The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC)

News & Events

Read the W.TEC Blog to keep up with news from us.

2011

16 Days of Activism: W.TEC will be commemorating the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence by conducting series of seminars with over 20 secondary schools in Nigeria. Read the posts on our blog. (November - December)
IGNITE at the US Consulate, Lagos: W.TEC Executive Director, Oreoluwa Somolu was invited to represent the Nigeria Computer Society at an event held by the US Consulate (IGNITE).(November)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC): The ED attended a two weeks Seminar on “Connect your Rights” held in Kenya. (September)
Ministry for Communication Technology: W.TEC worked with other stakeholders in the ICT sector in Nigeria to transmit live on twitter and facebook the maiden edition of ICT Roundtable organised by the Minister for Communication for Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson. (September)
4th W.TEC Girls Technology Camp: 16 girls attended the 4th Girls Technology Camp and learnt to use computers and gained a broader knowledge of technology-related career options. The evaluations showed increased skill and knowledge of ICTs, related careers and gender awareness. See photos from the camp. (August)
National Collegiate ICT Conference 2011: W.TEC attended the ICT conference held at the University of Lagos. (October)
New Nigeria Education Workshop: W.TEC attended the New Nigeria Education workshop.
11th West African International Telecom Exhibition: W.TEC attended the workshop. (June)
Nigeria ICT Business Expo
eLearning Africa Conference: Oreoluwa Somolu spoke at this annual conference about the strategies being by W.TEC to build technology skills at its annual Girls Technology Camp. (Tanzania, May 2011)
4th International Child Helpline Day: Oreoluwa Somolu spoke to secondary school students about positive and negative uses of information technology. (Lagos, May 2011)
EduNet Africa 2011: Oreoluwa Somolu spoke at this conference for young people about W.TEC’s Girls Technology Camp. (Lagos, July 2011)
Science, Technology & Innovation Policy Review: W.TEC’s E.D. Oreoluwa Somolu was invited by the Federal Ministry of Science & Technology to join the gender sub-committee to review the draft of the Science, Technology & Innovation policy. (Lagos, May 2011)
BAOBAB Training: WTEC worked in patrnership with other organisation gave an ICT Capacity buidling lecture to members of BAOBAB team. (April)
Before Graduation ‘New Media for Journalists’ Workshop: W.TEC E.D. Oreoluwa Somolu spoke to a group of grassroots organizations and young journalists about how journalists can utilize new media for greater social impact. (Lagos, March 2011)

2010

Technology Times Outlook 2010: Executive Director, Oreoluwa Somolu. Spoke about the uses of information technology for women’s empowerment. (Lagos, February 2010)
IBM USA International Women’s Day Web Seminar: Executive Director, Oreoluwa Somolu, spoke about her journey to establish W.TEC. (Online, March 2010)
W.TEC’s International Women’s Week Celebration: This workshop featured keynote addresses, which explored women’s participation in the political process and the role of technology in amplifying women’s voices. (Lagos, March 2010)
Justice, Development & Peace Commission (JDPC)’s Widows Party: W.TEC E.D. Oreoluwa Somolu spoke at this celebration for widows and widowers about the benefits of computer literacy. (Lagos, March 2010)
W.TEC in Broadband for Nigeria Project: W.TEC worked on the research team of the Broadband for Nigeria project, which was charged to draft a policy document on Broadband Deployment in Nigeria. The research team provided background information to the key elements of the framework in order to help identify the critical areas for the development and deployment of broadband Internet access in Nigeria.
Development Alternative Resource Centre (DARC)'s 'Harnessing Effective Local Partnership, (HELP) Roundtable Discussion & Exhibition: W.TEC exhibited at this event. (Lagos, April 2010)
2nd Young Women’s Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Programme: Young women aged 18 to 30 years were taught to use computers and the Internet for financial empowerment. (Lagos, April 2010)
W.TEC Wins Research Grant: International Research Development Centre (IDRC) awarded W.TEC a grant, as part of the Radio, Convergence and Development in Africa project, to explore if and how radio is contributing to development within African countries – with emphasis on how convergence with other ICTs like the Internet and Internet-based tools is re-shaping the role of radio in people’s lives. (May 2010)
Case Study on W.TEC’s Published: Tactical Technology Collective, an organisation working to enable the effective use of information for progressive social change, published a case study examining W.TEC’s work.
‘Women Living Under Muslim Laws’ Strategic E-campaigning Workshop: W.TEC's E.D. Oreoluwa Somolu and former W.TEC Project Coordinator Oluwatoyin Ajao led the workshop on how to strategically use ICT for advocacy and the advancement of women’s human rights. (Lagos, June 2010)
Human Development Initiative’s GET Global Programme: E.D. Oreoluwa Somolu spoke to children and teenagers on the topic "Youth & ICT: Knowing the Limits in a Wired World." This session outlined some of the safety risks that people face when using the World Wide Web and explored strategies to avoid or minimise these. (Lagos, August 2010)
3rd Girls Technology Camp: This 1-week residential camp introduced Secondary School girls to Computers and other information technology and mentors them in planning their future careers. (Lagos, August 2010)
W.TEC Opens the HUB: W.TEC opened the W.TEC HUB, a technology and business centre, which offers Internet access, document management services and a training facility for rent. This move represents an important part of our sustainability strategy, as well as provides a much-needed service in our local community and to our alumni. (Lagos, August 2010)
World Pulse Nigerian Meet-Up: Oreoluwa Somolu spoke at the meeting of the Nigerian chapter of the global social networking site for women about using technology to educate, connect and empower women. (Lagos, October 2010)
INTERFACE Forum: Oreoluwa Somolu spoke at this forum for young people on how she has been using technology to change peoples’lives. (Lagos, November 2010)
Media Coverage: DBN, Japanese Broadcast Corporation, NEXT, Champion Newspaper, THE NATION, The Gaurdian, CyberAfrica, Punch.

