International Girls in ICT Day highlights the value of women in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), and seeks to attract more girls to the increasing career opportunities of this expanding field. Each year, girls and young women around the globe join together at hundreds of events to demonstrate their technology skills and to expand these.
A highlight of this year's event, being celebrated on 27 April, will be a speed virtual international meetup of girls in Geneva, Vilnius and Beirut through a shared game application and video link. This will enable them to explore ICT together in a live and interactive format.
Each location also has its own fun-filled activities. Local school girls in Geneva will demonstrate the new digital skills they learned in activities leading up to Girls in ICT Day and meet women mentors from the tech sector. In Vilnius, girls will enjoy a robotics workshop, practical demonstrations of virtual and augmented reality, and witness a presentation of winning projects from Lithuania's biggest annual robotics and technology competition, ROBOTIADA.
Media are invited to attend the ITU-hosted events in Geneva and Vilnius. It is an opportunity to see first-hand the enthusiasm and aptitude of these young women, who may one day become the future of ICT innovations.
Other key events are also taking place around the world in countries including Barbados, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Since its inception in 2011, over 240,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 7,200 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 160 countries worldwide.
The event is supported by governments, community organizations, schools and the business community, and is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the leading United Nations agency for information and communications technologies.
What:
International Girls in ICT Day -- Live meetup events taking place around the world bringing girls together to share and explore information and communications technology skills.
When:
27 April 2017
Where:
Global, with key events taking place at: ITU headquarters (Geneva) and Holiday Inn Hotel (Vilnius).
Who:
Technologically savvy girls and young women
Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-General (at Geneva location)
Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (at Vilnius location)
The ITU International Girls in ICT Day campaign team
For more information, please see bit.ly/GirlsInICT2017.
Media attending the Geneva or Vilnius events should contact:
In Geneva:
Jennifer Ferguson-Mitchell
Senior Media and Communications Officer, ITU
Tel.: +41 22 730 5469
Mobile: +41 79 3374615
E-mail: jennifer.ferguson-mitchell@itu.int
In Vilnius:
Monica Albertini
Communications Officer, ITU
Mobile: +41 79 8086065
Email: Monica.Albertini@itu.int
