WAKE and #Tech2Empower

Hello World!
I have been traveling the world. Quite literally. I am finally able to start blogging again about some amazing experiences. I must first start with the Women's Alliance for Knowledge Exchange (WAKE) and the Tech2Empower program I was a part of in Rwanda. http://www.wakeinternational.org

This began when two female friends said- what can we do to encourage women around the world to learn from each other in meaningful ways on issues that matter? And so they started WAKE (I paraphrase). It is an amazing organization that brings talented women together to engage in entrepreneurship, mentorship, education, and true exchange of knowledge and care. It is an amazing opportunity for all involved.

I had been fortunate to have already been a part of a similarly wonderful program, TechWomen. Not living in the Bay Area anymore though, I could not participate in delegation trips. I applied for a WAKE delegation trip last year but was not accepted (I'm sharing to encourage you to never give up! No is just an opportunity to better prepare for Yes). I applied this year and was part of the team!

We, a diverse group of women from google, small start ups, and the like- all around the world, convened in Kigali for a truly amazing experience.

We started with learning more about the city, experiencing the genocide museum,  and learning more about the economy and the women who drive much of it. We continued with an incubator program where we learned about specific companies and were paired to work with the founders in their pursuits sharing what we know and learning from them  whether they be menstrual equality, sports, playgrounds, STEM education (and more!). I was paired with the Starlight Rwanda team. (I got to do some data! Which is always fun). Wow! Ariane and Alice are two friends that are changing the world through science. You can read more here
https://www.equals.org/single-post/2018/05/11/Meet-Ariane-A-Daring-Innovator-Bridging-the-Gender-Digital-Divide-in-Rwanda

We continued with visits to schools (teaching and learning), networking events, and cultural education (I learned how to make banana wine, baskets, made my first cocktail ever, learned about local art, dance, etc). It was AMAZING.

A few highlights/moments of emotional impacts (in no particular order):
-Going to a country with more women in government than anywhere else, and meeting one of them!
- Seeing animals in the wild, beautiful, wild, and free. It was just very moving.
- Going through the genocide memorial, seeing how people can be socially engineered for cruelty, and the sadness of a present state of the world in general that still harbors hate of all kinds.
- Experiencing the purposeful social engineering for forgiveness, recovery, peace, and success. Rwanda is a place I'd go back to on my own in a heartbeat- lush, green, beautiful, clean and kind.
- Meeting sisters in STEM, meeting women, who like, me believe it to be fun, exciting, glamorous, and have a mission to share. We really do have more in common than not!
-Meeting diverse women from all walks of life, learning their stories, and what makes all of us remarkable (an exercise in which we share why we are personally and professionally remarkable).

It was simply special and impactful and something I hope I do in some capacity every year, because boundaries are meeting points, not ending points. They broaden our world and bring us face to face with ourselves, good and bad, and each other, as brothers and sisters of the human spirit (and in this case, spirits in STEM!).

:)