Hello Duchesses and supporters,
This is our first official Duchess newsletter. We plan to keep these coming to keep you informed.
Contents:
- Statistics
- Duchess Foundation
- Presentation at JBoss User Group (+ dinner)
- Upcoming Technical Sessions: Spring and Groovy
- Requests for Technical Sessions
- Study Groups
- Local Branches
Statistics
Duchess is expanding. We now have 61 registered members from 19 countries. And we’ve had visitors from every continent (except Antarctica).
Duchess Foundation
In our Amsterdam headquarters we are busy setting up a foundation (”Stichting”) so we can do more with sponsorings and the like. We’re still looking for board members (in the Netherlands) to fill out our board of directors. So if you would like to get more involved in Duchess please contact us. (By replying to this email for example.)
Presentation at JBoss User Group meeting (+ Dinner)
This Friday (June 20th) Clara and Linda will give a presentation about Duchess and issues involving women in IT at the Benelux JBoss User Group Meeting in Rotterdam. If you are working with JBoss or want to know more about it, it’s a free event, so do drop by. (Sign up on the site to let us know you are coming.) Also afterwards we (the Duchess members) will be going out to dinner. So even if you can’t come to our presentation you’re welcome to join us for dinner. (Although it isn’t sponsored this time, so you’ll have to pick up your own bill.)
Upcoming Technical Sessions
We have two upcoming technical sessions on Spring and Groovy offered by SpringSource and VXCompany respectively. No dates have been set yet, but we are planning them to be after the summer. We’ll keep you posted.
Requests for Technical Sessions
We are busy organizing meetings with some technical content. Please let us know if you would like to participate and share your experiences. Do you have a presentation that you would like to share? You don’t have to be a guru on the subject, and the presentation doesn’t have to be long. Or if you would like to lead a discussion, that would also be an idea. On the other hand, if there subjects you are interested in, we can try to find someone to tell us about it. What would you like to see at our meetings?
Study Groups
There has been some interest for study groups to study for certifications: Sun certifications or Spring certification. If you are interested in joining us, please let us know.
Local Branches
As you can see, this newsletter is to keep you informed of Duchess activities in the Netherlands (although every member is welcomed), but also to give ideas for your own local activities. After the Netherlands, which has 21 members, Indonesia (8 members) is the next country with the most Duchess members. After that we have Belgium (5) and the United States (5). So if there are some enthusiastic members out there, we would love to help you set up your own local branches.
Regards,
Duchess
http://www.jduchess.org
P.S. If you haven’t had a chance to register at our website yet, now is the time! We’re getting more activities going and would love to see you at our events.
P.P.S. To our supporters, please spread the word to your female colleagues to join us. We appreciate your support.
