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US Opens Call For TechGirls Programme 2022
The United States (US) has opened calls for TechGirls Program slated for July 2022.
The program which runs under the Department of State of Educational and Cultural Affairs connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by providing them access and opportunities to advance their skills and pursue their dreams.
Founded in 2012, TechGirls has trained and mentored 343 teenage girls (ages 15-17) from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Tunisia, and Yemen. In 2019, it has expanded to include young women from Central Asia.
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In 2022, the program will expand to support approximately 111 young women from 35 participating countries/territories and 25 US peers in a dynamic four-week US-based experience with an 8-month mentoring program including pre-and post-exchange. The core of the program is a 27-day experience in the United States in partnership with Virginia Tech University.
TechGirls participants engage in interactive technology and computer camp, then travel to one of the following cities (Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Portland or Seattle) for job shadowing at a tech company, and homestay and community service experiences. Once back to their countries, participants are expected to return to educate their peers and create community-based projects.
The Program is packed with skill-development workshops and interactions with America’s most innovative tech professionals as well as 40 hours of study at a Tech Camp with our partner the Center for Enhancement in Engineering Diversity at Virginia Tech. The TechGirls program offers a rich cultural immersion experience, improves the participants’ ability to enter tech fields and encourages them to pursue higher education in fields where women are underrepresented.
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In Sub-Saharan Africa, TechGirls applicants will be competitively recruited and selected from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa.
According to the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, TechGirls is meant to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange that assist in the development of peaceful relations.