Chair’s Message: Celebrating Connection, Growth, and Global Impact
By Rukiye Altın
As we reconnect with our ACM-W members, friends, and supporters, I’m delighted to share our highlights, which are filled with accomplishments, collaboration, and inspiration across our global community. Together, we celebrated achievements, welcomed new chapters, and highlighted the inspiring women in computing who are driving change and innovation around the world.
As we begin this new term, it’s my pleasure to welcome two new members of our ACM-W leadership team: Geetanjali Kale, our new ACM-W India Chair, and Marjana Prifti Skënduli, our new ACM-W Global Award Committee Chair. We also have new faces among our volunteers, and I want to thank and welcome them all warmly. Together, we’re building stronger connections and breaking boundaries to inspire everyone! A big thank-you also goes to our Communications Team, chaired by Çiğdem Şengül and Adriana Wilde. Together with our dedicated volunteers, they work tirelessly to spotlight our chapters each month and showcase the amazing initiatives across our network.
In September, we kicked off the ACM Celebration of Women in Computing events worldwide! On September 12–13, the ACM-W Asia Pacific Region hosted a local celebration in Pakistan “Scientia Karachi ACM Celebration of Women in Computing” co-hosted by the Scientia Karachi ACM-W Chapter and Habib University. Your enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication to making science more accessible have set a strong foundation for future science writers and communicators in our community. Thank you for inviting me to join you as one of the speakers!
From September 17–19, we gathered for three inspiring days at Transilvania University of Brașov, in the beautiful city of Brașov, Romania, for the 12th ACM Celebration of Women in Computing: womENcourage™. I still remember being a bachelor’s student and as ACM-W Bilkent Student Chapter Chair at the very first womEncourage™ in Manchester in 2012. It’s fantastic to see how far we’ve come since then. Over the years, we’ve grown into a strong, supportive community that champions diversity, inclusion, and belonging in computing.
The impact of this celebration on people’s lives and careers is truly remarkable. Next month brings even more celebrations globally – Ohio, New York, Nigeria, Dubai, Malaysia, Germany, Cape Town, and Türkiye. These months have shown that ACM-W’s impact continues to grow through collaboration, recognition, and our shared belief in the power of computing to change lives.