POTRAZ
Langham Girls High School. Mvurwi. ZIMBABWE, 2016, May 16
ZIMBABWE YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS CELEBRATE GIRLS IN ICT DAY
Thousands of young Zimbabwean girls gathered at Langham High School in Mvurwi to commemorate Girls in ICT Day on 16 May 2016.
The next big thing will probably be the emergence of female local app developers, and Chief Technology Officers to take up the space as thousands of girls pledged their commitment and excitement towards taking up careers in ICTs most girls were enthusiastic ICTs, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects worldwide have traditionally been viewed as being for males, before the International Telecommunications Union, (ITU) declared and began to lobby for the representation of women and girls through a global initiative called Girls In ICT.
On 17 May 2016, Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world to commemorate this declared day which marks a new movement that celebrates and motivates young women and girls to take up and choose a career path in ICTs. Speaking at the commemorations, the Guest of Honour, Tadiwa Kundishora, spoke proudly of how she had managed to find her way in the ICT sector and how the sector has huge opportunities that can accelerate the presence of women in a lot of decision making forums. Tadiwa a young woman working for the second largest mobile operator in Zimbabwe called upon the girls to take this challenge seriously and hop on today.
"I am grateful to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for fulfilling their promise to continue motivating young women like you and me to be part of this in style, fast growing and dynamic sector. I am a beneficiary of that promise and I encourage you today to also be part of this movement of women and girls empowerment. Girls in ICT day is celebrated in over 150 countries globally including Zimbabwe. ICTs are gender insensitive. They have removed boundaries, squashed time and created opportunities for countries such as Zimbabwe to participate and add their voice in the global ICT arena.
"We appreciate the efforts of ITU and POTRAZ who are extending communication coverage and access to enable rural individuals to communicate with their families at the click of a button. I applaud our goverment in taking a stand in recognizing not only you and I the girl child, but allowing equal opportunities in this field at a tender age." said Tadiwa.
She urged the young girls who are still in high school to not be discouraged by their background as she was exactly in the same position a few years back studying at a rural school, but that did not deter her from chasing her dreams to partake and excel in the ICT ecosystem. "Though I may not be an ICT engineer or expert, yet I have my voice in the in the ICT spacethat makes me fully understand the dynamics of digital communications. This did not just start from nowhere, I worked hard as young girl and I am not deterred excel. I am also a product of this school, nothing will stop you from doing it even better than I have done " said Tadiwa.
Officials from the Ministry Of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Powertel, Econet , NetOne, Telco , Telecel and TelOne took turn to share their life transforming testimonies and the journey they traversed to get to where they are today. Most of the girls who attended the event said that, they had now changed their perception towards the former male dominated field and ready to start making career choices towards ICTs.
Most participating students bemoaned lack of career guidance and exposure which leads to them not taking Science subjects especially in rural schools. However they said that this platform opened their eyes and hope to be part of the ICT ecosystem in the future.
By Toneo T Rutsito
