My “inspire Inclusion” IWD24 Highlights
These are the kinds of notes that would have ended up in my journal, but after much thought, I decided the world should see them. So, disclaimer!! This is not a technical writing article (winks & smiles).
It is my highlight of IWD24 and why it is the best IWD I have ever had. This year’s theme, “Inspiring Inclusion," aims to inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion.
The highlights of my IWD24 were:
- Serving as a mentor for the After School STEM Club for Girls (ASCG) program at the Visiola Foundation. You can find the full details at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-visiola-foundation/. I had previously served as a judge for their December STEM classes. Although there were time constraints, so I couldn’t serve fully as their mentor, but watching the 8 teams present their project sparked the girl power in me and reminded me of the quote by Nancy Reagan,
‘Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.’
Girls between the ages of 13 and 16 designed mobile apps to solve societal problems they have observed, such as reducing the number of minor cases in the hospital by booking a virtual session so the doctors can concentrate on major cases, an app to support students with disabilities (eye and ear), finding the nearest handyman and clients to provide services, which will serve as a means to reduce unemployment, etc. It gave me a nostalgic feeling of my days in secondary school, where I had the opportunity to participate in STEM programs for girls, although the funds for the computer classes scholarship we won were embezzled (sad, right?).
It was a fulfilling way to spend my IWD24 with the girls.
2. I finally found the courage to launch my fashion design skills as a brand, ‘ARA’.
Check it out on Instagram and Twitter: @Ara_coutureNG.
Fashion designing is a family business, and it is something I enjoy doing outside of tech, but I have done it passively. I remember adding it to my year plan during the group exercise we had at the UNODC Africa Women in Cyber Summit, “Bring home the experience and lessons from the summit.”. But, I felt it wasn’t perfect enough to be launched, or it wasn’t worth being launched into a brand. Thankfully, I had watched the Barbie movie again, and the line where America Ferrera (Gloria) spoke to Barbie when she was having her ‘existential crisis’ hits differently despite watching the movie twice now.
‘It is literally impossible to being a woman, you are so beautiful and smart yet it kills me that you don’t think you are good enough, like you always have to be extraordinary’
Was the brand perfect? No, but it is better, so I launched it, and I’m intentionally working on its excellence.
I spent the day after having a physical meeting with my mentor, and it makes a lot of sense why one must have a guide while navigating their path, and we had amazing discussions on what’s next.
I feel so alive, and I’m saying to myself that this is the best time to be a woman.
I’m grateful for and celebrate women in the UNODC Africa Women in Cyber Networking Group and all the amazing women who advocate for inclusion, as it inspires the younger generation to pursue our own goals and challenge the status quo.
“The women in my life go ahead of me, opening the doors ahead and keeping them open so I can pass through the same doors easily, and so I am determined to give my best as I empower myself and others, even as I draw strength from the empowerment of other women.” Omolara Esther Hamzat
It is safe to say Happy International Women’s Day on the 11th of March. I leave you with my favorite quotes below:
‘When the world tells you to shrink, expand.’ Yoko Ono
‘The challenge is not to be perfect… it’s to be whole.’ Jane Fonda
‘The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.’ Ayn Rand
‘Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.’ Hillary Clinton”
