Ed Tech for Girls
Oracle and AOL Commit $3 Million to National Let Girls Learn Initiative
Oracle and AOL are committing more than $3 million to promote and support technological efforts by girls in the United States and around the world. The commitments are part of a broader Let Girls Learn initiative, which is receiving $20 million in new pledges, according to an announcement made this week by First Lady Michelle Obama at the United State of Women Summit in Washington, DC.
Oracle is investing more than $3 million in direct and in-kind funds over the next 12 months to promote and support educational opportunities for adolescent girls across the globe. Under the Let Girls Learn umbrella, Oracle Academy, Oracle Women’s Leadership (OWL) communities, Oracle’s Diversity & Inclusion program and Oracle Volunteers will offer more than 65 direct educational events and support conferences, summer computing camps and codefests for girls. Oracle estimates these programs will reach more than 55,000 students across the world, inspiring them to explore and pursue opportunities in STEM fields.
The Oracle Education Foundation and Oracle Volunteers will teach girls coding, electrical engineering and project management through four immersive girls-only workshops. Oracle plans to expand the work of its Oracle Academy program in Egypt by making an additional investment of nearly $1 million in resources and services over the next four years, as part of a new partnership with Egypt’s Ministry of Education. Oracle and the education ministry aim to expand computer science education for girls in nine newly developed STEM schools. These schools, also supported by USAID, will provide three years of paid secondary education for each girl.
AOL is launching a Let Girls Build Challenge, powered by Citizen AOL and AOL’s #builtbygirls platform. This initiative will encourage young women to use the power of technology to conceptualize tech-enabled solutions to the problems facing the 62 million girls without access to education.
Through the Let Girls Build Challenge, AOL and Let Girls Learn will provide the resources, funding and mentorship needed to empower the leaders of tomorrow and help open the doors to education on a global scale.
For more information on Oracle’s efforts, visit oracle.com or email [email protected].
For more information on AOL’s challenge, visit builtbygirls.com/letgirlsbuild or email [email protected].
About the Author
Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].