Girl Rising

A year ago, Kevin Trethewey who owns Driven Software, and I met for the first time to chat about the possibility of having me join the team. I felt immediately that this was a person I wanted to work with. Accepting his offer to join Driven Software as a developer was a very smart move.

I didn't realise until a bit later that the decision to work for Driven was truly the first step of my journey. It didn't cross my mind that a company could do so much for me in terms of inspiration, exposure, encouragement, mentorship, etc. Early on, Kevin and I sat down and he helped me set some goals against a timeline, a powerful exercise that I believe set the wheels in motion.

Taking on the trainer role in a workshop like Girl Rising was probably the thing I wanted to do most. By spending time with the people at Driven, I have seen that my "teacher" mind-set could be replaced by adopting the attitude that facilitation is about other people's learning. Coming from a teaching background, this shift is something I am still working on. I see now how self-indulgent "teaching" can be, and how much more rewarding it can be to take a step back and observe learning.


It was a real honour this year to be asked to facilitate Girl Rising, sponsored by Intel, where 16 girls created their first Android apps. I appreciate so much that I work for someone who gives me time away from the office to do things that I'm passionate about. It was through previous community involvement (and through Driven Software) that Annie Lopes asked me to take part in this event.



A previous community event with Mark Pearl, also from Driven Software, at JoziHub where I first met Annie Lopes



I need to acknowledge that Kevin and everyone at Driven has been behind me every step of the way toward achieving my goals this year, and this event in particular stands out. I described it as "the best thing I've done all year" except for joining Driven, of course.

I recently read an article written by ASLAM KHAN where he writes the following: "I do try my best to not draw public attention to the work that I do. I respect the privacy of being in a group and have learnt a long time ago that it is self-serving to tweet about such work But I blog and open conversations based on observations which I've extracted from my time with others."-

I accept that writing about the event that I attended is partly to celebrate my role in it. This was a big deal for me. Hopefully as a result of this event, more women will consider a career in software development. I'm so happy I was there.

Lorenzo Rheinicke also offered his time to be part of the two day event, and was brave enough to be the only man in the room! Being a father to two girls, he didn't seem out of his comfort zone. I hope that Lorenzo and I will have more opportunities to work together in the future.



Girl Rising Day 1



On the first day of the two-day event, the girls learned to use a simple online application called . This would serve as an introduction for the second day on which they created Android apps using . Both applications simulate programming algorithms by arranging drag-and-drop puzzle pieces on a canvas, with App Inventor being more advanced than Scratch. The puzzle pieces offer options for event handling, movement and appearance, logical conditions, mathematical calculations, looping, etc. The sequence of the puzzle pieces is important, as is the scope of events and variables etc.

Although following a step-by-step example to demonstrate the concepts that were important for the next day's session, the girls had the time and freedom to experiment with the application and to deviate from the example covered on the projector. I was pleased to see that they did, for the most part, create what they wanted to. I also really enjoyed seeing girls try to design their own algorithms, and very often sharing with each other how they'd accomplished different things using the app. I really enjoyed listening to the music some of the girls had created using different drum beats incorporating timing and looping. The excitement in the room was contagious, and I didn't want the day to end.



The girls write their twitter handles on the white wall



At the end of the day the girls and I formed a circle to chat about the day. What happened before we started speaking blew me away.

Two hands reached for mine - the girls were all holding hands. It caught me completely by surprise how these girls, who before the event hadn't met, felt close enough to join hands.

The feedback in short: the girls had fun with Scratch and were super excited to build their first Android apps.

I asked them about the kind of apps they wanted to build and I was happy to hear that they were interested in creating apps that could help people, for example, in rural areas where it is a challenge finding out how to enroll at a university. Such an app could point people to the right application forms for different universities, include information about which degrees one could obtain, the nearest place to access a printer, etc. A few of the girls had come from rural areas themselves. They acknowledged that people in rural areas usually are not privileged enough to own an Android device, and that sparked a discussion of USSD code type applications for simple handsets. I felt the compassion when they spoke as I heard their desires to make South Africa a better place with opportunities for more people.



