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Building the Resilience of Women and Girls through Education, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Online Education

Online Education

Online Education

Online Education

Online Education

Online Education

Robotics Teams

Robotics Teams

Robotics Teams

Robotics Teams

Robotics Teams

Robotics Teams

IT Centers

IT Centers

IT Centers

IT Centers

IT Centers

IT Centers

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Community Network

Community Network

Community Network

Community Network

Community Network

Community Network

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance

Global Advocacy

Global Advocacy

Global Advocacy

Global Advocacy

Global Advocacy

Global Advocacy

Scholarship

Scholarship

Scholarship

Scholarship

Scholarship

Scholarship

Afghan Girls’ Online STEAM Education

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

When you can't go to school, you have to bring school to you.

DCF provides secure, culturally sensitive, and structured online Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education for Afghan girls and young women, including digital literacy, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship training.  Our free, AI-enabled education app, the Afghan Dreamers Academy, draws on over a decade of learning from DCF's in-person and remote education programs to offer a bespoke, one-stop digital learning platform specifically for Afghans.  The platform features live and recorded classes from DCF and its partners, an AI tutor in Dari and Pashto, a digital library with curated book summaries, and connections to real mentors around the world.  All content is available in Dari and Pashto, accessible offline, and supported by enhanced data analytics to track learning outcomes.


DCF also develops graphic novels and complementary educational resources to make important, but complex concepts accessible to young audiences through relatable, human-centered storytelling.  These include a comic book focused on Bitcoin, designed to help women and girls in marginalized communities access financial tools that do not require bank accounts or the permission of male guardians. 


Girls Robotics Teams

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

Girls Robotics Teams

Robotics offers an engaging, hands-on entry point into STEAM, empowering girls with practical skills while building confidence, leadership, and a sense of agency.

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team, also known as the Afghan Dreamers, began as a small DCF initiative with just seven students in January 2017.  Despite visa denials, equipment delays, security threats, and political instability, the team soon made international headlines after winning multiple prestigious robotics awards, inspiring the award-winning documentary Afghan Dreamers and the feature film Rule Breakers, available for streaming on most major platforms.  As early cohorts graduated and new cohorts joined, the team grew into a powerful symbol of Afghan girls’ resilience and potential.

Robotics offers an engaging, hands-on entry point into STEAM, empowering girls with practical skills while building confidence, leadership, and a sense of agency.


The Afghan Girls Robotics Team, also known as the Afghan Dreamers, began as a small DCF initiative with just seven students in January 2017.  Despite visa denials, equipment delays, security threats, and political instability, the team soon made international headlines after winning multiple prestigious robotics awards, inspiring the award-winning documentary Afghan Dreamers and the feature film Rule Breakers, available for streaming on most major platforms.  As early cohorts graduated and new cohorts joined, the team grew into a powerful symbol of Afghan girls’ resilience and potential.

When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, DCF successfully relocated the team and their teachers with support from the State of Qatar, enabling them to continue their education and robotics training abroad.  Today, alumnae are studying engineering, computer science, medicine, and applied sciences at leading universities around the world, inspiring girls everywhere. 

Despite enormous challenges, the team continues to compete internationally and advocate for girls’ education.  Over the years, the team has won numerous global awards, including the FIRST Global Competition Awards (2021, 2023) and media accolades such as Forbes' "30 Under 30 of Asia Awards."  


DCF has since expanded its proven model to support girls robotics teams from additional countries, enabling them to compete globally and provide opportunities for young women to explore real-world applications of engineering and coding.

IT & Robotics Centers for Women and Girls

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

IT & Robotics Centers for Women and Girls

STEAM education is difficult to operationalize without access to technology.  DCF established its first IT Center in Afghanistan in 2012, later expanding to two Innovation Centers and 11 Tech Centers, providing women and young people access to technology and high-quality STEAM training.  While these centers were ultimately forced to close due to changing conditions on the ground, DCF continues to partner with local organizations to launch new IT and Robotics Centers for women and girls across Pakistan, Turkey, and additional countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 

These centers are designed to:

  • Create safe environments for technical experimentation and collaboration

  • Establish maker spaces and provide robotics workshops that enable hands-on learning and build confidence

  • Provide instruction in coding, robotics, and digital literacy


By combining technical training with financial literacy and leadership development, these centers empower girls in underserved communities to convert learning into livelihoods.


