Tech14:53 · 21m ago

AliceCode Celebrates 10 Years Empowering Girls and Women in Tech with AI-Focused Conference

WallaCenter

Translated & summarized from Walla by baba

Key points

01AliceCode celebrates 10 years empowering 10,000 girls and women in tech in Israel.
02Founded in 2013 to address lack of coding classes for young girls, it now offers long-term training.
0398% of participants join tech roles in the IDF, industry, or academia after the program.
04The BUILD THE FUTURE conference focuses on AI and includes hands-on app-building workshops.
05Industry leaders and alumni will attend to showcase career paths and community growth.
06The program emphasizes entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and teamwork alongside coding skills.

In this story

People

Nastia Ouchkovski, Shani Yamin, Yasmin Lokitz, Keren Elazari, Noa Zilberman, Shira Shmavan, Dorit Dor

OrganizationsAliceCode, Israel Defense Forces, Tel Aviv University, Lovable, Wiz, PayBox, eToro, Wing

PlacesRishon Lezion, Tel Aviv

The story · English

AliceCode, an Israeli nonprofit dedicated to promoting girls and women in technology, marks its tenth anniversary with the BUILD THE FUTURE conference at Tel Aviv University on Sunday. Founded in 2013 by software engineer Nastia Ouchkovski, the organization began as a small coding group for six girls in a living room in Rishon Lezion, addressing the lack of suitable programming classes for young girls. Today, AliceCode has grown into a community of about 10,000 girls, teenagers, and women, offering long-term training from age nine through integration into the military, academia, and the high-tech industry.

Ouchkovski explains that most robotics and computer clubs were aimed at older boys and did not provide a learning environment tailored to young girls. The program emphasizes not only coding skills but also entrepreneurial thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and turning ideas into products. According to the nonprofit, 98% of participants who started in fourth grade have joined technological units in the Israel Defense Forces, tech industry roles, or academic research tracks.

The upcoming BUILD THE FUTURE event will focus on the future of work amid artificial intelligence advancements, featuring panels, lectures, startup zones, and hands-on AI technology experiences. A highlight will be a Build Lab by Lovable, where participants will create a functional app in just 15 minutes using AI tools, showcasing the progression from early coding education to advanced product development.

Attendees include entrepreneurs, investors, and senior executives from companies such as Wiz, PayBox, eToro, Wing, and Nebius, alongside prominent figures in innovation and education like Yasmin Lokitz, Keren Elazari, Noa Zilberman, Shira Shmavan, and Prof. Dorit Dor.

Alumni like Shani Yamin, now Technical Engagement Manager at JFrog, manage the graduates' community to provide ongoing support from childhood through professional careers. Yamin highlights the emotional impact of reunions at the conference, demonstrating how girls who started coding at nine can grow into tech leaders by their thirties.

Read the original at Walla