Why was this year unique?

We reimagined the Go Girl - Go for IT “trade show experience”. The Go Girl program is a huge logistical event that runs every 2 years. Normally it's in-person with thousands of girls involving booths, giveaways and interactive experiences! It’s a hive of activity! Check out 2018.

2020? - [Insert global pandemic here] 

Due to Covid-19 and the restrictions, we pivoted as we couldn't hold the live event. Being a tech-first company, we amplified the interactivity on a virtual stage. To ensure we could bring an experience that was as close as possible to our normal event!

Exclusive website 

We created an entire website for the event, integrated with Zoom. It was the "basecamp" that helped our Girls navigate to the different sections of the day. See www.ggcyber.org

It was split into different streams (colour coded navigational buttons). Girls were able to connect through passwords that were given prior to the event so they could attend their allocated Zoom Room seamlessly. 

This meant we could also monitor the different levels of participants (just like you would when you counted the number of people in rooms - or "bums on seats").

What happened on the day?

We kicked off at 9am, and it went through to about 5pm. Once everyone had logged in, we welcomed our guests via Zoom and started the day with keynote speakers on amazing topics from space to cyber security and bullying.

See our gallery of screenshots from the event! Including our interactive sessions with the girls

This was then followed by smaller break out rooms that allowed greater interaction with our sponsors.

There were allocated breaks where the girls could explore the website and seek information about potential careers in the 'careers expo'. Normally this is where we'd have the booths at a trade show and give out lollies!

Takeaways from our speakers

• April Staines talked all about the space program and science career options (pictured here as our opening keynote speaker)

• In depth stories from girls about the affects of cyber bulling

• The importance of cyber security in 2020

Seeing the impact

We have already received fantastic feedback from the girls and their parents on how much they loved the event. It is important to us at Vic ICT for Women to empower women with technology. Seeing the direct impact so quickly is amazing. We had girls tell us they have already started learning how to code because they were inspired by Go Girl - Cyber Edition 2020!

What an achievement

Lou Nutt, our Go Girl Director is so proud of the entire team and says: "This was the fastest turnaround for a Go Girl event that we have ever seen. It was without a doubt, the greatest achievement for us. I am super proud of the amazing team of volunteers that gave countless hours to make this a success."

The lead up to the event was quite intense, involving full tech teams, new platform configuration and testing, integrations, school liaisons, logistics, approvals and coordinating all of the communication.

100 plus volunteers participated in various roles and responsibilities to manage all the moving parts. At such scale, the Go Girl program has a full Leadership Team and sub teams that were meeting daily. All contributing to our greater goal of helping young women in tech.

"We pushed hard for 6 weeks and there was a lot of lost sleep! On top of everyone's day job, we all put in so much effort to Go Girl 2020; but it was all worth it to hear the feedback after the event. We achieved such an incredible thing here," Lou says.

Smooth sailing, right?

Mostly! But there's always something that goes wrong... Like a control room meltdown! Mid event, our tech team at Deakin University had an emergency fire evacuation! You've all had these before, it means "dump and run". Leaving all of the computers in one place and the people managing the event in another!

The team responded so swiftly, and were able to pivot to mobile dial-ins, without so much as a blip in the experience for the girls. Phew! This just further showcased the teams incredible skills and initiative.

Thanks for the support!

A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors for everything they have contributed to this years Go Girl - Cyber Edition 2020 event. Not only have they helped with funds to make sure the event was able to be run; but they each put in a great effort to bring engaging content. They were there to inspire and encourage girls to consider the opportunities in STEM related fields.

A summary

We are grateful to all the girls who attended, our in-stream volunteers and on-the-day Girl Guides, and our special guests, presenters and sponsors.

Thank you so much - We can't wait to see you for our next virtual or in person event!

Go Girl - CyberEdition

The Go Girl, Go for IT 2020 event, Go Girl - CyberEdition, is a virtual, fun and free 1-day technology conference for girls in years 5-12, all online! So it won’t matter if your girls are in school or learning from home - all they need is a device and an email address to join. It will be loaded with workshops, presentations and discussions - to inspire and excite girls for a career in IT.

Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2020

Time:

• 9:00am - 12:00pm AEST (girls in years 5-8) 

• 1:00pm - 4:00pm AEST (girls in years 9-12)

• 9:00am - 5:00pm AEST (Careers Expo for all students to explore at their leisure)

Venue: Interactively online - at home or at school

Go Girl - CyberEdition is all about interactive workshops where we can see, hear and show your girls amazing and exciting things (much like prior Go Girl events, but virtually). We’re keen for all girls to see and explore what IT and STEM can offer!

What can the girls expect on the day?