#TechTackle2020
TechTackle is our coding boot camp and hackathon initiative targeting adolescent girls with training in design thinking, coding, and research. And empowering the girls to innovate tech solutions to social issues affecting them. The 2019 launch of Girls Hackathon for Justice recorded a huge success. But the 2020 edition was impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and could not hold physically. However, the hackathon held virtually; The TechTackle cohort were challenged to take on the COVID-19 pandemic challenge with the Girls Hack the Virus virtual hackathon and worked within a WhatsApp Group where they conducted their design thinking and research process and went on to collaborate on the design of their app solutions to the pandemic challenges affecting girls which they chose to be gender-based violence.
Amidst the pandemic lockdown, the girls connected on WhatsApp via their parent’s or siblings’ phone. Their research revealed alarming indices of gender-based violence with horrific situations of victims being trapped with their abusers as a result of the lockdown. One of the states in eastern Nigeria recorded over 80 reported cases of fathers who raped their daughters. And past studies show that there are often 4 times more cases than are reported when it comes to cases of gender-based violence. The research conducted by the girls also revealed increasing estimates of girls being married off with no hopes of returning to school after the pandemic. The research results informed their proposed tech solutions on ending gender-based violence and ending child marriage. And to further break the group into smaller groups, we put the girls into 2 groups to innovate solutions to both issues. The girls continued to brainstorm and innovate their tech solutions via the Issues groups on WhatsApp and received some mentoring support from our tech program team. The girls went on to design their prototypes and prepare their hackathon pitch which they had to record and post. Listen to the pitch of the apps designed by the girls’ groups during the hackathon process. And reach out if you are interested to support the girls to grow their applications.
You will agree with us that the girls developed impressive tech solutions tailored to provide services to girls amidst the pandemic. Their solutions explored collaboration with relevant stakeholders, and each integrated the standard COVID-19 safety tips onto their websites. Although the school program was significantly impacted by the pandemic, our programs were stalled to give the girls some space to catch up on their school calendar before we resumed engagement with the girls. We introduced one of our International TechWomen experts to engage with the girls and provide additional support to help them improve their solutions. The girls continue to receive support from their International Mentor to improve their apps and strengthen their tech skills.
#GirlsHackTheVirus
#TechTackle2019
TechTackle is our coding boot camp and hackathon program teaching adolescent girls design thinking, coding, and research so they can use the skills to innovate tech solutions to critical social issues affecting children, especially girls. Our TechTackle 2019 launch, Girls Hackathon for Justice, aligned with the Education for Justice Initiative of the UNODC and worked with public secondary school girls to innovate tech solutions to issues relating to the rule of law and the justice system in Nigeria. The girls designed various innovative solutions to issues like trafficking, rape, drug abuse and other issues in the justice system. Their apps and microchip prototypes were celebrated during the hackathon pitch event.
In the premiere launch of the TechTackle Program, Girls Voices Initiative aligned with the Education for Justice Initiative of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which focused on preventing crime and promoting the rule of law and the culture of lawfulness through education activities and materials designed for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The Girls Hackathon for Justice enabled our secondary school girls to learn more about how the United Nations is tackling crime and to encourage the girls to explore ideas on how technology could be used to uphold peace, justice and strong institutions which is the SDG 16. Coding for justice under the Girls Hackathon for justice, we targeted 50 smart tech girls from 10 public secondary schools, Government Secondary School Apo, Government Secondary School Bwari, Government Girls Secondary School Dutse, Government Secondary School Garki, Government Secondary School Kuje, Government Secondary School Lugbe, Government Secondary School Nyanya, Government Secondary School TudunWada, and Government Day Secondary School Wuse 2. The girls received training in design thinking, coding and research and they formed teams to explore their ideas and innovate their technology solutions to 6 specific challenges under the Hackathon for Justice Initiative. The challenges included counterterrorism, human trafficking, transnational organised crime, corruption (blowing the whistle on dirty players), crime prevention and criminal justice, and corruption (i-report solution to bribery and corruption).
The smart tech girls in the TechTackle Program designed innovative solutions to the specific challenges of their choice and pitched their solutions to an expert panel of judges in an engaging and educative competition. Our panel of judges included experts from the Facebook Developers Circle, the University of Abuja’s Computer Science Department, the UNODC, and an adolescent girl judge – best science student at Deo-Gratias School. A rich representation of guests at the hackathon pitch event included the Board Representatives from the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Education Board of the Ministry of Education. Also present were representatives from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Justice, National Orientation Agency, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Media representatives from the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kiss FM, Leadership newspaper and civil society and private sector representatives from the French Development Agency (AFD), the Nigeria Power Sector Program (NPSP) and parents of the participating students. The hackathon event also hosted a vibrant technology exhibition alongside featuring experts from the Astronomers Without Borders, Smart Kids Zone, Cadworks Nigeria Limited, Engineer Fakoya, and Gumbitek displaying cool technology to the girls and guests at the hackathon event.
The hackathon pitches were innovative and impressive coming from adolescent girls. Winners of the pitch competition, in first position, was the GSS Garki with the 5 team members each winning laptop computers. In second position was GSS Apo with the 5 team members each winning Android Tablets. And in third position was GSS Kuje with the 5 team members each winning Scientific Calculators and Math-Sets. Also celebrated was the GSS Lugbe team who won a laptop computer for their school as the most resilient team in the Program. The winning teams also won additional prizes from the Facebook Developers Circle (offering free advanced coding programs to the top 3 winners), and NITDA’s Office of ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) offering a unique spot to the winning team to participate in its StartUp Friday pitch event. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Young Professionals Nigeria Section also offered consolation prizes to the teams that did not win at the pitch competition, offering free coding programs for the girls to strengthen their coding skills for better competitive edge in future hackathons.
#GirlsHackathon4Justice