Office of Utilities Regulation
Kingston, Jamaica, 2016, April 25
OUR celebrates Girls in ICT Day 2016
The main utility regulator in Jamaica, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), participated in the celebration of International Girls in ICT Day on Thursday, April 28, 2016 by hosting a one day seminar and exhibition. The OUR regulates utilities operating in the Electricity, Telecommunications and Water & Sewerage sectors. The one day seminar and exhibition was held at the Knutsford Court Hotel, Kingston and targeted females between the ages of 14 and 19. The theme used for the seminar was adopted from the International Telecommunication Union International Girls in ICT theme Expanding Horizons and Changing Attitudes.
Locally, we recognized that there are many teenagers who are on the cusp of deciding a career path, and the field of ICT is an excellent one for them to explore. We also recognized that many young women are not as involved in the field because they do not know the various opportunities available in the world of ICT. The day's activities included several presentations and a panel discussion from various women at varying stages in their ICT careers, ranging from students to top executives. Presentation topics included "Why should I get excited about ICT", "ICT Skills and jobs", "Innovation and Creativity: Opportunities in ICT" from a corporate and students perspectives, and "Is hacking ok? The case for ethical hacking". The day also included a coding workshop where the girls created a simple website using HTML. In order to have maximum interaction between students and ICT professionals, resource persons were placed at each table with students.
There were also exhibitor booths featuring some of the top ICT companies in Jamaica, including Digicel Jamaica, Ericsson, Flow Jamaica, Jamaican Girls in Coding, Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) and Spectrum Management Authority; as well as our top universities, University of the West Indies, and the University of Technology, with information relating to courses girls could enroll in to enter the ICT field.
Girls benefitted from the day as they were exposed to how vast ICT is and how ICT in fact impacts almost every aspect of life. They got to witness and interact with successful women in the ICT field locally, and realize that a career in this area is attainable and women can do it too. One of the points of mention is an interactive game shared by final year college students (kahoot.it).
Testimonials:
"Everything was helpful. This is the first time I have been able to get any first-hand information about the ICT field." Hampton High School student, Grade 10.
"OUR can just continue to get the youth together as they did today, it was a fun experience and [I] learnt a lot and would do this all over again. Thank you." Tarrant High School student, Grade 10
"Very informative and eye opening" Immaculate Conception High School Student, Grade 10.
