Girls represent an untapped resource and a hope for the future. Equipping girls with information and communications technology (ICT) can transform a nation by improving quality of life, serving as a tool for skill acquisition and job creation, and mobilizing public-private partnerships.
International Girls in ICT day was established to empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in the growing fields of information and communication technology. This year, the day is April 26th.
In developing countries, girls and women’s representation is low at all levels of the ICT career pipeline: from interest and intent, to majoring in ICT related fields at the university level, to pursuing an ICT related career. From years of experience working with women of all ages at YTF, we know that girls:
- Are interested in the power of learning, asking questions, and problem solving.
- Want to help people and make a difference in the world.
- Who have an interest in ICT are high achievers.
In celebration of this day, YTF partnered with local primary and secondary schools in Nigeria and invited girls to spend a day at an all-girls open house at YTF’s Owerri Digital Village. During the open house, the girls had the opportunity to learn about how to integrate technology in their daily lives and in school, hear from the experience of guest speakers, and work together on team assignments designed to boost their confidence in their science and technology acumen. Guest speakers related their educational background and interests to the places they have reached in their careers. They also provided perspective on post-secondary studies and training opportunities around science and technology. The girls who visited listened intently to learn life skills from inspiring instructors and were introduced to perspectives on career options in ICT from their engagement with role model mentors.
We know that ICT fields produce innovators and problem solvers extraordinaire – professionals whose impact is far reaching and life changing. YTF is committed to educating the ICT leaders of tomorrow. Our students will be the individuals who drive future innovation, and providing them with a solid curriculum and the tools at YTF is only just the beginning. We must continue to ignite within them the passion to create, discover and lead. We must continue to teach them to view mistakes as opportunities to retool, learn and improve.
By focusing on the community we serve, innovation, and ICT, YTF will be a place where anything is possible.
