Introduction
Girl Geek Dinner NL is a non-profit organisation that aims to encourage women to explore science, technology and other traditionally male-dominated areas. At our main event, the dinner, we invite women who are role-models in their respective fields and asks them to give an informal talk about themselves and their work. During the event, attending girls are able to socialise and get inspired by the talks.
Girl Geek Dinners worldwide
Girl Geek Dinners were started in 2005 by Sarah Blow in London, UK. Her idea was to organise informal events for females working in IT, science, and technology, to meet up and discuss the latest technologies, hear inspirational speakers and network with other women in these fields. Today, there are 90 Girl Geek Dinner groups in 24 different countries, with an estimated membership of 25,000 – 45,000.
Men working in science and technology-related fields are welcome to the Girl Geek Dinners as guests of an attending female. The idea behind a ‘linked-invite’ for men is to ensure that there is never less than 50% female presence at the dinners.
Girl Geek Dinners in the Netherlands
The Netherlands was the seventh country to start its own branch of Girl Geek Dinners. Events are mostly based in Amsterdam and speaker talks are given in English. The Amsterdam Girl Geek Dinner is going from strength-to-strength and growing since its inaugural dinner in 2008. The events are well-attended by 40-80 people, and Amsterdam GGD has a regular mailing list membership of 460.
Late 2015 we started a monthly drinks meetup where Girl Geeks come together after a hard day’s work to relax, have a drink, and share ideas with each other. We also collaborate quite regularly with other informal geeky initiatives. Sometimes this results in free tickets for women, e.g. for the yearly events Big Android BBQ and Droidcon. We also have quizzes at events or co-organise workshops.
Where you can find us:
Facebook: facebook.com/GirlGeekDinnerNL
Twitter: twitter.com/ggd_nl
Meetup: meetup.com/Girl-Geek-Dinner-NL