Enlightened Encounters : Social Hack Eve

Women Who Code, Delhi: 4th March, 2016.

This is going to be a short entry because that's how long the event was. Very short. But the impact it had – now that was everlasting. This may seem like a promotional gig for a cause I support dearly and maybe it even is, but I can promote this cause without any qualms or feeling of self interest. Because what are we promoting? Hope? Opportunity? Guidance? Women Who Code is an amalgam of all these that resulted in a beautiful experience.

Let us go over the events of the day. Being an organizer I was partially aware of how the day was going to proceed but what even I hadn't anticipated was the joy and experience the people brought to the event. 30 odd women (men were very much welcome but only a handful souls showed up), students and professionals alike gathered in a welcoming aboard to discuss – well no one had any idea what.

The stars of the day were Women Who Code Leaders – Alaina Percival, Chief Executive Officer, Joey Rosenberg, Global Leadership Director and Jennifer Tacheff, Vice President of Business Development – who were so engraved in the fabric of the meeting that it was hard for any of us to feel we were meeting them for the first time.

What followed next had nothing to do with promoting a name. It had everything to do with having intelligent and enlightened conversations. Empowerment at its zenith. I saw as people recalled their stories of not being afraid to want what they wanted and believe me that is an experience many of our educated youth are still shy of having.

All the people gathered there were united by a common passion for their own progress and because of a belief in community bonding and building.
An unique experience of the day was #Applaud section which entailed attendees coming up and speaking and being once again proud of anything and everything they had achieved. There was a seamless connection of people with ideas and people with means – job opportunities, mentorship, guidance or just some others to share your experience with. It was gratifying to watch and see that the will to help was as strong as the will to learn.

I could preach about the outcomes and ideology behind organizations like Women Who Code all day but what I experienced is that if you remove the name, the mystique, all it does is provide a platform for like minded people to come up and share their life stories under a safe banner where they know they will be appreciated. And what could ever be wrong with that?

Our inspiration reached its zenith at the end. And what an end it was, all the attendees and organizers put their feet together and moved to the beats. A memory that will bring a smile to my face every time it is reminisced.

Enjoy the video recap and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/womenwhocodedelhi/ for future events!

Story originally published here.