Applause Africa, 7/22/2011 (BDPA New York)

The spotlight was on Innovating Our Future at BDPA New York’s 15th Annual Scholarship and Awards Dinner, held Wednesday, June 29, 2011, at event sponsor UBS’s 299 Park Ave office in New York, NY. For 15 years, the chapter, founded in 1982, has held the awards dinner to recognize the achievements of BDPA New York’s students as well as honor its community supporters and corporate sponsors. This year, the chapter also debuted its newly created Small Business Innovator (SBI) award, recognizing innovative IT entrepreneurship in the NYC community, and Member of the Year award, recognizing the contributions of one outstanding chapter member.

Read the rest of the Applause Africa article (including a number of event photographs!)

Applause Africa, July 1, 2011 (Renetta English, Damon Holmes)

BDPA Celebrates Black History Month by Presenting Black Family Technology Awareness Week. On February 26th, Abundant Life Christian Center, Brooklyn, hosted the New York Chapter of Black Data Processing Associates – BDPA’s annual Black Family Technology Awareness Week. It featured a series of workshops geared toward the benefit of both the youth and adults. The workshops included Cyber Security/Cyber Bullying, Careers in the Gaming Industry, Youth IT Showcase, etc.

When asked why they host the event, Co-Chair of BDPA-NY, Damon Holmes said, “We feel it is our responsibility to reinvest in our communities by sharing information and providing interest in areas that can benefit us [the African American community] as a whole. Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW) is a national public awareness campaign. It is designed to educate and empower African Americans through technology by preparing our communities to become an integral part of the fastest-moving industry of all time.”

Read the rest of the Applause African article.