Internet Training Centres for Africa Surpasses Goals
ITU and Cisco Make Excellent Progress in Bridging Digital ‘Gender’ Gap

Geneva, 12 May 2004 — The Internet Training Centres (ITC) Initiative in Africa has surpassed its goal to expand the number of training centres and the participation level of female students.

The ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) launched the ITC Initiative for Developing Countries in May 2001, with the aim of providing students and professionals in developing countries with affordable and relevant information technology training in Internet Protocol (IP) networking. Cisco Systems, Inc. joined the global initiative as a pioneer partner, offering its Cisco Networking Academy programme. The goals of the project included the establishment of 50 Internet Training Centres worldwide by the end of 2003, with an overall female enrollment of 30%. There are now 53 centres in operation globally, with more than 3 000 students enrolled.

In Africa the goal was to open 16 ICTs and there are now 19. So far 300 students have graduated, of which 108 are women (36%). Furthermore, 81% of these graduates have found employment.

"There is a critical need to increase the involvement of young women in the field of information technology. This is especially important if they, their communities and their countries are to reap the benefits of the information society we live in," said Hamadoun Touré, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.

Neema Rushema would agree. Ms Rushema is a student of electrical engineering at the Technical College Arusha in Tanzania, and is enrolled in the ITCI programme. She is part of an all-female class, one of the strategies Technical College Arusha adopted as a gender-focused Academy to proactively encourage female participation. She says there are very few skilled people in computer networking in Africa, particularly women. "My ambition is to be able to fully participate in the digital economy and help my country reap the benefits of IP technologies. Through this ITU initiative, I can learn more about Internet technologies and realize my ambition."

All participating ITCs are encouraged to enroll a minimum of 30% female students. Universidade Jean Piaget in Cape Verde is one of the participating ITCs, which have surpassed this goal, by achieving 34% female enrollment. Agueda Sofia Tavares, a female graduate from the first class says, "education and particularly the Internet Training Centers, play an important role in winning the challenge of improving universal access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Africa."

In addition to the overall success of the ITC Initiative for Developing Countries in helping to bridge the gender digital, other gender-specific projects are being carried out in Africa through the ITU and Cisco partnership. In October 2002 a Cisco Networking Academy in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies was launched at Makerere University in Uganda with stakeholders from government, academia, international organizations and the private sector. The launch of Makerere University project also marked the first time that a gender-focused Cisco Networking Academy had been established within a department of gender studies.

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