Google Developers Group Islamabad hosts its annual Women Techmakers event at NIC Islamabad

Google Developers Groups (GDG) Islamabad in collaboration with Women Techmakers Islamabad hosted its annual Women Techmakers conference focused around the theme of ‘Progress not Perfection,’ in celebration of the International Women’s Day 2022.

This year’s theme of Progress not Perfection, revolved around discussing the stereotypical personal and professional expectations one is expected to live up to and the perfection one is expected to achieve while carrying them out. The event not only discussed the importance of all kinds of progress, whether big or small, but also celebrated the strength humans demonstrate when they do not let the fear of failure hold them back from accomplishing incredible feats.

The one-day event was held on 19th March at the National Incubation Center, Islamabad, and was sponsored by Iyzil, Bentley, and Google. Whereas, the community partners included Secure Purple, Daftarkhwan, and JWT | Grey, Ignite – National Technology Fund, Jazz, and Teamup

The event kickstarted with an introductory session by the GDG community to get the audience well acquainted with the community as well as with Google’s Women Techmakers initiative, that provides visibility and resources for women in technology. Which was followed by an inspiring lightning talk by Merai Syed, Product and Entreprenuership Expert and Senior Technical Consultant at NIC, who discussed the staunch differences between entrepreneurial and corporate culture and the challenges faced by many along the two paths. Next up was mini-hackathon debrief which was held led by the team from Iyzil. Iyzil is Pakistan’s first smart female safety and security application that focuses on providing safety and security via smart technologies. 

While the mini hackathon itself was held during the legendary lunch/networking break and focused on “discovering new and innovative solutions to improve female safety and security issues in Pakistan.” The audience was divided into groups of 3 or 4 and were asked to focus on the what, why, and how aspects of their ideas, which allowed the audience to interact with one another and share their ideas openly.

Two parallel sessions were kick-started after the break with one technical workshop and one non-technical. The non-technical workshop titled ‘Creativity – From Pen to Paper’ was led by Huma Shahid, Associate Creative Director at JWT | Grey, and focused on becoming more vulnerable, especially when writing or while trying to connect with the creative inside of you. 

The parallel technical workshop focused on Teams in Action curated by Adnan Malik, CEO of Secure Purple. The workshop highlighted security for women and how tech companies can better contribute to making safer spaces for women online.

The highlight of the evening was the panel discussion held with the theme ‘Progress not Perfection,’ curated by GDG’s very own Mashal Riaz that included some of the boss ladies from the industry as panelists: Bakhtawer Mehmood (Head of Strategic Communication at ProPakistani), Neha Maqsood (Community Executive at daftarkhwan), and Sabygha Bazmy (Creative Marketing Manager at Iyzil). The panelists discussed the life events that led them to become the women they are today and how striving for progress instead of perfection has played an important role in their lives.

Lastly, teams from the mini-hackathon were asked to explain their ideas. The best-chosen idea was selected with the top three winners receiving prizes from both Iyzil as well as the GDG Islamabad community. The team from Iyzil appreciated the efforts and the enthusiasm of all the participating teams.