- From the 8th to 25th October free workshops for primary and secondary schools to promote digital skills and coding
- Over 1500 students from over 25 schools
- To inspire girls to consider a career in technology, during the Digital Week there will be mini workshops dedicated to celebrate Ada Lovelace, the first programmer in history
YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP and Fondazione Golinelli continue their commitment to promote digital education by participating for the second year in a row to the EU Code Week: an initiative which consists in free activities aimed at schools throughout Europe, to celebrate coding and creativity in technology. The event is part of the program of the Digital Skills & Jobs Coalition of the European Commission, of which YNAP is part, which to date has already formed 10.9 million people[3].
The “Digital Week 2018” of YNAP and the Golinelli Foundation will be held at the Opificio Golinelli in Bologna with a program of free activities aimed at primary, secondary and nursery schools, which will see the participation of over 1,500 future innovators from 3 to 18 years , who will have the opportunity, thanks to the support of YNAP technology experts, to take part in engaging activities: from young students who will program smart gadgets and flying robots, to the use of Agile methodology, up to the very young ones (3-6 years) who will have their first approach to robotics (see program).
Inspiring female tech talent is one of the main goals for YNAP to help bridge the gender gap in tech. Few people know that the very first programmer in history was a woman: Ada Lovelace. In this regard, within the “Digital Week 2018”, on October 9th, in the occasion of the Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration dedicated to female excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), YNAP will organize mini workshops and activities dedicated to promoting the digital culture especially among young girls. Ada Lovelace, named the “Enchantress of numbers” and mother of programming, is a symbol for all women who today have pursued a career in science and technology.
With women being more than two thirds of our employees, twice the average of companies operating in the global tech sector, the Group has always promoted women’s talent in technology with a wide range of programs, including the “Women in Tech” project with community, social forums, events, mentorship and training tailored for women in technology.
From 2016 YNAP has activated a digital education program that only in 2017 has trained over 2000 students, of which over 50% girls. In collaboration with the Fondazione Golinelli in Italy and Imperial College of London in the United Kingdom, the Group promotes a series of initiatives to offer young people the tools necessary to face a future that will be increasingly digital, with a particular focus on girls’. A particularly important commitment in Italy where in 2017 there were only 37.3% of graduates with “digital skills” in the ICT sector, percentage among the lowest in Europe, with a strong lack of female talents[4].
“We’re proud to be ahead of the curve with women forming two thirds of our overall talent pool – double that of the tech industry average – but there is more work to be done. The key to changing the misperceptions highlighted in our research is for leading businesses like YNAP, our peers, industry bodies and key influencers to collaboratively shine a spotlight onto positive role models.”
Deborah Lee, Chief People Officer, YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP
(1) Source: Digital Skills and Jobs Coallition news, 2 October 2018
(2) Source: “ICT education – a statistical overview”, Eurostat 2018
