“Ctrl Your Future” with Digi-Gxl’s creative tech event for young women, non-binary people and transfolk

This Saturday (2 November) Digi-Gxl is hosting Ctrl Your Future, an all-day event in partnership with the Institute of Coding. The event is “aimed at 16-18 year old womxn, non-binary people and transfolk” who are interested in learning skills to pursue a career in creative tech. With workshops lined up for the younger age group, along with an evening panel, a collaborative space and installations that are open to all, the event aims to “create a safe and welcoming environment” for the hard questions they might have, from career advice to solving specific technical issues for personal projects.

Cat Taylor, Digi-Gxl’s director, wanted to set this event apart from other extra-curricular courses and activities that often feel “either too serious or too educational,” she tells It’s Nice That, which might not resonate with a younger audience. “I think the Digi-Gxl event day is different because it is run by young, like-minded individuals who have either been in the industry for a few years or just graduated from further studies,” Cat says.

Designing the event with this goal in mind, Cat adds that it was important to create a visual that can build trust with the 16-18 year olds. “Successful design allows for our younger audiences to trust that connecting with our network will be worth their time,” Cat says. With a coding workshop run by Rifke Sadleir, an AR fashion activism workshop with Damara Ingles, and a face filter workshop with Harriet Davey and Noor Dhanju, this event is a chance to work with artists working at the forefront of such practices.

“For us, it’s a great means to connect with young people and give them the advice and guidance we would have wanted when we were first starting out,” Cat says. This opportunity, tailored for these marginalised gender identities, hopefully is only the first of many that will amplify their voices in the creative sector.

The event will run from 10am – 7pm on Saturday 2 November at Unit 4, Truman Brewery, London.

Last week, the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre published a report that suggested creative and digital skills should no longer be considered separate on an educational level, and while these “createch” skills are increasingly prominent in job ads, they remain largely absent from education and government policy. It went on to say that advertisers of creative jobs often assume a certain level of infused digital skills, to the extent that the recruiters neglect to even mention these skills in the job advert.