World’s First #WomenVsCOVID19 Hackathon

On 24-26 April, as part of the #EUvsVirus event attracting 20,000 participants from around the world, the Digital Leadership Institute and its partners hosted the first-ever global #WomenVsCovid19 hackathon tackling the unique challenges facing girls and women from COVID19 .  With 160 participants, ranging from 16 to 70 years of age and representing over 25 countries, the three-day “Move It Forward” event brought together policy-makers and private sector actors to support teen and adult women in driving solutions to the address the coronavirus pandemic.

Move It Forward for #WomenVsCOVID19 participants enjoyed interventions from European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, Ms. Julie Linn Teigland, Global Director for Women Fast Forward at EY, Ms. Anna Falth of UN Women, Ms. Pirkko Mahlamäki from European Women’s Lobby, and Ms. Bernadette Gemmell of the European Institute for Gender Equality.  Miss Alai Miranda Blanco Lascurain, recipient of DLI’s 2019  European Digital Girl of the Year award, also inspired participants by sharing about her own 3D-printed invention supporting frontline healthworkers in Spain, vast majority of whom are women.

During the event, Move It Forward project teams also benefited from expert mentorship and digital skills trainings–including website development, smartphone app coding, and data visualization–in order to develop initiatives that tackle economic and social challenges impacting the world’s girls and women as a result of COVID19.

Top #WomenVsCOVID19 projects, recognised by a world class jury including Ms. Charlene Lambert from Women’s Entrepreneurship Platform, Ms. Wendy Diamond of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, Ms. Jaya Jiwatram, of UN Women, Ms. Anne Ravanona of Global InvestHer, and Ms. Cheryl Miller Van Dÿck from DLI, were the following:

  1. All-Around Award:  WAVEA smartphone application tackling psychological abuse and delivering pan-European emergency-response for victims of violence against women and girls
  2. Innovation AwardExit Tales – An animated documentary of COVID19 stories from the perspective of migrant children
  3. Impact AwardArt Time with GrandmaAn inter-generational art-making project promoting women artists and connecting kids and elderly women in order to combat isolation during COVID19

DLI and partner Global InvestHer will support winning #WomenVsCOVID19 projects with incubation, mentorship, and training, and projects are also eligible for further support from the wider #EUvsVirus event that announced prizes for the top projects among over 1500 delivered.

Event partners also committed to supporting recognized projects and #MoveItForward events in other geographies. The first #MoveItForward for #WomenVsCOVID19 event was live-streamed on the DLI Facebook page, and links to the separate sessions may be found below.

Thank you to all of our amazing partners who made this event such a success!  Please do not hesitate to reach out to us to support future editions of #MoveItForward!

DLI Update – March 2018

The DLI Board and Executive Team are actively involved in initiatives with partners and stakeholders around the world that promote ESTEAM* leadership by girls and women. Find out below about our work in March 2018, learn here about future activities in which we are involved, and visit our calendar for upcoming events organised by DLI.

*entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics


5 March – ISS Europe 2018 (Dublin): In Dublin on 5 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  contributed to a panel on “Gaining, Training, and Retaining World Class Talent,” at ISS Europe 2018.


7 March – Empowering Girls and Women in Media and ICT (Brussels): In Brussels on 7 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  moderated a day-long seminar for journalists on “empowering girls and women in media and ICT,” as part of the European Parliament celebrations for International Women’s Day 2018.


7 March – Awareness-building for Women in Entrepreneurship (Brussels): On 7 March, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  joined a high-level panel, hosted by the Brussels Women in Business platform and 100,000 Entrepreneurs, promoting women-led entrepreneurship to young people.


8 March – EU Commissioner Gabriel Panel – Cyber Aware: Which Skills for Cyber (Brussels): On 8 March in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, joined a panel chaired by Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Ms. Mariya Gabriel, on “Cyber Aware: Which Skills for Cyber,” in celebration of International Women’s Day 2018.


8 March – IWD at EC Executive Agency for SMEs (Brussels): In celebration of International Women’s Day 2018, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a keynote presentation at the European Commission Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) on “Bridging the Gender Gap and Digital Divide in Europe.”


