Legendary programmer Grace Hopper appears in a still from ‘Code: Debugging the Gender Gap’, which will have its Irish premiere at Inspirefest 2015 in Dublin
As well as spending two days soaking up the wisdom of the leading lights in science, technology, engineering and maths, Inspirefest attendees will be the first in Ireland to see these four great films.
The Inspirefest sci-tech conference runs on the 18 and 19 June in Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, with keynotes, panel discussions and lively presentations – but it doesn’t stop there.
Ahead of a day of family-friendly fun on Saturday 20 June, the summer evenings will light up Merrion Square Park with a rocking fringe festival featuring four Irish film premieres.
Code: Debugging the Gender Gap
Filmmaker Robin Hauser Reynolds’s documentary examines how antiquated cultural attitudes, damaging stereotypes, educational obstacles and sexism are all reasons why girls and people of colour are less likely to seek careers in computer science than their white, male counterparts. Code: Debugging The Gender Gap also tells the inspiring stories of women working to change these lopsided ratios.
Programmers at work on the ENIAC computer. Image via The Computers
The Computers
Documentary short The Computers tells the story of six women who programmed ENIAC, the world’s very first all-electronic, programmable computer, as part of a secret World War II military project in Philadelphia. These incredible women were not revealed to the press or public at the time and their story remained untold for decades.
The Illusionists film still
The Illusionists
The Illusionists examines the multi-billion-dollar industries built on advertising that push images of unattainable beauty. The film is directed by Elena Rossini, a filmmaker and photographer who also co-founded Gender Gap Grader, an organisation that empowers companies with methods to measure the gender gap.
Still from Codebreaker
Codebreaker
Codebreaker tells the heartbreaking story of Alan Turing, a British officer whose codebreaking helped his country immensely during World War II. Yet, rather than receiving his government’s thanks, Turing was forced to undergo chemical castration in 1952 as a reprimand for his homosexuality. Turing later died from suicide at the age of 41.
For the full fringe festival schedule, check out inspirefest2015.com/fringe.
Inspirefest 2015 is Silicon Republic’s international event running 18-20 June in Dublin, connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM with fresh perspectives on leadership, innovation and diversity.
