International Women’s Day Ilorin Extended 2019 — Event Recap

5 min readApr 14, 2019

On Saturday, April 6th, 2019, Women Techmakers (WTM) Ilorin, powered by GDG Ilorin, held the 3rd edition of it’s annual International Women’s Day (IWD) event.

Google’s Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.

IWD is one of the global initiatives of Women Techmakers.

IWD ILORIN was attended by 100 people, 90% of whom were females. The attendees varied from beginners to advanced individuals.

Six (6) speakers were present at IWD Ilorin and they all shared their opinions on various topics concerning women in tech and entrepreneurship.

WTM Ilorin Lead, Zainab, giving the welcome address.

After registration took place, the event began at 10:30am with a welcome address by the WTM Ilorin Lead, Zainab Bolanle Abdullahi.

Dr. Yemisi Adeyeye speaking at #IWDIlorin 2019.

The first speaker of the day was Dr. Yemisi Adeyeye who is the co-founder and managing director at Lifefount Foundation and Hospital. Her topic was ‘Remarkable Women Techmakers’ and she spoke about how women can balance their lives and careers with the help of peers and mentors. It was an enlightening session that captured the audience.

Mrs. Adebola Amujo speaking at #IWDIlorin 2019.

The second speaker was Mrs. Adebola Amujo who is a Chartered Accounting Technician (ICAN) and the Managing Director at Amugold Global. She spoke on finding your passion and working hard to make the most of it. The attendees were inspired and motivated by her session.

Sharon UD Georgewill during her speaking session at #IWDIlorin 2019.

The third speaker of the day was Sharon UD Georgewill who is a facilitator of the #IAmRemarkarble initiative by Google and a UX enthusiast. Her topic was ‘The Art of Public Speaking’ and she used tongue twisters and other exercises to teach the audience how to be better public speakers. It was a fun and informative session.

Juliet Ronke Halawani speaking at #IWDIlorin 2019.

The fourth speaker was Juliet Ronke Halawani who is a Nigerian/Lebanese marketing executive and the Director of Marketing strategy at The Phoenix Agency. She spoke on some of the challenges of women in tech and how to overcome them. The attendees really enjoyed her session and were excited to apply the tips she gave.

Around noon, all the attendees were served a delicious lunch and were also encouraged to use the time to network with new people. It was a 30 minute break.

The thief is pictured here on the right, speaking with our event anchor.

An unfortunate incident occurred during this break period. While we were all outside for lunch and refreshments, a thief stole two (2) laptops (a MacBook Pro and a HP laptop) that belong to our organizers. Immediately the break was over we discovered the laptops were gone and so was the man. We tried to contact him but we realized that all the details he gave us were fake. We did some searching on social media and discovered that this is not first time he has done something like this. He did the same thing in Lagos in February (where he stole Ire Aderinokun’s Laptop), Ibadan in 2018 and Jos in 2011, at different Tech events.

We reported to appropriate authorities but we need your help in spreading the word. Although he avoided the camera during the event, he is pictured above. Please share and inform us on twitter if you see him anywhere.

Attendees sharing their stories during the #IAmRemarkable workshop at #IWDIlorin 2019.

Up next was the #IAmRemarkable workshop facilitated by Sharon UD Georgewill. One of the exercises carried out during the workshop involved the attendees being grouped and sharing what makes them remarkable. It was such an empowering and amazing experience for all.

Theodora Isola during her speaking session at #IWDIlorin 2019.

Our fifth speaker was Theodora Isola, a product marketing manager and IT strategist, who spoke about product management and marketing tips. It was a very informative session that gave the attendees more knowledge about product marketing management.

Esther Adeola Seriki speaking at #IWDIloin 2019.

The final speaker for the day was Esther Adeola Seriki who is the WTM Ekiti Lead studying Computer Engineering at Ekiti State University. She talked about owning your narrative and being a phenomenal woman in the face of adversity. As the saying goes, we saved the best for last.