News
GSMA Marks International Girls in ICT Day with Events Around the World
The GSMA will celebrate the annual ITU International Girls in ICT Day this week with a series of events across its global footprint aimed at encouraging and empowering young women to explore career opportunities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas and helping companies worldwide reap the benefits of greater female participation in the tech sector.
The 2018 ITU International Girls in ICT Day will be held on Thursday 26 April and will be marked by events run by local GSMA offices in Atlanta, Barcelona, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, London and Nairobi.
“The GSMA is delighted to be supporting the ITU International Girls in ICT event for the fifth year running, inviting girls from around the world to learn about the rewarding careers possible within the mobile industry and the wider ICT sector.
The future success of our industry rests on the ability to attract talented females and we hope to inspire a new generation of young women to become tomorrow’s industry leaders.” ,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.
At its global headquarters in London, the GSMA is inviting a group of girls from The Bridge Academy, a school in the London borough of Hackney, to an event hosted by BT at its innovation event space.
The girls will take part in a problem-solving challenge and try out speed networking with successful women in the tech industry. Speakers at the London event will include representatives from Arsenal FC, Cambridge University, Mastercard and Vodafone.
Other related events include:
– Atlanta: In partnership with Cricket Wireless, the North America team will be donating mobile phones with prepaid data and messaging plans to girls that attended an earlier coding workshop with ChickTeck Atlanta.
– Barcelona: In partnership with Telefónica, WAYRA (Telefónica Open Future start-up accelerator programme) and Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the GSMA Spanish office has invited local girls to hear from industry experts and entrepreneurs and participate in a hands-on design and technology workshop.
– Brussels: The day will be marked as part of the Women4Tech event in Brussels this week, featuring high-level speakers from the European Commission.
– Hong Kong: The local GSMA office will be hosting a group of 10 girls for a half-day event on Saturday 28 April, teaching them how to code followed by a number of guest speakers.
– Dubai: Local GSMA representatives are inviting girls to the offices of several national ICT Ministries followed by tours of local operators, including Umniah in Jordan; MTN, Sudatel and Zain in Sudan; and Ooredoo, Orange and Tunisie Telecom in Tunisia.
– Nairobi: The GSMA local office is working with local primary and secondary schools to host a day featuring representatives from the mobile and tech industries.
Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals
Participation in initiatives such as the ITU International Girls in ICT Day underlines the mobile industry’s commitment to helping to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
The GSMA is a Topic Chair of the W20 (Women 20) group, which will advise the G20 member states on issues around gender equality and the economic empowerment of women in the run-up to the G20 Argentina 2018 summit taking place in Buenos Aires, 30 November – 1 December 20181.
The GSMA also supports gender equality and opportunities for women and girls via its participation in the EQUALS initiative; the GSMA Connected Women programme; Women4Tech; the WeCare initiative in Latin America; and the #BetterFuture campaign.
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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