Women in Tech Sri Lanka Launches 4th Annual Global Techathon

• Women in Tech Sri Lanka and Teens in AI host the 4th International Women's Day Global Techathon in Sri Lanka
• It has been designed in an effort to inspire teens to learn about technology and AI through activities

Women in Tech Sri Lanka, together with Teens in AI, bring to Sri Lanka the fourth annual International Women’s Day Global Techathon.

The event, organized in Sri Lanka by Women in Tech Sri Lanka, has the purpose of encouraging teens to learn more about the possibilities of technology and Artificial Intelligence.

This campaign runs between February and April of 2024 and aims to support the common vision and efforts with partners in the use of technology to create an equal world through the essential provision of an opportunity to build the potential of the young generation to innovate and make a positive impact in society.

In recognition of International Women’s Day, the “Women in Tech Sri Lanka” initiative will organize the Teens in AI Global Techathon, which is a globally distributed event.

This event aims to empower teenagers aged 12 to 18 from Sri Lanka to come together to solve practical problems using AI and Data Science.

This is accomplished by creating a virtual experience and is delivered in the form of a hackathon, which is connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Elena Sinel, the founder, and CEO of Teens in AI, states: “Inclusion and equity in the areas of AI and technology have to be taken into consideration and prioritized for the sake of having all voices in the future and avoiding biases in AI. What we want to do and try to instill in the younger teens with different backgrounds is use technology for good and bring equity and girls to the top of that list.”

International Women’s Day, observed for over a hundred years, and provides a source of motivation for Teens in AI to rally around their campaign on IWD.

The theme for IWD 2024, “Inspire Inclusion,” resonates perfectly with Teens in AI and their mission to build an inclusive AI ecosystem through AI literacy, education, and awareness campaigns. Inclusion By Design is one of the principles of their mission.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report in 2023 points out that women account for just 29.2 percent of the workforce in the fields of STEM and AI, which shows limited progress in reducing the gap since the report in 2016.

The IWD 2024 Global Techathon event will feature participants from over 75 sites across the globe, including the UK, Europe, USA, India, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Mongolia, and Australia.

This year, Teens in AI is adding additional activities to its IWD program. This will commence with Inspiration Week in February and the first-ever Boot camp of the program later this same month (marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science).

There will also be two Global Techathon Weekends in March (marking the International Women’s Day), as well as a Virtual Panel and Networking session in April, culminating in the International Demo Day of 25th April 2024 (marking the International Girls in Information and Communications Technology Day