AN EVENING WITH ROYA MAHBOOB
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Technology entrepreneur Roya Mahboob was named by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. A successful tech entrepreneur, her Afghan Citadel Software Company employs 25 people, 18 of whom are women. In addition, she is building 40 free Internet-enabled classrooms across Afghanistan to allow more than 160,000 female students to connect to the world.
Roya also founded the
Women's Annex Foundation to train women and children in digital literacy, empowering them to create a sustainable economic model for themselves and their families. The foundation is currently operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and Mexico with the goal of expanding globally.
Dana Nachman, documentary filmmaker and journalist, will interview Roya. She has won numerous prizes including 3 Emmy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival.
This is a unique opportunity to meet Roya, learn about the remarkable work she is doing and how you might be able to help. All proceeds of this event are tax-deductible donations to the Foundation. Seating is limited.
AGENDA
5:30 - 6:30 VIP Reception
6:30 - 7:00 General Reception
7:00 - 8:00 Program & additional networking
Special thank you to IBM for hosting this event.
Register Online
Date: Thursday, July 10th, 2014
Time: 5:30PM-8:30PM
Location: IBM Innovation Center Silicon Valley, Titan Conference Room,
1001 E Hillsdale Blvd, Ste 400, Foster City, CA 94404
Registration: VIP Reception: $100 minimum donation, General Admission: $25 minimum donation. Unable to attend? You can still donate,
here.
About our Speaker:
Roya Mahboob
Though women’s rights in Afghanistan have improved since the fall of the repressive Taliban regime 12 years ago, many Afghans still believe that a woman should work only in the home, caring for her family. Technology entrepreneur Roya Mahboob is working in clever new ways to change this continuing cultural stereotype. Mahboob’s Afghan Citadel Software Co., an IT consulting firm founded in 2010, employs 25 people, 18 of whom are women. Her employees develop software and databases for private companies, government ministries and NATO. To make these jobs more accessible to Afghan women, five of the employees are able to work from home.
Mahboob’s plans are even more ambitious. Most public access to the Internet in Afghanistan is restricted to urban Internet cafés, which are often uncomfortable or unsafe places for women. That doesn’t work for Mahboob — so she is building 40 free Internet-enabled classrooms across Afghanistan to allow more than 160,000 female students to connect to the world. She also founded a multilingual blog and video site to give these women a platform for telling their stories. Nearly 300 female student bloggers have posted on the site, making themselves heard and changing the way the world sees Afghanistan … and how Afghan girls and women see themselves.
Hosted by: Francine Gordon, Susan Lucas-Conwell and Philipp Stauffer.
