Social Impact at GitHub Universe 2024

GitHub Universe, our annual developer conference, took place from October 29-30, 2024 in San Francisco, CA. The GitHub Social Impact team was excited to host events in person and virtually, engaging both conference attendees and staff.

GitHub for Good Award

The GitHub Awards celebrates the outstanding contributions and achievements in the developer community by honoring individuals, projects, and organizations for creating an outsized positive impact on the community. Specially, the GitHub for Good Award recognizes a nonprofit or social sector organization who has leveraged GitHub for good to empower developers to make a positive difference in the world. This year, we are pleased that, The Hive, USA for UNCHR has won the award! What kinds of high-impact problems could be addressed with AI? This data science and innovation lab, conducted research to address the growing need for refugee housing. According to UNHCR, 22% of the 43 million refugees around the world live in camps—temporary facilities built to respond to specific emergencies. And as the need for refugee housing grows, the planning becomes more complex. Through their research, The Hive uncovered possible AI solutions to make this work easier. That’s just one way The Hive is putting modern advances to work solving real-world problems and using technology to do good.

Learn more about their projects here.

In-person: Beautify Fort Mason with nonprofit Refuse Refuse

Conference attendees and local GitHub employees gathered ahead of the Day 2 keynote to help beautify the local neighborhood. It was done in partnership with Refuse Refuse, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping San Francisco clean and beautiful through volunteer-driven trash cleanups. This volunteer activity helped ensure we could give back to the community that hosted our event, and leave it even cleaner than we found it!

Pictured: GitHub Employees and GitHub Campus Experts volunteering to collect trash ahead of the Day 2 keynote.

In-person: Women in Tech career panel

To celebrate the next generation of open source leaders together with local nonprofits and GitHub executive leadership, we hosted a Women in Tech career panel. The event was aimed to support female learners interested in tech with discussions about women in technology, leadership, and social impact. It featured a networking breakfast, a panel discussion, and a tour of the GitHub office. The goals were to inspire and empower female learners to pursue careers in tech, create a supportive community through sharing experiences related to women in tech including challenges and successes, and foster community. Thank you to Code Tenderloin, Hack The Hood, Mission Bit, and Dev Mission for your partnership on this meaningful event.

Featuring:

• Anisha Pindoria (anipind), Director, Developer Relations, GitHub
• Demetris Cheatham (@demetris11), Chief of Staff to the CEO, GitHub
• Jiyon Yun (@jiyonyun), Head of Commercial Legal, GitHub
• Jen Kreiger (@mrry550), VP, Engineering Operations & Chief of Staff to the CTO, GitHub

Pictured: GitHub leadership panel and local mentees at the GitHub Hub in San Francisco.

In-person: Discussions lounge: Open source for all—skilling the next generation of open source leaders

There are similarities between diversity and inclusion efforts in tech today and software development in the early days of open source. That is to say: even with many resources and funds invested, efforts are often disjointed, siloed, or sidelined. As GitHub scales to become home to one billion global developers, we aim to fix this. Facilitators Ruth Ikegah, open source consultant at CHAOSS, and Sarah Oyetubo, Senior DI&B Program Manager at GitHub, led a discussion on how to foster collaboration and help skill new developers, lowering the barrier of entry to open source for all. Participants learned how providing equal opportunity to use and create technology unlocks the full potential of open source and why skilling lies at the heart of this goal. The group also talked about how AI serves as a crucial tool to help lower the barrier of entry for the next generation of open source leaders.

Want to continue the conversation? Join the Discussion here.

Featuring:

• Sarah Oyetubo (@soyetubo), Senior DI&B Program Manager, GitHub
• Ruth Ikegah (@ruthikegah), Community and Program Lead, CHAOSS

Pictured: Sarah Oyetubo and Ruth Ikegah presenting at GitHub Universe.

Virtual: Micro-mentoring with GitHub employees and students

As part of our ongoing commitment to drive positive and lasting contributions to the world with GitHub products, our brand, and our employees, we held a Hubber volunteer opportunity to kick off Universe 2024. Nearly 100 1:1 sessions were held ahead of Universe, providing students with an opportunity to engage with industry experts (aka GitHub employees) on technical career pathing and resume feedback. Here’s what a few mentees had to say:

I appreciated the opportunity to gain tailored advice on preparing for a career in tech, especially around building a strong resume, focusing on impactful projects, and developing industry-relevant skills.

~ Mentee

I have received new advice and gained new knowledge. Now, I have a clearer vision for my future career.

~ Mentee

My mentor gave me valuable and helpful advice, shared with me her inspiring story, and helped me realize that I can utilize my resources as a strength instead of looking at them as a weakness. I really appreciate this chance.

~ Mentee

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Social Impact programming this year. We look forward to Universe 2025!