Black Girls CODE Heads to the Steel City to Empower Local Girls to Think Tech

PITTSBURGH - Aug. 12, 2013 - PRLog -- Black Girls CODE heads northeast to Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, September 14, 2013 as part of a national campaign tagged “Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix.” The campaign’s goal is to teach close to 2,000 girls of color (African American, Latino and Native American) computer programming and other technology skills including mobile app development, video game design, and web design. More than 50 girls are anticipated to register for the upcoming “Build A Mobile App” workshop being held from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Google Pittsburgh offices. Through partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and Google, Black Girls CODE aims to provide local girls the skill sets to help transform the Steel City into a Tech city.

“The work force of the future is all about creative technology. We need to show a diverse group of young people that computer coding is not only challenging but fun.   Black Girls CODE's programs give students a chance to take an active role in creating the technology that is an everyday part of their lives.”  -Andrew Moore, Vice President, Engineering, Google Inc.

In this one-day, “Build A Mobile App” workshop girls will focus on mobile application development using the Android AppInventor. Students will work individually on android devices at the Pittsburgh Google offices to hack demo apps and design new apps. All girls aged 13-17 are highly encouraged to register for the workshop. Registration is $35.00, which provides equipment use for the day lunch and program materials. No programming experience is required. The long-term mission of Black Girls CODE is to introduce girls to careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and provide them with skills that will allow them to envision themselves as creators and builders and not merely as consumers in the tech industry. 

"Black Girls CODE is blazing a global technology trail inspiring girls of color to explore computer science, and we are delighted to support the Pittsburgh workshop," says Shelly Brown, M.Ed., Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research Center, a research collaboration of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. "Our outreach goals are very similar - provide engaging opportunities for girls of color and students with disabilities to embrace science, technology, engineering, and math as a realistic career path."

Founded in 2011, Black Girls CODE aims to lower the barriers of entry to women of color in tech careers by increasing high-quality educational resources to students, providing them with mentors and affordable classes. To date the nonprofit has educated over 2,000 girls in computer programming in over 10 cities throughout the United States and expanded to Johannesburg, South Africa. For additional information about the program please visit the nonprofit’s website at www.blackgirlscode.com. To register a student or to sponsor a girl to attend the class, please use the eventbrite link: https://bgcpittsburgh.eventbrite.com/. To sign up to be a technical/nontechnical volunteer for the workshop please email future@blackgirlscode.com.

About Black Girls CODE

Black Girls CODE is a global movement. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco based nonprofit introduces young girls of color, ages 7-17, to computer programming, mobile app development, robotics and other STEM fields. In 2012 the nonprofit launched in 10 cities nationwide and expanded to South Africa. Voted as "2012 Most Innovative Nonprofit" by Bank of the West and “Top Social Enterprise Improving the Lives of Women and Girls” by Women Deliver in 2013, the nonprofit continues to expand and empower hundreds of girls worldwide.

About Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix

Since last year's Summer of CODE 2012, Black Girls CODE has received requests from over 80 cities around the world asking the nonprofit to bring workshops to their town. Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix is the first step in responding to this demand. Cities during the “Summer of CODE 2013 - The Remix” national campaign include San Francisco/Oakland, New York, Memphis, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Chicago, Miami, and Dallas.