshops, plenary sessions, roundtable discussions and a pitch challenge. 

Experience a community event unlike any other that dives deep into addressing the challenges we face today with next generation solutions harnessing AI for good, sustainability, building trusted partnerships and networks, becoming effective strategic advisors and developing career growth opportunities focused on leadership acceleration.

How are thought leaders today changing the narratives for tomorrow? This is #WICxUNGA 2021.

We are so delighted to bring you three unique and creative experiences by our partners.

Presented by IBM : AI Innovation and Ethics Track

Thought Leadership Session: Using AI Innovation To Achieve The UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

AI and climate change has been an area that has been gaining a lot of traction in recent years.Today’s cloud age of digital technology drives remarkable advancements at phenomenal speed. This plenary session will examine how AI Innovations can help us achieve the UN 2030 SDG’s and their potential ethical issues that are likely to bring forward, their impacts on economic equity and access for women.

AI Innovation & Ethics Unplugged Roundtables

If AI is our future, what is it really telling us? This is a session hosted by experienced leaders utilizing a group discussion format to allow attendees to share their own valuable inputs on specific AI-related topics and their potential ethical issues that is likely to bring forward their impacts on economic equity and access for women to design the strategies for Women In Cloud – AI Ethics Coalition 2022 charter. Your input, your voice and your ideas will help us shape the future of the AI Ethics Coalition. Get engaged, connect with other thought leaders and join our collective action.

Presented by Microsoft: Cloud Hands On Lab & #Buildfor2030 Hackathon

Hands on Cloud Day: Provide attendees with access to a free Hands-On Lab experience to get their hands “Cloudy” and deepen their Azure foundational knowledge.

#Buildfor2030 Hackathon and Ask Me Anything Session: An innovative hackathon that seeks to drive transformative solutions and services into development to further the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Through this learning and community-building journey, together we are accelerating innovation to power a more inclusive economy.

#CloudJobs Diverse Recruiting: A digital job fair offering a meet and greet experience with hiring managers and recruiters, where women can meet with companies actively seeking and recruiting talent, benefitting both the company and the job seeker by aligning talent with employment opportunities.

Power Talk: What’s Next After Cloud Certification? How to Pursue Your Dream Job: Sometimes when we reach one destination it’s actually just the beginning of a new journey.  Cloud Certification is just the first step of many in your new career path.  Learn how to develop the right strategy, skill sets and approaches to landing that dream job you have been searching for.  Discover the best practices of how to market yourself in a highly competitive marketplace and understand what companies are looking for in today’s ideal candidate.

Power Talk: How to Secure a Job in the Trillion Dollar Cloud Industry : The Cloud Technology industry continues to grow at incredible rates, and so do the opportunities to become part of this trillion dollar marketplace.  But where do you begin?  Learn how to search, apply and prepare for securing a cloud technology job today that matches your skill sets and vision for success, even when there is a growing number of talented candidates out there.  Here’s your chance to find that competitive advantage you’ve been hoping for.

Presented by JP Morgan Chase : Leadership Acceleration Track

Workshop: How to Become a Strategic & Effective Advisor (Panel & Demos): What if we all tapped into the natural born leaders that we already are? Strategic and effective advisors are not taught, rather learned from experience.  Learn how to tap into the innate personal power and leadership skills you possess to become advisors to others, enabling you to grow in your career, support others in their own growth and have access to achieve more advancement opportunities in the future. This is the power of purpose-driven leadership in action.

How to Build a High Trusted Relationship (Workshop): What if our greatest relationships start with one powerful story? Often we find ourselves in a position where we have to prove and demonstrate our knowledge to others in order to get noticed or validated. Learn techniques on how to create a strategic business narrative that is built on trust, authenticity and human connection so you can develop the strongest personal and professional relationships possible. This is where your voice cultivates real business growth.

Get access to all this and more at the 2-Day Signature Event. 

SAVE YOUR SPOT TODAY

Visit https://www.womenincloud.com/wicxunga/ for full event details.

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