2009

16 Days of Activism: W.TEC commemorated the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence by a series of posts on our blog. Read the posts on our blog. (November - December)

W.TEC E.D is a 'Change Agent': W.TEC Executive Director, Oreoluwa Somolu, was awarded the Anita Borg Change Agent Award for her efforts in supporting women in computing. (October)

Article Published: We published an article in i4d: Information for Development journal highlighting strategies for teaching technology effectively. Read the article online. Our article is on page 6. (September)

2nd W.TEC Girls Technology Camp: 15 girls attended the 2nd Girls Technology Camp and learnt to use computers and gained a broader knowledge of technology-related career options. The evaluations showed increased skill and knowledge of ICTs, related careers and gender awareness. See photos from the camp. (August)

W.TEC Magazine Launched: we published the 1st issue of the W.TEC Magazine, which featured our activities in 2008 and explored the impact on our alumni. The magazine was widely distributed to programme beneficiaries, civil society organisations, media, government bodies and other stakeholders. Read the W.TEC magazine online. (July)

W.TEC Recognised as 'Best Practice': UN-GAID (Global Alliance for ICT and Development) & Taking IT Global recognized W.TEC as a Best Practice in its publication on community transformation through ICT. Read the publication. W.TEC is featured on page 21. (July)

W.TEC & PIN Press Release for WISD: W.TEC & Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) released a press release on 'Vision 2020 & ICT' for World Telecommunications & Information Systems Day. Read the press release online. (May 17)

W.TEC in 'Because I Am a Girl': Plan International, a global body working to alleviate child poverty, profiled W.TEC in its 2009 Because I Am a Girl report as an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of girls. Read the profile. W.TEC is featured on page 93.

Launched Young Women's Programme: We organised the 1st Young Women's Programme aimed at teaching young women aged 18 to 30 years how to use ICTs effectively for learning, leadership, community development and career development. See the photos from the programme. (March)

2008

Award Finalist: W.TEC was a finalist in the ICT Africa Achievers Awards in the Civil Society/NGO category. (October)

Launched Girls Technology Camp: We launched the 1st edition of the W.TEC Girls’ Technology Camp, Lagos. 15 girls were introduced to computers and related technology. They are also participated in gender and leadership, public speaking, self-defence and career counselling workshops. See photos from the camp. (August)

Mentoring Girls in Kenya: W.TEC facilitated the 'Blogs for African Women (BAWo)' workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. Girls learnt to use blogs and other social media to share stories from their world and connect with other young people passionate about being change-makers in their communities. Visit the BAWo blog. (July)

Networking for Success Project Launched: The IDRC-funded 3-month project taught women how to use Web 2.0 tools and other ICTs to effectively develop and advance their work. Visit the NFS project blog. (May - July)

W.TEC Blog Launched: We launched the W.TEC blog on March 8 to coincide with International Women's Day and International Women's Week (March 8 - 15). We kicked-off our new online space with posts, essays, short stories and articles that celebrated women and which discussed issues of relevance.