We are so delighted to announce that The B!G Idea has won the 2023 Social Impact Award as part of the Diversity In Tech Awards.
Some of the B!G team braved the weather last night and headed to the RDS in Dublin to attend the awards ceremony, along with a host of incredible companies, who are all working to change our world through inclusive tech for a diverse market with their individual teams.
The Social Impact Award celebrates an individual, team or network that is driving significant, positive change that addresses social, political, environmental and economic challenges for communities.
Judges looked for examples of how these actions have removed barriers and improved communities’ access to opportunity. Our mission is to change our world with creative thinking, connecting young people in education with industry mentors for the benefit of society. We envision a world where our young people, no matter what background, have the creative ability to think B!G and solve all the challenges they have inherited.
A massive thank you to our programme partners, our diverse range of mentors and to our students, learners, teachers and tutors who are making the B!G vision a reality across Ireland. So far, we have reached 6,500 students (from all backgrounds and with all learning abilities) with our creative thinking programmes across 22 counties, with the help of 750 mentors and 260 companies.
We love the powerful message that Kyran O’Mahoney from Inclusion and Accessibility Labs shared at the end of a panel discussion, entitled, The ROI of DEI: Driving Business Profitability through Diversity and Inclusion.
He said that technology should be built by a diverse group of people and that technology is an accessibility game changer for people with disabilities – so we should all try to make it great!
The keynote speaker at the event was the Mayo-born aeronautical engineer Dr Norah Patten who said it was a teacher who first supported her creativity and curiosity. She talked about the importance of pushing the boundaries – Dr Patten is on a mission to become the first Irish person in space.