Interested in partnering with DCF to equip and operate an IT and Robotics Center for women and girls in your country?  See our open Requests for Proposals.

Women’s Entrepreneurship

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

Women’s Entrepreneurship

Give an Afghan woman the tools to start a business, and you're giving her agency, dignity, and the confidence that she can still shape her own future.


With an initial investment from the Neuberger Berman Foundation, DCF created a financial literacy program to help young Afghan women manage both personal and business finances.  Building on this foundation, DCF now pairs training in accounting, market analysis, and entrepreneurship with micro-loans and small grants to help women launch or scale small businesses.


This support helps women turn their ideas into sustainable livelihoods, demonstrating DCF’s core belief: when women are trusted with tools and responsibility, they become creators of solutions, not recipients of aid.

Women’s Entrepreneurship

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Women’s Entrepreneurship

Give an Afghan woman the tools to start a business, and you're giving her agency, dignity, and the confidence that she can still shape her own future.


With an initial investment from the Neuberger Berman Foundation, DCF created a financial literacy program to help young Afghan women manage both personal and business finances.  Building on this foundation, DCF now pairs training in accounting, market analysis, and entrepreneurship with micro-loans and small grants to help women launch or scale small businesses.


This support helps women turn their ideas into sustainable livelihoods, demonstrating DCF’s core belief: when women are trusted with tools and responsibility, they become creators of solutions, not recipients of aid.

The Sister Community Network

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

The Sister Community Network

The Sister Community Network is a global initiative that fosters mentorship, collaboration, and peer-to-peer learning among women and girls in DCF programs.  It aims to connect thousands of participants across borders, with a focus on meaningful, sustained engagement through mentorship, collaborative projects, and shared learning experiences that strengthen skills, confidence, and leadership.

Emergency Assistance

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

Emergency Assistance

DCF’s Emergency Assistance Program delivers rapid, targeted humanitarian aid to communities affected by crises, with a focus on women, girls, and other vulnerable populations.


DCF has provided a range of emergency interventions, including: 

  • Disaster Relief: Delivery of emergency medicine, food, and essential supplies to more than 1,300 families in Afghanistan and Turkey in the wake of natural disasters, with a particular focus on women-headed households.

  • Relocation & Resettlement Assistance: Support for safe passage, temporary accommodation, visa processing, living expenses, and education for more than 300 Afghan refugees in the surrounding region, Europe, and Canada.


These interventions enable DCF to respond quickly, effectively, and compassionately when crises arise.

Rule Breakers, International Exhibitions & Global Advocacy

Interested in organizing a screening of Rule Breakers?  Contact uS at info@digitalcitizenfund.org.

Rule Breakers, International Exhibitions & Global Advocacy

Globally, girls’ education is one of the strongest drivers of economic prosperity and a critical bulwark against child marriage and early childbearing.  STEAM education is particularly powerful in unlocking new economic opportunities.  Worldwide, these fields are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying sectors, yet women and girls remain disproportionately concentrated in lower-paying, informal sectors that face increasing pressure from automation and artificial intelligence.


Removing barriers to girls’ STEAM education worldwide and empowering them with the belief that they can accomplish their goals is central to DCF’s work.  To that end, DCF leverages screenings of the award-winning 2025 feature film Rule Breakers, international exhibitions of robots built by the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, and the engagement of global leaders to spark dialogue on education access and self-determination.


Rule Breakers

Rule Breakers, which chronicles the story of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, has been screened at leading academic, policy, and global institutions, including:

  • Universities & Community Colleges: Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Oregon, Stevens Institute of Technology, Saint Peter’s University, and SUNY Broome

  • Cultural Institutions: The Museum of Modern Art

  • Policy & Diplomatic Fora: The Council on Foreign Relations, the Geneva Human Rights Platform (with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan), Berlin Freedom Week, and the Doha Forum

  • Government & Legislative Bodies: The UK Parliament


DCF also supports school- and community-based screenings, paired with moderated dialogues, in secondary schools and youth education programs, creating accessible entry points for future generations, especially girls, to envision themselves achieving similar feats.



