Jam Jar
Over the years, I've been part of many meetup groups, product camps, hackathons and unconferences. I have contributed to events as an organiser, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Here's a small selection of some of my favourite experiences.
Selection
Community is an important factor of my life. Learning, listening and giving back is a vital part of my development as a designer and human being. I thrive in a network of like-minded people.
Sharing knowledge inside a supportive network is so inspiring and empowering. And great friendships grew over the years. Thank you!
Jam Details
Ladies that UX Bristol
I joined LtUX BRS 2016 to meet and network with other women in the industry. 40 events later it is still one of my favourite meetups. I became a co-organizer 2020 and with a team of 4 we ran regular in-person events. After Covid we kept the online format as we had grown to over 1000 members. After struggling to maintain the events schedule, Amy and I decided to hand over the reins to a new crew in 2024. I am excited to see the direction the group takes from here.
Bristol Open Data
Bristol's City Council Open Data Manager asked me to help with a couple of Open Data Jams. We organised events and supported teams in their progress creating apps with open data. I was a member of the jury which awarded projects for their impact. All projects were presented at an event to Bristol City Council. I participated in several workshops to help make the Open Data Platform more user-friendly. Open Data is empowering citizens through accessible smart data.
Women's Tech Hub Bristol
What started off as a weekly co-working meetup grew into a well-known network. Women's Tech Hub became Bristol's first address for Women in Tech. As a team of 4 we ran workshops, coaching sessions, career events and small conferences. Our focus was empowering women to find work in tech and closing the gender gap in the industry. Constance and I developed the Advancing Diversity in Tech (AdiT) Training with 6 different modules which we piloted with a couple of companies.
Outcome
The primary focus in my community work has been advancing gender diversity and empowering women in the tech industry. Over the years, I've been involved in various initiatives, all aimed at fostering equality. Education is a cornerstone of my efforts. I've taught both tech and non-tech topics from the start.
Another focus of mime is Silence. As a long-time meditator I've explored the concept of silence and its impact in the workplace through various talks and workshops. For more insights on this, feel free to contact me.
Open Data Bristol
Ajara has been incredibly generous with her time providing pro-bono support by helping facilitate a number of data jams / hackathons that support the City of Bristol's corporate and One City Plan objectives. Most recently, she has been contracted by the programme to manage the delivery of the Period Friendly Bristol web app. Her sheer passion and wealth of skills, has provided me with confidence. Any organisation is fortunate if they have Ajara's talents engaged in their work.
Women's Tech Hub
Ajara and I planned, developed and facilitated sessions on a range of topics relevant to the women who came to face to face sessions looking for support in their desire to work in tech. Ajara was always very proactive, suggesting topics for workshops, researching them and running them to ensure that the women had the best possible experience of the workshops. She is brilliantly organised and well-researched and can be trusted to work very hard to create a great learning experience. We also co-developed a programme of modular sessions for companies - Advancing Diversity in Tech, which again benefitted from Ajara's thorough and thoughtful research and planning.