The first in a series of the Girl Geek Dinners 2010 was successfully launched on Tuesday, the 9th of February, in the appropriate venue of the Dundee Contemporary Arts centre in Dundee.

The Meeting Room was filled to the brim with both men and women, from all different backgrounds; professionals and students in art, technology, games, dance, film, computing and design.

The evening commenced with an introduction and brief explanation into the Girl Geeks community, organised in Dundee by Morna Simpson and Mel Woods. Morna Simpson spoke of the need to encourage women into industries which are men dominated, and their drive to inspire women to lead others. Shanna Tellerman, CEO and founder of the Wild Pockets game platform, later reinforced the idea of women succeeding in the games industry.

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With the wine flowing, a chance to network then sent the room into a whirlwind of excitement when the audience were encouraged to mingle and discuss their interests and professions.

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Mel Woods then introduced the audience to Dr Sophia Lycouris, an artist from the Edinburgh College of Art. Her inspiration came from her passion – dance and performance. Through her current work she explores movement, space and interdisciplinary choreography and, through a collaborative piece is creating a robotic sculpture called “Snake”. She described her fascination of ‘kinaesthesia’ and how the audience feel a connection to a performance.
An interesting incite into performance and robotics, the idea of a ‘duet between the audience and the performer’ was somewhat interesting and exciting.

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Some food and wine then gave the audience another chance to chat, encouraging the female networking ability to shine.

The audience were then introduced to Shanna Tellerman, the CEO and founder of Wild Pockets. She gave an inspirational and uplifting talk about her own experiences in starting a company and encouraged other women to follow their dreams. Shanna spoke of how she started out in the fine arts, and never expected to be leading a computer games company. However it was evident that she certainly has been successful and was beaming with confidence, enthusiasm and a drive to inspire other women.

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After some cheese and oatcakes, and more wine, the informal ‘dinner party’ certainly did allow men and women from all backgrounds to network and gave the people of Dundee a fantastic chance to meet others in a range of industries. Dundee hosts some of the most successful games companies, and indeed the people of Dundee have a drive to discuss technology, innovation and exciting opportunities. The Girl Geek Dinner illustrated the buzz of energy that Dundee has and was a perfect setting for such an event.

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The Girl Geek Dinner enabled professional, motivated and enthusiastic women to network, be inspired and to learn from other women. In the 21st century, you would think that equality issues would be over, however there is no doubt that women still lack the confidence to start their own companies and to be accepted into the technology industries. Shanna, however definitely encouraged’ being female in a man’s world’ by taking advantage of the fact that there is indeed a gap in the market for women.

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It is beyond doubt that the Girl Geek Dinner certainly inspired every single person who attended the event. It was also apparent that both Sophia and Shanna are extremely passionate women and they not only strive to push the boundaries of technology but they themselves are continuously on a journey –of inspiring others and being inspired by others.

The evening sadly came to an end, not without more networking and chatting. The audience dispersed, each taking what they had learned and were inspired to follow their dreams. The Girl Geek Dinner in Dundee was indeed a fantastic chance for geeks to come together and to celebrate what women can really do.

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