9 March – fem.talent forum 2018 (Barcelona) : Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder,  provided a keynote presentation on the topic of “World Wide Women: Inspiring Global Women Talent” for the fem.talent forum 2018, that took place in Barcelona on 9 March.


12 March – Open Belgium (Louvain-La-Neuve): On 12 March at the Open Belgium conference in Louvain-La-Neuve, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk on the topic of “Open Knowledge for Social Innovation.”


23 March – Commission on the Status of Women (New York, New York): On 23 March at the UN Headquarters in New York, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, contributed to launch of a GAMAG book on “the holistic nature of the gender and communication agenda,” as part of an official UNESCO, IPDC and GAMAG joint side-event for the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women.


27 March – BETCon (Leuven): On 27 March in Leuven, Belgium, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk at the BETCon (Business, Education and Technology) Conference. Proceeds from event ticket sales went to the charity Three Giraffes, promoting education in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


30 March – PWI Growth Club (Brussels): On 30 March in Brussels, Ms. Cheryl Miller, DLI Founder, gave a talk during a luncheon hosted by the Professional Women International Brussels Growth Club.


Be sure to visit our Calendar, Upcoming Activities page, and sign up for the DLI Newsletter in order to keep up with DLI events and activities!

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DLI Update – January and February 2016

The Digital Leadership Institute kicked off 2016 with aplomb by launching our first Move It Forward event giving Brussels teen and adult women the skills to deploy projects promoting online safety and tackling cyberviolence against girls and women.  In the first week of February, DLI  also coordinated Brussels Region activities for the launch of Europe’s first “Startup Europe Week,” which reached thousands of participants across 200+ European cities.

The DLI Board and Executive Team are actively involved in initiatives with partners and stakeholders around the world that promote ESTEAM* leadership by girls and women. Find out below about our work in January and February 2016, learn here about future activities we are involved in, and visit our calendar for upcoming events that DLI is organising. *entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics


cpdp228 January – Computer Privacy & Data Protection Conference (Brussels):  On 28 January,  DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller,  contributed to a worldclass panel on Loving the No-Hate Web: Another Look into Women’s Digital Rights, where the discussion centered on whether digital citizenship is equal and unprejudiced, in theory and practice.


sewlogo_3001-5 February – Startup Europe Week (Europe): As Brussels Coordinator for the first edition of Startup Europe Week, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, coordinated organisation of four free events on the topic of “Brussels: The Heart of Startup,” from 1 to 5 February in Brussels.  These events, organised by DLI and other top ecosystem players in Brussels, reached hundreds of (aspiring) starters and addressed such themes as “Promoting Tech Startup in Brussels” (DLI & Finnova), “Embrace Your Inner Entrepreneur” (Co.Station), “From Success to First Steps” (Betacowork), and “Women and the Cloud” (inQube/DLI).  The Startup Europe Week Launch Event was also held in Brussels on 1 February.


DLearn11 February – European Digital Learning Network (Brussels): On 11 February, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller,  spoke at a Digital Agenda for Europe roundtable on the subject of  Increasing Participation of Girls and Women in Digital Sectors, for the European Digital Learning Network.


wehubs15 February – WeHubs Webinar (Online):  On 15 February, 11:00-12:00CET, DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, contributed to an online expert webinar open to the public on addressing European support programs for female web entrepreneurs, as part of the WeHubs project.


MWC1624-25 February – Mobile World Congress (Barcelona): DLI Founder, Ms. Cheryl Miller, joined a Connected Women panel on “eSkills and Gender” as part of the Women Leadership Accelerating the Digital Age event at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, 24-25 February.


unwomen24 February – “Monitoring the 2030 Agenda & SDGs from a Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Perspective” (Brussels): On 24 February, DLI Cofounder, Ms. Rosanna Kurrer  joined a UN Women lunch debate on the topic of “Monitoring the 2030 Agenda and SDGs from a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Perspective” in Brussels.


Be sure to visit our calendar and sign up for the DLI Newsletter in order to keep up with DLI events and activities!

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