Generation Google EMEA Scholarships 2022/2023 for women in computer science & gaming (7,000 EURO award)

Application Deadline: December 10, 2021 

The Generation Google Scholarship: for women in computer science was established to help aspiring computer scientists excel in technology and become leaders in the field. Selected students will receive a 7,000 EUR award (or local equivalent) for the 2022-2023 academic year. Scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of each candidate's impact on diversity, demonstrated leadership, and academic background. The program is open to qualified students who meet all the minimum qualifications. Women interested in computer science are strongly encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Be currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a university for the 2021-2022 academic year

Intend to be enrolled in or accepted as a full-time student in a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD program at an accredited university in Europe, Middle East or Africa for the 2022-2023 academic year

Be studying computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field

Demonstrate a strong academic record

Exemplify leadership and demonstrate a passion for improving representation of underrepresented groups in computer science and technology

Click here to apply:https://bit.ly/3pPFbuy

Deloitte One Young World Education Scholarship 2022 (Fully Funded to attend the One Young World Summit in Tokyo, Japan)

Application Deadline: December 8th, 2021 

As a longstanding partner of One Young World, we are proud to support the Deloitte One Young World Scholarship 2022 which will enable 5 outstanding young leaders to attend the One Young World Summit in Tokyo, Japan on 16 – 19 May 2022.

This scholarship is intended for young leaders focussed on improving the education, skills, and access to opportunity for people in their communities, countries, or world at large. The scholarship is seeking candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to:

Improve access to education, skills, or employment opportunities for those that may be left behind by the rapidly changing global economy. For example, women and girls, disadvantaged youth.

Create skills development or lifelong learning opportunities for people to prepare for the future workforce, including in areas where there are talent shortages.

Accelerate entrepreneurship, new types of employment, or provide opportunities for people to overcome traditional barriers to employment.

Eligibility

Aged 18 – 30*
Nationals of all countries will be eligible to apply for this scholarship
Evidenced commitment to delivering positive change
Demonstrated capacity for leadership

Understanding of key local and/or global issues

Track record of generating impactful and innovative solutions to address education and skills challenges

Benefits

Access to the One Young World Summit 2022 in TokyoTravel restrictions permitting

Hotel accommodation in a private room between 16 and 19 (inclusive) May, 2022

The cost of travel to and from Tokyo (economy class)
Catering which includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner (provided by the hotel and during the Summit)
Ground transportation between Summit venues

Click here to apply:

https://bit.ly/3Eq6XCd

Claudette Colvin: US civil rights pioneer wants record cleared

US civil rights activist Claudette Colvin, who in 1955 at the age of 15 refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white person, is seeking to have her criminal record expunged.

Ms Colvin, who is now 82, was convicted of assaulting a police officer while being arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, and put on probation.

She is challenging in court the fact the probation never officially ended.

Her case happened nine months before Rosa Parks famously did the same.

“I am an old woman now,” Ms Colvin said in a sworn statement. “Having my records expunged will mean something to my grandchildren and great grandchildren. And it will mean something for other black children.”

Speaking to a crowd of relatives and activists in Montgomery, she said: “I guess you can say that now I am no longer a juvenile delinquent.”

• CONTEXT: Before Rosa Parks, there was a 15-year-old girl
• LONG READ: The black migrant who fought US segregation

In an interview with the BBC in 2018, Ms Colvin said she “was not frightened but disappointed and angry” because she knew she “was sitting in the right seat”.

She was the first person to be arrested for challenging Montgomery’s bus segregation policies, but her story remains relatively unknown. It was Rosa Parks who became one of the main figures of the civil rights movement after her case led to the boycott of the bus system.

Ms Colvin said she had been inspired by the great anti-slavery campaigners Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. She would end up testifying in the landmark case that effectively ended segregation on buses, in 1956.

Her lawyer said the probation had cast a shadow over her life. Ms Colvin left Alabama at the age of 20 and spent decades in New York, but her family always worried what might happen when she went back for visits, according to the Associated Press.

Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said he supported Ms Colvin’s request.

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Sudan coup: World Bank suspends aid after military takeover

The World Bank has suspended its aid to Sudan, after the military there staged a coup against the civilian government.

Political leaders were arrested on Monday, sparking nationwide protests and international condemnation.

The African Union (AU) has also suspended Sudan from the bloc over the “unconstitutional” seizure of power. The US has frozen $700m (£508m) in aid.

Sudan’s civilian and military leaders had been in a fragile power-sharing agreement for the past two years.

The World Bank and AU moves put further pressure on the coup’s leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, to reinstate the civilian government.

Gen Burhan was in charge of the power-sharing agreement, and has said the coup was needed to avoid “civil war”. He has insisted that Sudan is still moving towards democracy and elections in 2023 – but his reasoning and the sudden takeover have been widely rejected.

The president of the World Bank, David Malpass, said in a statement: “I am greatly concerned by recent events in Sudan, and I fear the dramatic impact this can have on the country’s social and economic recovery and development.”

In March, Sudan was able to access $2bn in grants from the World Bank for the first time in nearly 30 years, after it finally cleared debt it owed. During a rare visit to the capital Khartoum, Mr Malpass said that the country was making some economic progress, after years of being in a deep crisis.

• Sudan coup: A simple guide
• In pictures: Sudan coup protesters take to streets

The AU tweeted that while it welcomed the release of the prime minister, who was detained on Monday, Sudan will remain suspended from its activities until the civilian government is reinstated.

