BACKGROUND
The International Girls in ICT Day, which is celebrated worldwide every year on the fourth Thursday of April (27 April 2023), is an opportunity to inspire young girls to study and pursue technology. This day highlights female role models in technology as a way to increase interest in information and communication technology among young girls to help balance the gender gap within the workforce. It is also to the benefit of ICT in enabling their career and aspiration. To date, over 377,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 11,400 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 171 countries worldwide. The Girls in ICT Day programme aims to increase the visibility and digital competence of young women and girls (aged 12 to 24) in the STEM fields, notably ICTs. Given the success of this programme over the years, ITU in 2022 decided to promote girls in ICT Day not just on one day in the year but all year long.
In the Philippines, tech-savvy girls and teenagers continue to excel in their studies and even pursue their passion in the digital world—proving that girls and young women do not lag behind. Given this year's theme of “Digital skills for life", the Philippines is extending itself to host the international girls in ICT day 2023 with an emphasis to expanding and deepening girls and young women's participation and contribution to the digital transformation and development.