09/03/2016
Inspiring women know no boundaries & create endless opportunities for other women.
This is why Facebook chose Sana Odeh and 6 other women to celebrate successful women around the world. Read her story below! ArabWIC Algeria Chapter
Professor Sana Odeh is the founder and chair of Arab Women in Computing, a remarkable organisation that supports thousands of women from the Arab world to develop their skills in computer science and build strong careers.
While meeting and photographing this wonderful woman, I entered in a world of technology with soul.
Sana grew up in a small town in Palestine. Back then she didn't imagine that someday she would make such a great contribution to empower and mentor so many Arab women.
After finishing high school, she moved to the US where she studied computer science. She realised that this is a field about the future that brings thousands of other fields together to make a difference in the world.
Five years ago, Sana started working at the New York University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She came to set up their computer science department from scratch.
She knew that the enrolment in computer science studies among women is really low almost anywhere in the world. But she was surprised to discover that in the Arab world, the majority of the students in this field are actually women.
She noticed the challenges and discrimination that most of these women have to deal with, so during a conference, she and other attendees decided to establish an organisation to support them.
So they began Arab Women in Computing and Sana's dream, to make a difference in the world, came true.
Sana used Facebook to organize Arab women around the world into different country chapters. In the organization’s Facebook group, they can communicate quickly and effectively by sharing articles, exchanging resources, and planning hackathons.
Now she organizes hackathons each year where students from around the world work on developing social good solutions to problems in the Arab world.
Sana says that the strength and talent coming out of the Arab women is very impressive. And I would add that her desire to support them is truly extraordinary.
Sana told me that all these women are very powerful and ambitious, but they need mentoring and scholarships. For that, Sana and her team need support to continue this tremendous project that combines technology and soul.
To get involved, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/abi.awic
