William Jackson, MAT CEO MetaverseWP & Metaverse Education Program Director
for World Metaverse Council, Technology Education Program Director for One Africa Forum.
The married team William Jackson and Aida Jackson working with international Organizers from The Uganda Website Projects Competition 2024 Kampala, Africa, Clever Minds STEAM Academy in Warri, Nigeria, the upcoming WordCamp in Jinja and the first WordCamp in Lira, Northern Africa.
The team of William and Aida have been able to teach, sponsor and support technology conferences across international lines and locations with Africa coming the largest recipient. The historic accomplishments of this team are the results of collaboration, connections and cooperation with the WordCamp and WordPress Community. The history of these conferences started in 2022 when multiple technology conferences were provided in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.
William a retired Duval County Public School STEAM & CTE teacher and Aida a university Professor with Lenoir-Rhyne University teaching Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the web and studying web sites for accessibility challenges for people with visual, hearing and other challenges when navigating websites. The historic aspect of these teaching adventures is showing that Africans, Blacks and Afro-Latina’s (Hispanics) can be involved and engaged in teaching, mentoring and collectively influencing digital engagements internationally. The facts that Blacks and Hispanics would have not been allowed to volunteer, attend, speak, organize nor teach and participate in conferences just 20 to 30 years ago.
Blacks and Hispanics (Latinx) have systematically been denied the opportunities in national and international levels to share their skill-sets, knowledge, businesses and entrepreneurial successes.
Many tech events have been predominately white males and gradually increasing white females have been included. Since the slow inclusion of more Blacks and Hispanics across both Diasporas have fought, struggled, earned degrees and jumped into tech areas where they have been denied entrance.
Even in public education where William has been a STEM, STEAM, & STREAM educator, the perceptions by whites have been that he did not know how to teach technology even though he has a Masters Degree from a PWI (Predominantly White Institution). Since he was a Black male educator even with over 30 years before he retired he still was not respected and accepted in many cases. Because of the talents, creativity, works in local communities, educational access and other opportunities they represent a growing number of techies that are African, Black American and Hispanic making significant influences not just locally, but nationally and internationally.
William and Aida attribute their successes by keeping up with the changes of tech with STEAM+M, AI, VR, Metaverse and Web 3. Taking courses, trainings and joining organizations like BlackPress WP (https://blackpresswp.com), Blacks In Technology with its multiple global chapters (https://blacksintechnology.org) and connecting using LinkedIn with groups growing internationally.
Being fearless by participating speaking on Podcasts, Webinars, Community Meetings found on Meetup.com and share the road is not easy, but rewarding if you apply passion and acceptance that you will be the only African, Black or Hispanic face in the room, at the table, in the computer lab and maybe at a technology conference. Do not falter or back-down. William and Aida are Certified VR Educators with VictoryXR and EngageVR by taking the required courses and passing tests required to earn the much-needed certifications to be recognized as experts. The racial and ethnic diversity in tech has been slow and an uphill battle even for those with the education, knowledge and skills, but no one should ever give up. William attributes the challenges like those that played in the Negro League in Baseball. Those men were excluded, denied, separated and even physically bullied, the same could be stated for the past several years in tech careers.
You do not stop working smart and hard to achieve your goals. You also have to give back to the community by sponsoring youth, teens and young adults to attend conferences globally so people will see you really do care and understand the responsibilities we have to help others rise to their successes. Looking at the list of African nations that have metaverse sites and seeing how Africa is growing and developing into an influencer of global sensitivity and value to its people. Technology can bring people together and blend differences into collaboration.
Black employees of the national workforce make up only 4% of tech workers. While Hispanic workers make up just 8% of STEM jobs. African workers are still struggling with foreign nations to hire Africans. Those that are the biggest tech companies report a big gap, even though companies claim to be “looking” for employees they claim not to find capable tech employees. Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Google and other companies still struggle with promoting African, Blacks and Hispanics to leadership positions. Not because Africans, Blacks and Hispanics do not have digital skills, but because of the continued lack of acceptance of the skills, talents, knowledge of color and culture.
William has taught in higher education in the early and mid-2000’s with Edward Waters College (University) and Florida State College of Jacksonville, but was let go because it was thought he was teaching too advanced for the students to comprehend. Students at HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are often though of as slower, not skilled enough and not talented enough to be successful in technology careers. William and Aida are examples of being successful, by teaching, mentoring, collaborating and sponsoring youth and teens across Africa and Central America to attend tech conferences and events. Many realities are that the thinking is that Black and Hispanic youth and teens cannot work within tech fields, but William and Aida have taught internationally since 2018 to global audiences.
Even in employment data shows by the EEOC that among Executives, 57 percent of employees were white, 36 percent were Asian American, 1.6 percent were Hispanic and less than 1 percent were African American. The data also shows that, “Black households stand to lose out on more than a cumulative $350 billion in tech job wages by 2030,” https://www.mckinsey.com/bem/our-insights/how-to-close-the-black-tech-talent-gap
William is speaking out and have sponsored and provided scholarships for over 500 internationally to attend conferences like those in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Pakistan, India, and Central America. Their representation historically that Blacks and Hispanics can be influencial and successful in the development of content, and components of businesses involved in technology. If given a chance and provided an opportunity Africans, Blacks and Hispanics can make significant contributions in multiple areas of technology.
The web site MetaverseWP shows their clients https://metaversewp.com/destination in 2023 they made history by being the First Black and Hispanic educators to teach at WordCamp Europe 2023 and WordCamp Europe 2024 where they taught youth and teens from 8yrs to 16yrs Web Development, Internet Safety, Avatar building, and VR with the Metaverse. These are the skills African youth, teens and young adults will need to place themselves in the running for future careers. They continue to teach how the Metaverse,
AI and VR are changing Education, Web Development, Immersive Learning, Business and Commerce that are key for even governments to understand to strategize in building and supporting entrepreneurialism and collaboration. In 2024 they were invited for the second year to teach and had students from across Europe and even youth from India.
WordCamp conferences are global conferences that they volunteer, speak, sponsor, promote, and organize.
William Jackson, since 2010 has been part of the WordPress community and since 2017 has been speaking, teaching, sponsoring, promoting global WordCamps that help youth, and teens in workshops. Since 2018 Aida has been speaking, teaching, volunteering and organizing as well. Since 2022, MetaverseWP has been building Metaverse sites for global WordCamp conferences.
MetaverseWP https://metaversewp.com/destination
where William is the CEO and has a team. In 2023 William has been honored to be the Metaverse Education Program Director of the World Metaverse Council housed in Slovenia, the Republic of Slovenia in Southern Central Europe and he is the Director of Education and Technology with One Africa Forum housed in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have been honored across India, Africa, Pakistan and in Africa as leaders and educators.
Aida is a Certified Life Coach, Certified and Recognized Artist having her works displayed at the Eartha White Museum and Gardens in Jacksonville and a respected NFT Artist on the Metaverse.
To see the upcoming African WordCamp conferences https://central.wordcamp.org
Over 500 youth, teens and young adults have been helped to attend conferences globally, specifically on the African continent since 2017. Their speaking videos can be seen on WordPress TV Station
William
https://wordpress.tv/speakers/william-jackson
Aida