Two often forgotten and unacknowledged female IT pioneers are being celebrated this week as part of a high-profile campaign to boost awareness of the IT industry and its achievements.
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has unveiled five short-films featuring the two women, Ada Lovelace and Hedy Lamarr, alongside Alan Turing, Sir Clive Sinclair and Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The five were chosen from a list of 150 IT Greats from across the globe.
A celebrity advocate endorses each pioneer, with former Spooks actress Miranda Raison (pictured) presenting the story of Hollywood A-list star Hedy Lamarr. Apart from her successful acting career Lamarr also co-invented an early technique for spread spectrum communications, making the use of mobile phone communications possible today.
Ortis Deley from Channel Five’s The Gadget Show presents the achievements of Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, who is widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.
Elizabeth Sparrow, President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: ‘We want to celebrate the achievements of these Information Pioneers and demonstrate their contribution to today’s Information Society.’
‘There is an urgent need for more women to join the IT profession. It’s an industry that offers the opportunity for women to be successful; we only have to look at Gina Bianchini, cofounder and CEO of social networking company Ning, Caterina Fake, cofounder of Flickr, and Eileen Grittins, CEO of self-publishing platform Blurb as examples of how women can enjoy a fulfilling career in IT.’
The BCS’ films go live on the evening of 27 May on MSN and the campaign website (http://pioneers.bcs.org/). People can vote for their favourite information pioneer and join the discussion about the other pioneers on the pioneers website. The films can also be found on Facebook and regular updates and commentary are also available on Twitter @infopioneers.
The five-strong series of films is directed by Lewis Georgeson, the Emmy-nominated and multi-award winning director of short form digital programmes.
The list of 150 IT Greats can also be viewed on the Information Pioneers site (http://pioneers.bcs.org/)
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May 26th, 2010 at 2:55 pmHedy Lamarr exclusive preview available on Telegraph TV says:
[...] can also view the Ada Lovelace film exclusively on the Financial Mail Women’s Forum – for further details click here. The other three films will be available to view on the [...]
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May 26th, 2010 at 3:08 pmAda Lovelace film now available to view ! says:
[...] The Ada Lovelace film, created as part of the Information Pioneers campaign, is now available to view exclusively through the Financial Mail Women’s Forum. [...]