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International Girls in ICTs Day 2024, Opening Remarks
Manilla, Philippines 25 April 2024

Your Excellency Ivan John Uy, Minister of ICTs, Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)

Mr. Gustsvo Gonzales, UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines,

Excellencies,
Dear Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here in beautiful Manila – “the Pearl of the Orient” for the global celebration of International Girls in ICT Day. Greetings!

I would like to thank the Government of the Philippines for hosting us, and to express my congratulations for your active participation in the work of ITU, and achievements in bridging the digital divide, gender gap, and skills gap through meaningful affordable connectivity, and sustainable digital transformation efforts.

Today, we celebrate the Girls in ICT Day 2024 under the well-chosen theme - Leadership! We are celebrating our efforts aimed at building the next generation of women in tech. The theme, Leadership underscores the critical need for strong female role models in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers.

Today, we observe with regret that women and girls continue to lag in connectivity, access, and use of Information and Communication Technologies and are critically under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and math careers, where they hold less than one third of the roles globally.

And yet, we all know that the future of jobs is in these fields and that the future is increasingly digitally dependent. Leaving out girls and women, will be at a cost to countries, regions, and our world! We cannot lose the enormous potential that is around us without opening doors and creating opportunities for our sisters and daughters. As we meet here today, according to the latest ITU data, globally there is a 5% gap between women and men in terms of using the internet. Additionally, only 29 per cent of women in the remaining Least Developed Countries are connected. That is forty-five countries, or one fourth of the 193 Member States of the United Nations. We must do something to get things right!

On our part, ITU specifically, the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is devoted to supporting countries in their efforts to mainstream gender in their connectivity and digital transformation programmes.

Let me share with you how we are doing this:

Through the over 11,400 Girls in ICT Day celebrations that we have held since 2011, we have inspired close to half a million girls and young women to pursue STEM education and careers.
Under our Women in GovTech Challenge and our Women in Cyber Mentorship programmes, we have trained and empowered hundreds of professional women in technology and cybersecurity.
With our guidelines such as the “Handbook to Mainstream Gender in the Digital Policies,” we have provided guidance and actionable checklists for policymakers on digital gender equality.

Now, I would like to turn to the girls who are celebrating with us here today as well as all over the world.

This is your day. Take part in ongoing discussions. You should confidently take the floor, engage, and lead the conversation! We need your imagination to obliterate the word impossible. Everything that you dream, is Possible especially the creation of a more digitally inclusive and equitable future. We need you to lead the technological revolution that is redefining our world!

Let me remind you that the Girls in ICT Day celebration this year is about Leadership. Do away with the notion that a leader is just a title. A leader is a dreamer with a vision for change and gets the job done. So, in cases when things seem tough, that is where leaders stand out and stand up! Technology is a tool be it Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Big Data, or Internet of Things. If you master these technologies, combined with your boldness to succeed, you will emerge a winning leader. You can be that doctor, architect, or artist you always dreamed to be.

To you ladies, you must always dream and dream BIG!
My advise to you is to overcome your fear for challenges. There is an old proverb that remains relevant today: “In the struggle between the stone and water, in time, the water wins.” When I look around this room, and imagine other girls celebrating elsewhere, I see winners! I see determination! I see future leaders in the ICT sector emerging from this crop.

We, at ITU, are here to help you win, including through enhancing your digital and leadership skills, and creating platforms for mentorship and networking.

On that note, I am thrilled to announce the ITU-EQUALS – Her Digital Skills Badges. These badges are in fact free online courses preparing you for employment in the ICT sector. Please, go online now, type ITU Academy and enrol in a course! As the Nike slogan goes: Just do it! I like this slogan because it describes a mindset, an attitude, a call to action. It empowers individuals to overcome obstacles and chase their dreams!

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to pause and welcome Daisy from Kenya and Lys from Burundi who are here thanks to the generosity and commitment of our partners under the Her Digital Skills initiative, Women’s Worldwide Web, and Qualcomm. A warm welcome to Karenina, Alfiah and Agita from Indonesia, who are here thanks to the generous support of our long-standing partner, the US State Department. (applause)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At this time, I would like to thank all our members and all our partners in various parts of the world for your continued support that is transforming lives for young girls and disadvantaged women. Let me assure you that ITU is determined to help countries, regions, and the global community to achieve digital gender parity.

Now, I want to thank our host, Minister Uy and the team from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, your Excellency, Minister Uy, you are known to be a strong advocate of digital gender inclusion. We stand with you!

I must say, in recent years, the Philippines has set a notable example in digital transformation. We recognize your great efforts in promoting Girls in ICT celebrations, implementing broadband connectivity, promoting digital engagement across sectors, building infrastructure resilience, ensuring affordability of ICT services, and jointly working with ITU on important initiatives, such the Smart Village - Smart Island initiative project, Digital Transformation Centres, and promoting the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance through participation in the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Board.
With that, let me extend profound thanks and appreciation to our infatigable, Ms. Jocelle Batapa Sigue, Undersecretary for Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines, for her vigorous leadership and engagement in the numerous important roles she plays in the ITU and in the Telecommunication Development Bureau. She is a highly active Member of our Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development Board and very well appreciated and respected by her fellow Board Members.

Dear Speakers,
Dear Participants,

Happy Girls in ICT Day!

I wish you all an enjoyable and learning experience!