Technovation Challenge Moldova in partnership with eGovernment Center, UN Women in Moldova, Endava,  YOPESO, Peace Corps Volunteers and GirlsGoIT is organising a GirlsMakeApps workshop to kick off the 2016 edition of the program on January 30. An event for girls in school (10 to 18-year-old approximately) who want to learn how to develop mobile apps and participate in a global challenge.

Technovation Challenge is the world’s largest and longest running tech competition for girls. In Technovation, teams of young women work with mentors and coaches to identify a problem, create an app to solve it, code the app, build a company to launch the app in the market, and pitch their plan to experts all in 3 months. It teaches girls life skills such as how to identify a problem, design and test a solution, collaborate with a team, and communicate to different audiences. Teams pitch and submit their ideas (through video) and participate in regional competitions. Once all projects are submitted, ten finalists are selected worldwide to compete in the final competition in California.

In 2014, a team from Ștefănești, Florești in Moldova competed in this challenge by creating a phone app that provides users with a map of local wells and their water quality. They travelled to the finals in the US and were awarded first prize of $10,000 to implement their project and app idea.

In 2015, a team of girls in Chisinau created an app called Dr Cough, that will help you to diagnose your respiratory disease in a simple way.

“Government is looking to boost the number of women in ICT-related jobs. The main way to get more women onto these sites is to give them more education. Many are discouraged from endeavouring to find success in ICT due to a perceived lack of support. The only way to reach women, especially in rural areas is through online courses and opportunities like Girls Go IT and Technovation. The main message of those kind of projects is” you have your rightful place within this sector.” said Michelle Iliev, Partnerships & Public Affairs Consultant, E-Government Center Moldova

Find out more about Technovation Challenge at technovationchallenge.org and on the Facebook event.

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