Girls in ICTs event for Europe

The European Celebration of Girls in ICTs: Access and Safety, was held virtually on the 28^th of April 2022 from 16:00 to 17:00 CEST. This event was organized by ITU, with the coordination of the Regional Network of Women (NoW).​

​​Background

​Every year, the International Day of Girls in ICTs is celebrated to raise awareness about the gender digital divide and to support skills development and technology education, with the aim of encouraging young women to further pursue education as well as a professional career in the STEM field, particularly in the ICT sector. Given the successful initiative of establishing a year-long programming and activities, implemented in 2021 for celebrating the 10^th Anniversary of Girls in ICTs Day, ITU will continue the efforts to promote Girls in ICT throughout 2022 with annual thematic priorities, around the theme of this year's girl in ICTs 'Access and Safety', which constitutes an initial step for girls to access the digital environment.

Within this context, the Girls in ICTs event for Europe took place in coordination with the Regional Network of Women (NoW), created to provide a neutral platform of exchange of information between experienced and new female delegates. This event will aim to connect women regulators and ministers within the European Network of Women with young women and girls to share their experiences, acting as role models to inspire them to pursue a career in tech. The event was also count on the active participation of the Generation Connect Europe Youth Group, the group of 38 youth envoys actively engaged in policymaking towards digital transformation in line with the ITU Youth strategy, and will benefit from the outcomes of the European Digital Youth Jam, the Europe region event towards the Generation Connect Global Youth Summit, where youth envoys and leaders gathered to discuss initiatives, opportunities and challenges related to gender equality and the empowerment of girls and young women in the digital world, including through fostering digital skills required in  the STEM field. In this sense, the event will also contribute to the European Year of Youth as declared by the European Commission.

In particular, this event focused on two pillars: (i) Equal access to the internet and technologies, including ICT and digital accessibility for girls and young women with disabilities, (ii) online safety and gender stereotypes in the STEM education and workplace environments online safety.

​Key objectives

The main objective of this event was to inspire and meaningfully engage European girls and young women to pursue an education and career in the STEM field, by presenting first-hand experiences from high representatives of the European Regional Network of Women. It also aimed​ to shed some light on the challenges and opportunities for girls and young women to take an active role in the ICT sectors.