Latvia’s First Women in Tech Hackathon is Launched with the Nasdaq Riga Opening Bell

06.03.2020 RIG

On March 6, Latvia’s very first Women’s Technology Hackathon was launched in Riga, co-organized by Riga TechGirls, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA, Magnetic Latvia) and Accenture Latvia. To mark the occasion, Nasdaq Riga hosted a remote Opening Bell ceremony to open this historic event for Latvian women along with its organizers by ringing the bell for gender equality.

The CEO of Nasdaq Riga, Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne, in her opening speech extended a special welcome to all the women and girls on hand advancing gender equality. Auziņa-Melalksne noted that the UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day this year is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”. The theme marks the milestones that have been achieved, including the 10^th anniversary of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) – a set of seven Principles offering guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.

“The Women’s Empowerment Principles are grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment. They are a roadmap for business sustainability, innovation and productivity. By advancing gender equality, businesses attract better talent, enter new markets, service communities and measurably improve the bottom line. Gender equality means better business,” Auziņa-Melalksne emphasized.

The CEO of Riga TechGirls Anna Andersone sharing her experience emphasized that March 8 is International Women’s Day and it has long lasting traditions in Latvia, people are celebrating by bringing women flowers and candy to the workplace. “We want to invite everyone in the workplace to acknowledge the work women do every day and to support and thank them with promotions, equal opportunities and equal pay. Not just flowers on March 8. To demonstrate the capabilities of women in technology, to encourage them to join the tech field and facilitate new start-up development, we are organizing the First Women in Tech Hackathon,” Andersone underscored.

During two days of the Women’s Technology Hackathon, more than 60 women interested in IT and startups will have an opportunity to learn new skills, develop their ideas and establish viable new businesses. The objective of the hackathon is, together with experienced mentors and organizing partners, to empower women to follow an entrepreneurial path or successfully represent their ideas in IT offering digital solutions.

Riga TechGirls is the first organization in Latvia devoted to helping girls and women learn the basics of computer programming and develop the digital literacy skills that are so valued in the information age.

To learn more about the event, please visit : https://www.facebook.com/NASDAQRiga/

Media Contact

Dace Bulte,
+371 6721 2431
dace.bulte@nasdaq.com