Wednesday 18 / September / 2024
Muscat: Leading Omani women in entrepreneurship and technology hosted a forum on Thursday evening as part of a global Google programme.
Scores of students, as well as Oman’s business community attended the “Women Techmakers Oman” programme, which featured six Omani women and their accomplishments in the technology world.
The forum was part of a global series of events, and its 2017 theme was “Telling Our Story.”
The event was organised by both the Google Developer Group Muscat, and the student comprised Computer Science club in the German University of Technology.
Among the speakers was Sayyida Basma Al Said, a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, who spoke about her journey in technology throughout the years.
“My experience with technology was simpler in the 90s, but eventually I found my passion for physiology instead,” she said.
She spoke about the founding of her mental health clinic—Whispers of Serenity—as well as her mental health awareness initiatives, and her experiences with social media and reaching out to the community regarding mental health.
Ashwaq Al Maskari talked about her experiences as a YouTube personality, and the videos she uploads daily.
“I took a break after I finished university to discover my passion and what I wanted to do, and ended up finding YouTube,” she said.
Al Maskari spoke about attempting to bring down cultural barriers through her work.
She also spoke about her pride in participating in regional events, including the YouTube FanFest in Jeddah, and the first YouTube female event, Batalat YouTube, in Riyadh.
During her talk, Huda Al Habsi spoke about her journey in Omantel, especially starting out as the only woman in the company.
She progressed in her career, and talked about her decades-long experience in the telecommunications industry. Al Habsi also spoke about becoming the first woman in Omantel to achieve a senior ranking, and her hopes of continuing to move up in the future.
Jihad Al Busaidi, head of the Food Chemicals Lab at the Directorate General for Standards and Metrology, highlighted her achievements in volunteerism.
She spoke about using social media to inspire youth to take up volunteering activities, and how to utilise social media at its highest potential to create social change.
In addition to individual speeches, the event featured a Tech Discussion, which explored the topic of women’s future in technology.
Saba Al Busaidi served as the moderator, and four women participated. They included Sharifa Al Barami, from the Oman Tech Fund; Amal Al Jabri from Cisco; Huda Al Habsi from Omantel; and Laila Al Harthy, a tech company founder.
The group discussed women’s achievements and hopes, as well as challenges in the workplace and in the tech industry.
The GUTech Computer Science club is also organising a Google event on Sunday. The workshop is open to all those who register, and will be held at the university. The event will explore the “Internet of Things,” which is the inter-networking of computer devices around us, via their ability to connect to the internet.