Building Resilience Through Innovation, Technology and Education (BRITE) Initiative


Through exhibitions, conferences, and media engagement, BRITE highlights the achievements of women and girls in STEAM to promote educational opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan.  The inaugural BRITE event, which took place in Doha in March 2022, convened governments, business leaders, civil society organizations, youth, and local communities.  It featured an exhibition showcasing the work of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, followed by an all-women, multi-stakeholder panel discussion on the future of education in Afghanistan. 


Since then, subsequent BRITE exhibitions have been organized with partners such as the United Nations.  


Grounded in the belief that communities that restrict access to education ultimately constrain their own economic, social and civic development, the BRITE initiative demonstrates that inclusive investment in talent unlocks greater innovation, prosperity, and a BRITEr future for all.


Global Advocacy

DCF conducts global advocacy to expand access to quality STEAM education at the secondary and tertiary levels.  By amplifying the voices and leadership of DCF alumnae in leading international and multilateral policy fora, this advocacy positions girls not as beneficiaries of aid, but as contributors to global conversations on education and technology.

Building Resilience Through Innovation, Technology and Education (BRITE) Initiative


Through exhibitions, conferences, and media engagement, BRITE highlights the achievements of women and girls in STEAM to promote educational opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan.  The inaugural BRITE event, which took place in Doha in March 2022, convened governments, business leaders, civil society organizations, youth, and local communities.  It featured an exhibition showcasing the work of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, followed by an all-women, multi-stakeholder panel discussion on the future of education in Afghanistan. 


Since then, subsequent BRITE exhibitions have been organized with partners such as the United Nations.  


Grounded in the belief that communities that restrict access to education ultimately constrain their own economic, social and civic development, the BRITE initiative demonstrates that inclusive investment in talent unlocks greater innovation, prosperity, and a BRITEr future for all.


Global Advocacy

DCF conducts global advocacy to expand access to quality STEAM education at the secondary and tertiary levels.  By amplifying the voices and leadership of DCF alumnae in leading international and multilateral policy fora, this advocacy positions girls not as beneficiaries of aid, but as contributors to global conversations on education and technology.


past projects: DCF Scholarship Fund

Contact us at info@digitalcitizenfund.org to learn more.

DCF Scholarship Fund

The DCF Scholarship Fund was established in August 2021 to ensure that the members of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team could continue their education safely abroad.  With support from the State of Qatar, the Qatar Foundation, and the Qatar Fund For Development, 24 team members from multiple cohorts were relocated and enrolled in prestigious high schools and universities in Doha.  The fund later supported students' transition to leading universities in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.


The fund, which DCF managed directly, also supported supplementary STEAM coursework, textbooks, specialized equipment, and essential living expenses, enabling students to focus fully on their studies and long-term goals.


Management of the scholarship program was transitioned to the Institute of International Education at the end of 2024.


Make your impact today


The Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Your tax-deductible donation helps women and girls gain access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, technology, and entrepreneurship skills—helping them achieve financial independence in Afghanistan and beyond.  Every gift makes a real impact.

DCF is eligible to receive Donor Advised Funds.  Find us using our EIN: 46-274088

Make your impact today


The Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Your tax-deductible donation helps women and girls gain access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, technology, and entrepreneurship skills—helping them achieve financial independence in Afghanistan and beyond.  Every gift makes a real impact.

DCF is eligible to receive Donor Advised Funds.  Find us using our EIN: 46-274088

Make your impact today


The Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Your tax-deductible donation helps women and girls gain access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, technology, and entrepreneurship skills—helping them achieve financial independence in Afghanistan and beyond.  Every gift makes a real impact.

DCF is eligible to receive Donor Advised Funds.  Find us using our EIN: 46-274088