The 2014 edition of the International Girls in ICT Day Celebration, being organised by eBusiness Life Communication has received further boost with the signing up of MainOne Cable Company, Huawei Technologies and Phase3 Telecom as partners in the campaign.
This year’s event, the third (3rd) since eBusiness Life started the campaign in 2012, which is scheduled to hold in Lagos on June 19, 2014 is part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) campaign to sensitize young girls and encouraging them to take up Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a career.
MainOne Cable Company, a pioneer submarine cable company in Nigeria and a pioneer partner to the campaign in Nigeria had noted that the quest to be part of the International enlightenment campaign was borne out of the need to ensure that the Nigerian girl child is presented with the options available in shaping her career and the profession of ICT demystified.
According to a spokesperson at Huawei Technologies, the company is committed to ensuring that it contributes its quota in building expertise and professionalism in the Nigerian ICT industry.
It would be recalled that Huawei in recent times has partnered with indigenous firms and the federal government in training girls in the area of ICT.
The most recent being the training of 1000 girls at its training centers in Lagos and Abuja, a partnership it struck with the Ministry of Communications Technology.
Phase3 Telecom is joining the campaign to encourage young girls to delve into ICT as a profession. The company which is passionate about building a crop of young Nigerians to actively participate and compete in the evolving and innovative technological trends globally will further share its thoughts at the one-day workshop.
According to Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro, CEO of eBusiness Life Communication, the need to sensitise young girls is premised on the fact that the society has unconsciously relegated the female gender and delegated careers in technical fields, especially in ICT, to their male counterparts.
According to her, effort should be made to introduce young girls to career opportunities in technical fields in both the public and private sectors to help them have a wider range of options and contribute their quota in the industry and in the development of the economy.
She stated that the ICT Girls’ Day workshop and attending campaign will further open up opportunities for girls in ICT sector.
As part of the 2014 event, there will be graphic design competition between female students from select secondary schools, roundtable discussions, interactive and motivational talk from renowned women ICT professionals, among others.
The event will also form a platform for participating companies to network and find areas of complementarity.
At the end of the event, it is expected that the young students should be able to introspect and pursue any desired career path in ICT, technical or not, without bias, or being gender conscious.
While the motive of this campaign is not to force these young and budding girls into a profession which is currently dominated by men, it tends to present and demystify the ICT profession, making them realize the need and intrigues of the profession.
It will also expose their hidden abilities to tackle the challenges that were faced and surmounted by some other women who are already excelling in and enjoying the profession.
Furthermore as part of the campaign and to further sensitize and educate them on the career path, young students will experience activities such as sustained mentorship programmes, tours to ICT facilities, participation in seminars that promote ICT development, competitions on various ICT topics, and more.
This will be followed by series of activities which will expose young girls to the viability of career in ICT.
International Girls’ Day is an initiative launched through ITU Resolution 70 with the idea of creating a global environment that will empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in the field of information and communication technologies.