Teen Trailblazer Selin Ozgursoy Fosters Equity In Tech

At 17, Selin Ozgursoy is the UN’s youngest advisor on business and the inaugural Youth Ambassador of UNICEF Turkey. She created the globally acclaimed nonprofit Equity Estrel (EE), which is dedicated to fostering equity in the technology sector, when she was just 15 years old. EE has since grown to a network of 800 young change-makers impacting 60,000 people worldwide through its social projects. It is currently expected to sign with the European Union for a fund, and has been supported by organizations including UNICEF and UN Women.

Equity Estrel is the largest international youth-led initiative from Turkey. With a mission to bridge historical gaps and promote social justice, EE volunteers in chapters across the globe help democratize access to technology for marginalized groups including women, the disabled, and underprivileged youth.

For their Go Pink or Go Code project, EE hosted over 300 hours of programming workshops in seven languages and reached 6,000 female participants within four months. Another EE initiative, Debug Disabilities, provided scientific book voiceovers to 5,000 visually impaired individuals. Stars of STEM honored women in technology by offering them the opportunity to speak about their career challenges and triumphs. The Stack Love project has established three libraries in Tanzania and Prague, providing easy access to the disadvantaged.

Quoting the Turkish saying, “One hand washes the other, and together they wash the face,” Ozgursoy emphasizes collaboration as the catalyst for pioneering change. EE’s upcoming project, Estrella, harnesses a free mobile app to teach coding to disabled individuals. The specialized features include talkback functions, a sign language translator, contrast color design, and 3D simulations. Right now, EE is preparing for a project launch with Dyson.

Ozgursoy was inspired to create Equity Estrel after speaking with a visually impaired 7-year-old girl in a Turkish village. The conversation left an indelible mark, as the young girl reflected on her daily exposure to child marriage, femicide, and child labor. Ozgursoy decided then and there to champion equity in education and technology.

“I often have been looked at strangely for what I advocate for,” said Ozgursoy in an exclusive interview with me. “At the very beginning, even my close friends were asking me, ‘Are you going to save the world?’” Yet she never let the opinions of others deter her from her commitment. And she has gone on to amass many awards and titles since. She has even participated in meetings with some of the biggest global companies doing business in her country, including Microsoft, Unilever, and Dell.

Ozgursoy feels strongly that youth should not wait for “their time,” but rather step into their power irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. She herself voices youth concerns at advisory board meetings with many organizations, such as IBM, WEF, Fast Company, and Vodafone. Having delivered two TEDx talks on AI, ethics and social entrepreneurship, she strives to represent the underrepresented.

In the future, Ozgursoy hopes to continue fostering a community of trailblazers and serving society. Her goal is to merge engineering with entrepreneurship – fixing everything broken from electric circuits to entire countries. “I truly hope everyone can be with me in spreading love, positivity, and kindness for a better and more sustainable world for the generations yet to come,” she says.