In 2022, Layertech’s Frei Sangil was invited to the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Hidden No More Program for women leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Immediately upon her return to the Philippines, Frei and Layertech’s Parallel Coder team kicked off the “Coding out of Poverty” Program, wherein selected students from rural high schools and senior high schools were given free training kits and capacity-building programs on Programming and Electronics. In 2023, with the help of IVLP Impact Awards and Meridian International Center, the “Coding out of Poverty” program trained 50 high school girls in rural schools and had them present their work at a “Coding Recital” in front of their parents, community members, potential funders, and local government officials. The program was a resounding success, and more batches and scale-out activities are planned for 2024 onwards.
Acknowledging the success and the impact of the program, and the strategic use of IVLP’s resources to support inclusive STEM development, Global Ties U.S. awarded Frei Sangil a Special Recognition Award under the 2024 IVLP Alumni Award for Social Innovation and Change.
Below is Frei Sangil’s remarks for the Raising Global Voices Plenary of the Global Ties US National Meeting 2024 in Washington DC.
To watch the FULL Recording of the Raising Global Voices Plenary Session, visit the official US GLOBAL TIES YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.