Meanwhile, street protests have gone on for a third day, with at least 10 people killed after soldiers opened fire on crowds. Troops are reported to have been going house to house in Khartoum arresting local protest organisers.

Trade unions representing doctors and oil workers say they are joining the demonstrations, as are staff at the Sudanese Banking Association.

“We stand firmly against any military action and any form of dictatorship,” the association’s spokesman, Abdul Rashid Khalifa, told the BBC.

• Why Omar al-Bashir was overthrown
• Are military takeovers on the rise in Africa?

The agreement between civilian and military leaders was signed in 2019 after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown. The power-sharing was designed to steer Sudan towards democracy but has proven fragile with a number of previous coup attempts, the last just over a month ago.

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US issues first gender-neutral ‘X’ passport

The United States has issued its first gender-neutral passport.

The document has an “X” in the gender box, signalling that the holder does not identify as either male or female.

It was issued to Dana Zzyym, a 66-year-old intersex activist, who sued the State Department over the issue in 2015.

The US Navy veteran said it was “an exciting moment for me” after getting the new passport. “I get to go places and say ‘yes, this is who I am’.”

Zymm, who identifies as non-binary, was previously denied a passport after failing to mark male or female in an application.

Before getting the new passport, Zymm said “it felt like I was in prison”.

“You’re denied a status of being human and it’s like I was not a citizen of this country because I was denied access to leave and only felons and prisoners are not allowed to travel.”

In June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the X marker would be offered as an option on passports.

Before, people needed medical certification to mark their gender as different from the one on their birth certificate.

• Beyond ‘he’ and ‘she’: The rise of non-binary pronouns
• Biden kicks off inclusive LGBT agenda

More than 10 countries, including Canada, Germany, Australia and India, already offer a third gender on documents.

The State Department already allows people to self-select male or female on their passport, and says it plans to make the option of a third gender widely available.

“I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State’s commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people – including LGBTQI+ persons,” said spokesman Ned Price.

The move, which gives choice to nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming US citizens, is the latest move in President Joe Biden’s LGBT agenda.

The president appointed a special envoy, Jessica Stern, to advance LGBT human rights around the world.

Ms Stern said the new gender designation should reduce the “dehumanising harassment and mistreatment that so often happens at border crossings when a person’s legal documentation does not correspond with their gender expression”.

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Nigerian state adds Saturday as new school day

The Anambra state government in south-eastern Nigeria has added Saturday as an extra school day for students.

It comes as the region is confronting a weekly Monday sit-at-home order instituted by the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) to protest against the arrest of its leader Nnamdi Kanu.

This sit-at-home order has been plagued by violence, disruption in travel and education and economic losses each week.

The security and welfare of students and teachers is a priority, the state commissioner for information told BBC Igbo.

“We do not want Anambra state to lose its current competitive edge in education,” Don Adinuba added.

Parents have criticized the change of school days accusing the state government of being scared and unable to tackle security issues.

The commissioner however insists that the policy is a win-win.

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Biden to announce revamped $1.75 trillion social spending plan

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that his Democratic party was united as he prepares to unveil a revamped $1.75tn (£1.27tn) social spending plan.

“Everybody’s on board,” he said as he arrived at Capitol Hill to update Democrats on his new plans.

Democrats have struggled to reach consensus on a pair of bills aimed at infrastructure, climate and childcare.

Narrow margins in Congress require nearly unanimous support from Democrats for the bills to pass.

But the president’s party suggested this week that an agreement was on the horizon, ahead of Mr Biden’s trip to Europe later on Thursday. President Biden will travel to Rome, the Vatican and later to Glasgow, Scotland for the United Nations climate conference, COP26.

The full details on the exact provisions of the package have yet to be unveiled, but it is thought to be a stripped-down version of the roughly $3.5tn social spending plan favoured by progressives.

Mr Biden is expected to use his Thursday morning meeting with House Democrats to convince progressives in the party that this new version is close enough to the original bill, and to persuade progressives in the House of Representative to pass a separate, $1tn infrastructure bill that has already passed in the Senate.

So what’s in the proposed new spending plan?

$555bn aimed at fighting climate change, mainly through tax-incentives for renewable and low-emission sources of energy

$400bn for free and universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds

$165bn to lower health care premiums for the nine million Americans covered through the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare

$150bn to build one million affordable housing units

A 50-50 seat split in the Senate – and certain Republican resistance – Mr Biden must bring his entire party on board if he hopes to pass the spending bill.

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Nigeria warns of digital currency fraud

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned of attempted fraud related to a fake distribution of the newly launched e-Naira digital currency.

In a statement, the bank said criminals have been sending fraudulent messages to people claiming that it was disbursing e-Naira worth N50bn ($122m; £88m) to citizens.

It denied making such a hand-out.

The e-Naira, a digital version of the naira, is issued by the central bank and is held in an electronic wallet – a first of its kind in Africa to be issued through a government entity.

There have been concerns about its security.

The wallet should be available to download from an app store onto a smart phone.

However, the e-Naira app, called the speed wallet, is unavailable on the Google play store after it was launched on Monday.

The speed wallet enables users to conduct e-Naira transactions but many people complained of hitches while downloading the app.

Several users experienced issues activating their emails, which led to a litany of negative reviews about the app on Google Play store.

A spokesman for Nigeria’s central bank told Punch newspaper that the speed wallet app was pulled down to enable an upgrade.

The app is still available on the Apple store for iPhone users.

The digital currency was developed by a Barbados-based tech company, and came eight months after the central bank warned local banks that “facilitating payments for crypto-currency exchanges is prohibited”.

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