Brussels Girl Geek Dinner

As Katia pointed out, the ATV item on Women and Computers is now available online: ATV :: Inzicht. Interviews with Ellen Quix (Eskimokaka) and Ann Laenen (Kandl), plus some footage made during the Girl Geek Dinner.

Scroll down to “Vrouwen en computers – bekijken“. When asked for a login and password, use GirlGeek and, of course, sacoche.

Blognation: Brussels Girl Geek Dinner was a big hit: “lots of familiar faces (both male and female) from the Belgian blogosphere and a good mix between techies and marketers.”

Blogologie: Brussels Girl Geek dinner, including 2 videos made during dinner.

Pietel.be: Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “Er waren ook lelijke Girl Geeks met buiken en borsthaar zo bewijst Martina Schenk. Sprekende vagina’s waren ook van de partij. Of is dat een ringbaard?”

Yet Another Blog: Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “En om eerlijk te zijn, de kloof tussen IT en marketing, wel ja, die is geen mythe. Al heeft het dinner van gisteren de kloof misschien weer een beetje kleiner gemaakt.”

The sound of one hand clapping – Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “I was expecting something like the female version of the (gender-free but mostly male) GeekDinners i’ve already been to: high octane geeks talking implementation grit over a meal.”

Lamazone: Girl Geek Dinner (2): “Geweldige avond!”

McCann Erickson Belgium – Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “L’ambiance était super décontractée, les conversations virevoltaient entre les très sérieuses remises en questions de notre consommation non-écologique, jusqu’ aux amours déchus de certaines d’entres nous. On a dit un girly geek dinner !”

Ladies’ Room – Brussels girl geek dinner = hot mamas & sexy ladies: “Er werd gepraat over CSS, RSS, Web 2.0, rode wijn, witte wijn, bevallen van zware baby’s en zo veel meer.”

Theicecreamdebate: The first Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “But as a matter of fact, I had a great time. I finally saw or met some people with whom I had already corresponded, but who I never saw in real life.”

Rolling Talks: Brussels Girl Geek Dinner: “regional TV channels and radios seemed pretty curious to see how Girl Geeks look like.”

GVA online: Geek girls zijn hot: ” Sociologen gaan zo ver geeks te omschrijven als de opvolgers van de hippies en de yuppies. Het gaat om de nieuwe generatie die is opgegroeid met computers en zich even makkelijk beweegt in het wondere universum van het internet als in de echte wereld.” Newspaper clipping: geek-girls.pdf
Tales of Drudgery & Boredom: Geek grrrl comment on newspaper article.

Pure FM: Ce soir dans Bang Bang: “QUESTION DE GENRE – HIGH TECH GIRLS : Bang Bang était au premier “Brussels Girls Geek Dinner” : un rendez-vous “girls only” (ou presque) pour les filles branchées IT: bloggeuses et autre chica’s actives dans le monde de l’internet. Une initiative plus que bienvenue dans un secteur où les filles restent encore très minoritaires.”

By the way, here’s an overview of the Dutch speaking radio stations that talked about the Girl Geek Dinner.
StuBru: Geek Girls: “Clo leert Peter een nieuwe term: pratende sacoche. Je hebt dat aan de arm, het is decoratief maar ook handig: je kunt er je sleutels in kwijt en zo…”

Donna: Girl Geek dinner: “Vanavond wordt voor het eerst in ons land een ‘Girl Geek Dinner’ georganiseerd. Organisatrice Clo gaf Ann deze morgen uitleg over ‘Geeks’, ‘blogs’, ‘Apple’,… . Enfin, dat probeerde ze toch… .”

We have a confirmed speaker for the second edition of Brussels Girl Geek dinner – if you haven’t subscribed for 14 November: now is a good time. Seats are limited to 40 “girls”. The password for the wiki is sacoche.

We managed to book an expert on the combination sex + internet for our next session: Sandra Van den Eynde.  Sandra (°1972) is a clinical psychologist and works since several years for Sensoa, the Flemish expertise center on sexual health and hiv, as the Head of the Research & Programs Department.

This is the quick and errr dirty:

What is the influence of the internet on our relationships and our sexuality? Does it facilitate the search for potential sex partners or does it rather cause a threat to existing relationships? And how does the internet affect the way we experience sexuality and the choices we make? During this talk we take a look at some myths and facts on sex on the internet and the way this applies to several target groups and sexual health topics.

Blognation Belgium writes: “The inaugural Brussels Girl Geek Dinner was quite a success: lots of familiar faces (both male and female) from the Belgian blogosphere and a good mix between techies and marketers.”

Thanks everyone for making this all possible. On to the next one: Wed 14 November, 18:30, Brasserie Mariadal, Zaventem. Use http://brusselsgirlgeekdinner2.pbwiki.com/ to subscribe – password is sacoche.

Have a look at the Pietel’s Flickr set. Use tag “brusselsgirlgeekdinner” if you’re uploading yours.

(Picture by Pietel)

Have I mentioned the goodies bag yet?

Thanks to PairCoaching.net we have even more goodies – like coffee mugs and pens. PairCoaching.net educates software development teams about pragmatic, people oriented best practices. All attendees of Brussels Girl Geek Dinner get a 15% discount on PairCoaching.net! More tonight over dinner.

By the way, PairCoaching’s Yves Hanoulle is thinking aloud of bringing Jim & Michele McCarthy‘s BootCamps to Europe. BootCamps are team work laboratorial workshops – basically that’s where you get one week to learn how to build a team. Sounds like something I’d like to try.

Since our first edition was booked full so quickly, we’re already thinking aloud about the second edition.

I’ve already started with a second wiki page for Brussels Girl Geek Dinner #2 to use to subscribe.

As usual, the who, when and where will eventually sort themselves out, but if all goes well Brussels Girl Geek Dinner #2 will be on Wednesday 14 November, from 18:30 CET somewhere in an easy to reach location in Brussels.

Want to be an early bird? Then put your name on the Attendee List on the Wiki Page. EDIT: password is sachoche .

Good news!

1. We’re filling the goodie bags as we speak. That’s right: not only entrance, some cold food and a drink are free for the ladies who put their name on the attendee list, but each one will also get a bag full of nice stuff. Like, a t-shirt, a key chain and some extra bits. Thank you Microsoft for making this happen!
2. There have been some people who were originally on the attendee list, but unfortunately are unable to make it. Which means all the people on the Reserve List are able to join us.
3. Our media sponsor Blognation and media consultant Panneels & Partners (who helped with the press release) have done a really good job at spreading the word. Make sure to tune in tomorrow morning to these fine Flemish radio stations for live interviews with /me:
   1. 07:30 Radio Donna
   2. 07:45 Studio Brussel
   3. 08:50 Radio Eén

   During the Girl Geek Dinner, some journalists might show up as well, a.o. for PureFM and ATV, but they have been briefed not to disturb the ladies too much. So don’t worry if you’re having a bad hair day – you don’t have to talk to them if you don’t want to :-)