​​​​​​La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones​

Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 2012, April 26​​

La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones- CONATEL in coordination with the ITU Area Office for Central America, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Cuba, organized a very special day for young girls in their junior year of the school (Instituto Evangélico Virginia SAPP) located in the city of Tegucigalpa, and the school "Escuela Normal Mista" in the city of Juticalpa, Olancho.

Our purpose was to encourage in them the knowledge and interest on the  information and communication technology (ICT), and the effective use of these tools as a learning, communicating and entertainment mechanism for both personal and professional development.

This activity was also directed to share the benefits and advantages of the active participation in technical fields as well as female empowerment in these areas.

Because of the importance of this activity we were able to integrate the participation of  about 80 people scattered in both public and private sectors:

• Direct participation of two different schools, one located in the city of Tegucigalpa and the second in the rural community of Juticalpa, Olancho which participated by video conference.
• Participation of  the Unitred Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN MOMEN).
• A private university, Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC).
• A private telecommunication operator (CLARO), and a private association (ASETEL).
• Staff of the Comisión Técnica Regional de Telecomunicaciones (COMTELCA), a regional telecom organization.
• Commissioners, Managers and staff  of  the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Honduras (CONATEL).

Young Participants

• Twenty young girls between ages of 13-16 in their junior year of the private school "Instituto Evangélico Virginia SAPP" in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
• Around twenty young girls between ages 13-16 in their junior year of the public school "Escuela Normal Mixta" in the city of Juticalpa, Olancho, they participated by video conference, this school is part of a project of CONATEL.

Private Participants

• In order to integrate as many participants as possible CONATEL invited private operators and  private telecommunication associations.

The private telecommunication company (CLARO) and the Association of Private Telecommunications (ASETEL) participated actively by giving away promotional material and a raffle for a mini personal laptop respectively.

This helped to encourage the participation of the young girls by promoting their experience in the Telecom sector and the importance of the ICT in any given activity in fields such as personal and professional.

Celebrating the Day of Girls in ICT

The activity began with welcoming remarks from Mr. Miguel Alcaine- Head of ITU Area Office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, followed by Mr. Miguel Velez Commissioner President of CONATEL, both emphasized in the importance of the knowledge of the ICT and the advantages gained by using them in the right way as a means of knowledge both in a personal and professional development.

Followed by the presentations:

1.- Ms. Ana Lucía López - Communications Assistant  (UN Women), Office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras   -"New technologies and the inclusion of  Women "

2.-Mrs. Diana Cárcamo- Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana UNITEC) – "The ICT's, an opportunity, a challenge "

     **The testimony of two young students majoring in systems engineering and civil engineering of UNITEC.

3.-  A group of professional women in the area of Telecommunications from CONATEL focused on different topics according to their expertise:

• Mrs. Libby Rivas - Chief Technical Rules (Normativa Tarifária) "CONATEL and the Telecommunication Development "
• Ms. Sagrario Fonseca  -Spectrum Planning Engineer (Espéctro    

       Radioeléctrico)  "Technology in Honduras"

• Mrs.  Rosibel  Valle -Control Engineer (Departamento de Fiscalización)

       "Relationship between Women and ICT"

• Mrs. Maria Elena Salinas -Manager Bureau of Planning, Universal Access and Indicators, (Dirección de Planificación y Desarrollo)

       "Best Practices and Applications of ICT to contribute to the development of Honduras. "

       **Guided tour in CONATEL (Departments of Info technology, Public Service Center (CAP) and Technical Departments.

Celebrating the Day of Girls in ICT in Honduras

To share the experience of this activity, CONATEL included  a special place in our website to inform the general public, also to encourage more young girls to get more involved in the ICT.

All the information related to the celebration can be accessed through this link.

http://www.conatel.gob.hn/ninas_y_tics.aspx​​