Girl Rising Day 2



I was expecting the following day to be challenging. The App Inventor software is partly web-based with a java application running in the background, and it's buggy. Sometimes the puzzle piece "blocks" don't click into each other and you have to restart the java app before it'll work again. The emulator application isn't able to emulate everything that you would typically want to do in a mobile app, and the sponsors didn't deliver the devices they were going to distribute for testing. I was shitting myself. We'd had such an amazing day one. The girls wanted to build a mobile app, and it would be devastating if we had nothing to take away by the end of the workshop.

We went through an example building a calculator app. I had thought that this might take about 90 minutes given how quickly the girls had picked up Scratch. It took quite a while longer. I take for granted after 13 years of programming things like differentiating between "Get" and "Set" operations, understanding the context and the scope, the right to left evaluation style. I was disappointed when I realised that I had moved too fast, and after spending some time talking about these things, the girls seemed to feel more comfortable.

Still, the energy was nowhere near where it was the day before, and I was worried.

After lunch we formed a circle again, and this time I asked them to decide what to do for the rest of the day, whether it be using Scratch or an Android App provided that they work together in groups of two or larger to create something they could demonstrate at the end of the day.



The after lunch circle



I had seen some of the girls were frustrated with App Inventor, so I wanted them to know that the day was theirs, and it didn't matter what they used to create something. I was pleasantly surprised when they all wanted to build Android apps, and I saw that excitement again when they started brainstorming app ideas. Groups were formed ranging from 2 to 4 girls based on similar app ideas.

After spending a day and half with the girls, I knew that they were intelligent and curious, but giving them the afternoon to "create something" was very much an experiment. I had purposely given them nothing more than an overview in the morning, so it was music to my ears watching as they tried different things and did some reading online. I appreciated that they were comfortable enough to ask Lorenzo and I for help when they felt uncertain.



Watching the collaboration among the groups of girls left me feeling absolutely inspired.



During an earlier talk where a young woman with her own IT business came to tell her story, one of the girls had asked about potential difficulty working with other women and whether competitiveness and nastiness of some women had been encountered. I can say there was none of that in this room.



These girls were comfortable with one another, patient when explaining their ideas, attentive when listening to each other. Every girl's input was considered by her group members.

It felt warm to me, and I wondered if it was the effect created by putting awesome women in one room to achieve a common goal.Eventually the time came for the groups to share their apps with each other. It took an awful lot to take these girls away from the computers, so much so that I almost didn't want to. Most of the girls had something to show, and those who couldn't demo were able to share with us the idea behind the application they were creating. We all applauded each other's efforts and came together for the last time in a circle.

The girls were in such high spirits at the end of the final day of Girl Rising. They were excited to continue building apps, such as a Girl Rising app to share details of future events and to be able to stay in touch so that "we can always be connected". I found that very powerful considering they were strangers 48 hours ago. A fifth year medical student said that she was surprised at how much fun it was to create software, addictive even, and she was enthusiastic about learning more.

After the end of the retro the girls stayed on and chatted to one another, taking crazy photos and laughing. These young women reminded me why I fell in love with creating software when I first discovered it. I hope when they contemplate their careers going forward, that they consider programming if they haven't already. It is my hope that one day it will come as no surprise that a female can write software for a living, and that we are no longer confused with web or graphics designers. I hope that these sixteen ladies will be part of that change.

Referring back to the post by Aslam, he says "There is a part of me, though, that is cautious of grand celebrations for small steps. That is just me. I prefer constant acknowledgment of progress for each tiny step.It keeps me humble, knowing that the big picture is still not fully painted." He's not wrong.

But me, I celebrate everything from finding good parking space to seeing 16 young women creating their first mobile apps!



** The event was published by Girl Guides , and the full article here .

** Thanks to Annie Lopes and JoziHub for providing the venue and advertising the event, and Intel for sponsorship.



** Some photos courtesy of JoziHub
Full Post