Las Vegas Turns up Technology Heat with Workshop for Local Young Girls

BlackGirlsCode prepares for part two of "Build a Webpage in a Day" to help bridge the digital divide for girls. End Quote

Las Vegas, NV-AZ (1888PressRelease) March 13, 2013 - Between downtown tech star-tups and the SXSW expo interest Las Vegas is becoming a mini Silicon Valley and driving the appetite for technology skills. The new tech scene has created a virtual onslaught of young girls hoping to attend the upcoming BlackGirlsCode Las Vegas "Build a Webpage in a Day" (Part two). The remix event takes place this Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

BlackGirlsCode (BGC) workshops are geared towards introducing participants to technology and encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Next month's event sponsored by Bally's Technologies is being hosted by The Rob Roy InNEVation Center powered by Switch. Both technology giants have corporate headquarters anchored here in Las Vegas. "The event was so successful last year that there's now a demand to get into this year's session. Our goal is to find additional sponsors to help make technology accessible to girls who otherwise might not have this opportunity for hands-on training. Future tech innovators are right here in Las Vegas," said Lauren Burke Bennett, BGC Las Vegas chapter lead.

According to BlackGirlsCode founder, Kimberly Bryant, black women make up only 3% of the computing workforce; and why she believes sponsors are so important in changing the face of technology. The non-profit organization's mission is to educate girls of color, ages 7-17, in digital media and computer programming concepts as well as building lifelong skills in problem solving and abstract thinking. The BGC story has been featured in Huffington Post, Women 2.0 and CNN's 'In America Blogs'. Contributions can be made through the group's website, www.BlackGirlsCode.com or by contacting Leisha Moseley, BGC Las Vegas chapter lead at 702-666-5533.

Other cities hosting BGC events include Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, Detroit, Spelman College, and the first international workshop currently being organized in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Las Vegas workshop will continue teaching participants to build their own unique webpage in one day using fun games and activities to introduce HTML, CSS, and basic web structure; part two will add video editing and music. Girls do not need prior skills in computer programming to attend the class.

About Rob Roy InNEVation Center
The Rob Roy InNEVation Center is located at 6795 Edmond Street, Las Vegas, NV 89118. The center recently hosted the largest "community of passionate entrepreneurs" with over 400 past events in 100 countries around the world in 2011.

About Black Girls Code
BlackGirlsCode was founded by Kimberly Bryant, a Biotechnology/Engineering professional who received her first taste of computer programming as a freshman in Electrical Engineering back when FORTRAN and Pascal were still the popular languages for newbies in the computing world and the "Apple Macintosh" was the new kid on the block.

Kimberly launched BlackGirlsCode to meet the needs of young women of color who are underrepresented in the currently exploding field of technology. The "Build a Webpage in a Day" started in 2011 with a goal to teach computer programming to more than 300 kids from urban communities in 90-days across more than seven cities. Much has changed since those days and the mission of BlackGirlsCode has expanded to introduce programming and technology to a new generation of coders that become the future leaders and creators of tomorrow.

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