Hip Hop Tech Leaders is a program committed to introducing and exposing California based youth to the practical use of cybersecurity through the lens of Hip Hop. This program is facilitated by 1600 Avenue, a 501(c)3 charitable organization thats pecializes in providing cyber security and privacy to organizations internationally. 

This program is designed to pique the interest of STEM in underrepresented youth populations, with the strategic vision of scaling their interest into a viable, professional cybersecurity and privacy careers. Through this pathway, we hope to actively decrease the wealth gap and increase female, black and brown representation in the cyber and privacy tech fields. 

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1600 Avenue will host 30 - 50 high school aged teenagers and they will spend 3 days at UC Berkeley. There, they will be immersed in an intense cybersecurity, privacy and AI program. Our organization has outlined 3 main priorities for this program. 

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First, our purpose is to expose disadvantaged and marginalized youth (with an emphasis on women, black and brown, and LGBTQA+ identifying individuals) to the collegiate campus space. Spending those days away from family, in an environment cultivated to show them the possibility of enrolling in a post-secondary institution will be an impactful experience. 

 

Secondly, through the lens of Hip Hop, these students will be exposed to Cybersecurity, Privacy and AI by strategically curated talks and breakout sessions. Here is where students will learn practical and relevant applications of cyber vigilance within the hip hop and entertainment industry. Our expressed hope is that this piques their interest enough that they will remain with us in our year long program.

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Key learning aspects of the Annual STEM Programme Include:

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