Singularity University Launches Innovating Women, A Campaign to Support Women’s Participation in Innovation, Science and Technology
Crowd-funded Campaign to be Matched by Google for Entrepreneurs
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (May 8, 2013) --Singularity University (SU) today launched Innovating Women: Past, Present, and Future — an Indiegogo campaign to crowd-create a book featuring research, stories and perspectives about women's global participation in the innovation economy.
Developed in partnership with Singularity University, and powered by a dollar for dollar donation matching sponsorship through Google For Entrepreneurs, Innovating Women: Past, Present & Future will bring together a discussion platform and hundreds of women from around the globe to share their perspectives on a diverse set of topics including entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, career, culture, personal and professional identity, finance, education and more.
Google for Entrepreneurs — Google’s umbrella effort to support startups and entrepreneurs around the world — has agreed to match every dollar Innovating Women raises through Indiegogo up to $50,000. The proceeds from both the campaign and the book will go toward programs that work to increase the role of women in shaping the future of science, technology and innovation.
Innovating Women was created in partnership with Vivek Wadhwa, Vice President of Innovation at Singularity University, journalist, writer, educator and longtime advocate of diversity in STEM fields. “Advancements in technology and innovative fields are making it possible to solve humanity’s grand challenges in education, food, water and energy,” says Wadhwa. “Women have largely been left out of the innovation economy – but this is changing. By launching this campaign, my hope is to bring together the voices of innovators who are solving these challenges and to inspire even more women to become engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders in their fields.”
Farai Chideya, an award-winning journalist and author, will spearhead the editing of the book and will curate the crowdsourced content into a powerful collection of stories. "It's so important to use our collective wisdom for collective good,” says Chideya. “The Innovating Women campaign is a perfect example of how to combine technology, journalism, and individual storytelling to illustrate one of the biggest shifts of our time. The growth of women in technology and innovation is transforming not just women's lives, or the corporations they run or work for, but the world at large.”
The Indiegogo Campaign
Funding for Innovating Women will be raised via Indiegogo, an international crowd-funding platform. All funds raised in excess of operational costs and all proceeds from book sales will go toward Singularity University’s initiatives to sponsor women to learn about advancing technologies and to support women-led startups in the SU Labs accelerator.
"We’re proud to partner with Singularity University and to match contributions toward the Indiegogo campaign,” says Mary Grove, Director of Google for Entrepreneurs. “Our mission with Google for Entrepreneurs is to empower entrepreneurs around the world to be successful. We work with partners in over 100 countries, and one of our goals is to help build and strengthen entrepreneur communities globally. The Innovating Women campaign and book is a unique and truly community-led project, in giving women an opportunity to highlight stories in their own words and in the crowd-funding of the book itself.”
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/innovating-women
For more information or to participate in the Innovating Women Indiegogo campaign, please contact Neesha Bapat, Project Director, Innovating Women at innovatingwomen@singularityu.org.
About Singularity University
Singularity University’s mission is to educate, inspire and enable a new generation of leaders across the globe to harness the power of exponential technologies to help solve humanity’s grand challenges. Since 2009, SU has hosted students and industry leaders from more than 70 countries at its Graduate Studies Program, Executive Programs, and specialized Executive Programs, including FutureMed. In 2012, Singularity University initiated SU Labs, an accelerator program dedicated to building and launching sustainable businesses and non-profit organizations that will positively change the lives of one billion people around the world. Corporate Partners include Autodesk, Cisco, ePlanet Ventures, Genentech, Google, Kauffman Foundation and Nokia, among others. More information can be found at: http://www.singularityu.org.
About Google for Entrepreneurs
Google for Entrepreneurs empowers entrepreneurs around the world through programs, partnerships, and Google products. With over 50 programs in 110 countries, Google for Entrepreneurs seeks to grow entrepreneurial communities and to equip entrepreneurs with skills and resources to pursue their big ideas. To learn about the programs, or to grow your own skills through free online courses, visit google.com/entrepreneurs or on Google+ at google.com/+GoogleForEntrepreneurs.
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Diane Murphy