Google, Globe team up for women empowerment
MANILA, Philippines -- Internet search engine Google and Globe Telecom's developer community Globe Labs teamed up for Friday's International Women's Day to bring together women in the local developer community to teach, learn, code, and network.
Tomorrow's event dubbed DevFestW, will be the first one for the Google Developers Group (GDG). The whole day event will be held simultaneously at 19 cities in 13 countries worldwide.
DevFestW is a community-led event that has technical and non-technical sessions centered around Google developer technologies and platforms.
The event is geared towards web and mobile female developers who want to build applications using Google technologies; female members of the academe who need to learn how to use Google Apps for online collaboration and global classrooms creation on YouTube; and female business owners and content publishers who want to boost website traffic and have effective online marketing.
Google believes diversity and inclusion is important for vibrant communities and focusing on women is the first step towards a larger effort to diversify the global Google developer community.
While the event is not for women only, it provides an opportunity for developer communities to be mindful of female inclusion, thus, the emphasis on women speakers, organizers, and partnerships with local women developer organizations.
Anne Michelle Santos, Developer Relations Manager of Globe Labs, said they have been working with GDG on various initiatives.
"Last year, Globe Labs and GDG brought the DevFests to Cebu and Bacolod. With the success of those two activities, we’re starting 2013 with another DevFest but this time, it’s for women in technology," Santos said. "Not only is DevFestW Philippines being organized by women but it also boasts of outstanding women speakers. We believe that supporting GDG in this undertaking will be a great avenue for us to further engage the women in local tech communities."
Among the DevFestW speakers are Deng Ching-Mallete, a technical architect and lead developer at Exist Software Labs; Michie Ang, a registered nurse, mobile developer, and start-up entrepreneur; Renee Talabucon, a front-end web developer at Orange and Bronze Software Labs; Camille Zapata, user interface designer and developer for Save 22; and Ria Lu, President and CEO of Komikasi Games and Entertainment.
