​​​​​National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission​

Grenada, 2012, September 15

Women and Girls in ICT || GRENADA's Initiative 2012

Events were held between September and December 2012

Overview

 The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), under its Universal Service Fund (USF) Programme, engaged in a series of activities centred on the International Telecommunications Union's theme for 2012 "Women and Girls in ICT" . This project was selected with the goal of increasing awareness about the importance of ICTs thereby empowering women in society to view ICT as a tool for personal advancement and economic development.

The USF is primarily focused on telecommunications and ICT related projects which are geared at increasing the availability and use of services among the population, particularly the marginalized in society. The Women and Girls in ICT project as a form of awareness is timely and relevant; The Women and Girls in ICT project increases awareness about the potential of technology thereby encouraging persons to take advantage of the infrastructure and services established under USF projects.

The NTRC collaborated with the following agencies to execute this project: GRENCODA, GNOW (Grenada National Organization for Women), RGPF (Royal Grenada Police Force), Ministry of ICT (Information and Communication Technology), Ministry of Education, ICT Centre for Excellence.

Project Scope
1.0 Coordinate session for the Mothers on Cyber security & COP

This session targeted women and mothers as a means of educating mothers about the dangers of cyberspace and how they can monitor and protect children in cyberspace; This included warnings signs that children may be a target for online predators, how to monitor children while online and commonly used symbols which may make parents aware of conversations that children may be engaged in while online. These sessions will make parents better able to advise their children about the don'ts of online communication.

 Work undertaken under this project:

• Workshop for mothers on cyber security including presentations and demonstrations to women and mothers about cyber security and Children Online Protection

• Five working sessions for mothers in cyberspace in five parishes in Grenada
• Presentation on Children Online Protection

2.0 Coordinate training for women in building e-business – This session was geared at providing participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop businesses using ICTs. This session targeted women with small business and women in general thus providing them with the skills to improve their small business and the skills set in Information and communication technology.

 
3.0 Coordinate and execute the essay writing competition – the essay writing competition targeted secondary school students. This competition was geared at increasing children's awareness about ICTs and to view ICTs as a catalyst for change. This competition also encouraged children to think of creative ways in which Information and Communications Technology can be used as one of the solution for economic development.
 

Project Activities

 This project involved three programme of activities observed under the Theme for World Telecommunications Day. This theme focused on increasing awareness about ICTs as an enabler for change in society and empowering women and girls in society to take up roles in ICT which has been primarily viewed as a male dominated field/career thereby creating a levelled playing field and creating more gender equality.

Activities

1. Teaching parents how to better monitor their children's internet activities

Session for mothers and woman on Children Online Protection (COP)

Many USF projects increase the availability of internet among young people through broadband infrastructure projects and CAPs project. Thus, to better protect the children and ensure that they have a safe online experience, a workshop was held for mothers and women. This project targeted remote communities where parents knew very little about the dangers of the internet or even its ability to harm children.

2. Developing an IT related skill

Building e-business

The second session was a hands-on session for women on building e-businesses. This targeted small business, unemployed persons or persons thinking of starting their own businesses. This course was targeted because of its ability to provide a viable alternative for women in terms of employment. With a continued economic recession, finding creative ways to maximize existing resources to create employment opportunities is paramount. Hence this course taught persons to use technology/ICTs to create employment opportunities for themselves. This course drills down into the structure and concept of different types of business, developing business plans, writing proper business correspondence, marketing a business, finding a target market and the tools to get started.

3. Encouraging children to view ICT as a catalyst for change

Essay writing competition

The third session targeted girls in secondary schools. The session was designed to get young women thinking of technology/ICT and how it can be used for economic development. In Grenada, while there has been an increase in the number of women/girls in ICT related fields, this number is still small. With most of the senior roles denominated by males in Grenada, an activity of this nature will have an impact; This competition will show girls that ICT is not gender bias and as result will encourage them to think of ICT as a tool which can impact change and promote economic development, as well as a potential career choice.

For more information, the full report of the initiative can be downloaded below.

Alternatively, you may contact:

National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission

Maurice Bishop Highway | P.O. Box 854 | St. George | Grenada

​​​​ Additional document: grenada_2012.pdf