Grace Hopper Celebration with Audible

Audible — Grace Hopper Celebration
October 1-4, 2019
Icon Park, Orlando, FL

About

A combination of technical and career sessions, the 2019 Grace Hopper Women in Computing Summit with Audible (an Amazon company) held in Orlando, FL was a series of conferences designed to highlight female-led research and computing. Today, GHC is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists, where women from around the world learn, network and celebrate their achievements.

Grace Hopper was an influential pioneer in tech history as one of the first women to receive a doctorate degree in mathematics and the National Medal of Technology for her efforts to advance Mark I, II, and III computers along with creating the first compiler for computer languages. In addition, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

To honor Grace Hopper’s legacy and inspire women in tech, GHC was founded in 1994. The annual event celebrates women in computing while highlighting women’s contributions to the tech world. The Celebration provides attendees with collaboration, networking, and mentoring while offering presentations from industry leaders and a variety of professional development activities.

Audible, an Amazon company that produces and sells spoken audio content, was a leading sponsor at the summit in 2019. The women-led KIS (cubed) Events team brought this corporate event for Audible to life as part of the growing movement for empowering women in tech.

Objectives/Challenges

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing draws from a diverse population of women from all over the world. As the world’s largest gathering of women technologists, GHC features thousands of professionals and students each year. KIS (cubed) was tasked with bringing together these unique voices. Additionally, this event was planned and executed by KIS (cubed) in three weeks.

Solutions/Achievements

In order to create a collaborative environment that reflects the ambition of the attending community, the reception divisions of the event were centered around interactive activities that were accessible to all participants.

KIS (cubed) conceptualized and implemented interactive activations at the event including:

Yearbook wall
Photo booth
Listening party
Coloring mural
Word search wall
Food trucks
Performers
LED hula hoops
DJ booth
DIY treat bar

The celebration was inspired by a carnival theme, as reflected in the bright colors throughout the entire event, and guests were invited to engage in each component. Coupled with creative decorations incorporating both Icon and GHC colors, the event facilitated professional development through engaging activities, as well as platforms that supported Amazon Audible presentations.